Since graduating high school in 2011, I have moved 7.5 times.
Moving is highly comparable to ending a relationship (platonic included), throwing away a beloved pair of jeans, or getting rid of your first car. It comes with varying levels of burden and sadness. It requires thought and preparation. It is nearly always met with levels of uncertainty and doubt. Yet, it has the potential to provide a much-needed upgrade.
In 2017, I completed graduate school and scored my first professional position. Hence, the move to my current living situation about forty-five minutes north of undergrad/graduate studies. For the last two years I have lived in a spacious townhouse with two stellar guys. The crib is loaded with amenities, in a nice area relatively close to everything, and boasts a reasonable commute to work. On the bottom floor of our bachelor pad lives an ex-collegiate golfer, who recently decided to take the plunge (marriage) effectively ending our ongoing rental agreement.
Although it was unsuccessful, I was not shy about trying to convince the newlyweds that the townhouse was a great place to spend the beginning of their married lives. The remaining occupant, a former collegiate soccer star, and I will continue to split housing fees about 600 feet away from our current unit.
My many moves have led me to understand one important equation.
Stress = Quantity of items + time available + distance between locations
You probably will not see that as a story problem in any college algebra classes, but it is a foolproof science. Undisputable. I am essentially the Newton of U-Haul’s R&D. From my elaborate trial-and-error experimentation, nail down the following steps in order to reduce any massive spikes in variables.
Step 1: Knowing it is coming. To this point in my life it has been a well-established end date. It has come in the form of a semester and/or lease ending.
Step 2: Identifying your next residence. Not a terribly hard task, especially in bigger cities.
Step 3: The dreading packing stage (currently neck deep in).
Step 4: Moving from A to B. Moving from old to new. Moving from the past to the present. Moving from the memories to the blank slate.
Step 5: The unpacking. Much like unpacking from a vacation – which we all put off – except three hundred times as annoying.
Ladies and Gents: Just rip the Band-Aid off and DO THE THING.