After a long awaited and intense decision process, I have decided to accept the job offer in Houston. I’m about to take off on another adventure this weekend to Texas to go apartment hunting with my father. Fortunately, the HR person at my company had a ton of advice as to what areas are ideal to live in and what apartments are affordable but still nice. As I’ve been packing, I’ve been thinking about advice I could give when moving to a new area. A lot of this knowledge comes from my father because he knows what he’s doing way more than I do (thanks Dad!)

1. Relocation Package- If you receive a relocation package (like I did), then you’re in store for great news. Depending on how much the package is worth, it may be easier to move your essentials, ship a few boxes, and buy new furniture once you’re in your new apartment. Rather than rent a U-Haul (which can cost up to $1,000/day), it might be worth it to go to an affordable store like IKEA and buy new furniture. So far, this is my plan!

2. Find out details about the area- The person I immediately went to when I needed information about where to live was the HR person. She provided me with a ton of websites to check out. It may also be a good idea to find a realtor in the area who can show you around, especially if you’ve never been to the city before.

3. Find your apartment as soon as possible- I received notice that my start date for work is in late August. This means that the cheapest airfare is two weeks from this date. Since Dad and I weren’t going to pay $700 each for a roundtrip ticket, he came up with a great idea. Search Craigslist. He found people who were selling “buddy passes” (even though you aren’t really allowed to), and he called Southwest to make sure we could use them. Now we have 2 roundtrip tickets for $250 each and we can depart whenever we want. Much better than paying $1400, I’d say.

4. Start packing early- Because I leave in 2.5 weeks, it’s safe to say that I am beginning my packing this evening. The sooner I figure out what to take, leave behind, and donate, the less stressed out I will be.

5. RELAX- You (and I) have the job, so take some time to breathe. Enjoy the last few weeks with friends & family because you never know when your next visit will be. It does no good to stress out when all that’s left to do is wait until you arrive at your new destination. This is something I’ll have to work on because I tend to stress easily…

As I encounter more experiences throughout these next few weeks, I’ll make sure to take note of them and pull any advice I can. Until then, good luck and happy job hunting!