8 lessons I've learned from moving 14 times in 12 years by Yan Mei on Jul 23, 2018, 2:52 PM Advertisement
 - Moving can be overwhelming, both financially and emotionally.
- On the other hand, moving to a new place brings the opportunity to meet new people, explore a different area, and have meaningful experiences.
- Author Yan Mei moved 14 times in 12 years, including international and cross-country relocations — here's what she learned.
I've been living contentedly in the same neighborhood for almost four years, yet my friends and family still ask, "Will you move again soon?"
I don't blame them: I have a bit of a nomadic history. I moved 14 times in 12 years, including three international moves (from China to Great Britain, from Great Britain to Switzerland, and then Switzerland to the United States) and one cross-country move from the San Francisco Bay Area to New York City. I consider myself fortunate, because my moves have gone hand in hand with positive steps in life — a graduate degree in London, career growth for my husband, a bigger apartment before I gave birth. Moving so many times commanded a great deal of planning and effort, not to mention stress. However, the excitement of reorganizing my life and being part of a new place has always given me an adrenaline rush. Here are the lessons I've learned as a serial mover: SEE ALSO: 5 mistakes we made when we bought our first house Always research the cost of living, job prospects, and healthcare details prior to moving to a new country  I didn't know that London would be so expensive until I moved there from China for grad school. The city really honed my math skills: The number on every price tag, times 15, would yield how much it would cost in Chinese yuan. At least the UK's public health insurance, National Health Service (NHS), is free. For every subsequent relocation, I made a list of pros and cons of the cost of living, job prospects, and health care in my new prospective home prior to moving.
A short trip to the country you're moving to before the move can leave a misleading impression  Moving to London taught me that cities vary widely neighborhood by neighborhood, and one sightseeing trip might leave a skewed impression. My husband's company offered us visits to Switzerland and San Francisco before our moves, but we turned them down. We decided to leave neighborhood navigation until after we landed. Once we arrived, with a clearer big picture, we had no qualms making the final decision about where we wanted to live, even though we hadn't set foot in the cities before we moved.
Find your bearings through research before moving  While calculating the financials and having a big picture of relocation is crucial for people like me, who either can't or choose not to visit a new city or country before moving, visiting and investigating different neighborhoods is equally important after you land. A neighborhood's public transportation, commute, schools, neighborhood safety, grocery shops, and entertainment options will all affect your daily life, so you want to get to know them as well as possible before making a decision. During our last move, daycare hunting was the last thing on my mind. I naïvely thought that there would be abundant choices in a cosmopolitan city like New York. This was a big mistake. In reality, it took me three months to find suitable daycare for our son.
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