Making decisions that will affect your entire family is part of being a parent. It’s not a responsibility that you can pass off to your spouse because you don’t want to appear like the bad guy, nor is it something that you can completely ignore until it goes away on its own.
As parents, you have to make the hard decisions, even when it’s not what your children will be on board with immediately. Just like when you’re contemplating whether to relocate to a new area, city, or country for various reasons.
You might have begun thinking about this because your current job isn’t providing for your family’s needs, and a new job opportunity in another location presented itself to you. It can also be because the value of your home has gradually depreciated over the years, or you’re falling behind on your mortgage payments.
No matter what reason you have for contemplating a relocation, you must know that there will be repercussions either way. For instance, if you push through with relocating, you will need to sell your house immediately so you can use the money for the move.
Entrusting your house to reliable home buyers will speed up the lengthy process of selling. So instead of waiting for a minimum of two months, you might be able to sell your home as fast as a few days. Plus, you won’t have to bother paying realtor commissions, open houses, lowballs, or indecisive buyers.
But aside from the financial aspect of the move, you will also have to consider the lives you’re going to uproot. Your current home is the place where your kids have planted their roots and built friendships. And your spouse might not be on board as well because they will have to leave their careers behind once you move.
How to Weigh the Pros and Cons
Both leaving and staying will have their own advantages and disadvantages, which is why this isn’t something you can decide with a snap of your fingers. This is probably the hardest part of deciding whether to uproot your family, so take your time with it.
To make the task easier, you can create a list of pros and cons for both situations to see if one aspect outweighs the other. Of course, this decision is not something that you can make on your own without consulting the opinions of your family, but having a consolidated list of reasons may help you stand your ground.
Relocation is never easy, but sometimes, it’s necessary because it’s more practical and appropriate for your family’s situation. Besides, it’s not like you want to uproot your family just for the sake of it. With a substantial list of reasons, it might be easier to get your family on board with your decision.
Listen to the Opinions of Your Family
As mentioned earlier, this decision is something that will affect your entire family, not just you. That means that asking for your children’s and spouse’s opinion is vital so that no bad feelings will be harbored after making the final decision.
When you’re raising the topic of relocating, bring it up naturally as you would a regular topic. Don’t blurt it out like it is final and set in stone. Instead, get them to listen to your side and then encourage them to talk with you through the decision-making process.
Also, what you don’t want to do is add time pressure to the decision-making. Make sure that you give them enough time to sit with the change and make peace with it. This will allow you to peacefully transition into your next home life should you decide to push through with the relocation.
The Costs of Starting over in a New Place
Before you make any final decision, you should also consider the costs of moving. After all, your reason for wanting to relocate is because of money. This means that to make the best-informed decision, you have to crunch the actual numbers.
This can include the logistical costs of renting a moving truck, spending money on boxes and packaging materials, and enrolling your children in a new school, to name a few. Once you estimate all the upfront costs of moving, compare it with the costs of staying in your current home.
The numerical difference between those two situations should be enough to help you make your final decision regarding the relocation. At the end of the day, what matters most is that your decision is something that everyone in your family can live by. So don’t make rash decisions that can damage your family’s relationship in the process.
