Sooner or later, almost everyone ends up needing some form of relocation services. The physical effort involved in moving is often second to the psychological aspects of it, but it's the rare family that can do it all without help. A third category of consideration is the financial aspects of a move, and in some cases, it's the first consideration. Is an employer picking up the tab for this move? Do they have professional assistance lined up?

For school-age children, every move is traumatic, something parents don't always recognize. Moving every few years, or worse, every few months, is damaging to all but the most resilient of children. Some become extroverted, even overly assertive, out of the need to make friends all over again so often. More emotionally fragile children are traumatized by being constantly uprooted. Relocation for them will have to be framed in a very positive light to be accepted.

For adults, the most traumatic moves are often those that come after living in the same house for 30 or 40 years. We tend to accumulate an enormous amount of stuff, or junk, if you prefer to call it that. Either way, some of it is heirloom and we'd never voluntarily part with it. The rest of it we really haven't ever used, but other people would love to have it. So the first actual step in relocating is probably to get rid of the stuff, which means the rest of the household members have to cooperate, including the kids.

Researching Relocation Services
Sorting out what really needs to be kept and what can be chucked out will take a while. In the meantime, the adults (and teenagers, if they have time after homework) can research the types of professional services available to help with relocation. These will include moving and storage companies, and comparison of housing, taxes, and insurance costs. Is Grandpa moving along with you? That's another concern. The Internet, of course, has a lot of specific information on communities, which can be tracked down. But if you're not that experienced with research, get contact information for the Chamber of Commerce, DMV, and Department of Agriculture (for quarantine rules) from your reference librarian.

If someone's career is at stake, there may be little chance of deciding you don't want to go there, wherever there is, but check out the area anyway. No use making the entire household miserable for years to come, when it would be better to turn down a promotion or transfer. For example, if your health simply can't stand sub-zero weather, or humidity in the 90 percent range, there are regions of the country and world that aren't for you.

Getting Ready to Move
If there's a home you must sell, talk to more than one Realtor® about what they think it's worth. They'll also alert you to repairs that need to be made before the house is listed. In most cases, painting the outside and fixing anything that's broken would be wise.

Experts also recommend having the house professionally cleaned before it's put on the market, although that's hard to justify while you and your family are still living in it. However, bad odors will prevent a house from being sold every time! Arrange for the real estate agent to have even a nice house cleaned a second time after you move out.