Musings on Moving 18 Times in 28 Years
Moving, it turns out, is something I do much more frequently than the average human.
I’ve moved with my parents 6 times before I was 18 (no, I’m not a military child) and 12 times in the 10 years since then. I’ve helped friends move too. One time the van I hired got a flat tyre on the M11 and I was stuck there for 2 hours in the dark, in the rain, on my birthday. That day the universe sucked.
Some (highly dubious) tidbits I came across on the internet regarding moving. People are most likely to move between 18–30 years old. The average person will move 8 times in their life. And apparently, it takes 5 months for a house to feel like a home. I presume these figures will vary dramatically depending on demographics.
I think moving so frequently has some pro’s and con’s. I never really get home sick. Home feels like wherever I am. Although it is more likely to feel like home if my cuddly elephant has come along for the ride too. This means I don’t get too attached to one place and I always have a desire to explore new places. I’m also relatively able to make new friends, and I think moving so frequently is one of the reasons why I count networking as one of my top skills (see my blog on my free networking service here). It can be quite a stressful activity, but for me, it’s almost second nature now, I’m pretty speedy at changing my address on all my important things now!
Moving is such a big thing, but it has always been enjoyable for me. I wonder if due to moving so often I’m able to take on many other stressful or daunting experiences easier than I would have if I had not moved so much. Who know’s. Unfortunately we can’t do a properly controlled experiment on that one.
Moving is an extremely exciting activity for me. It’s a fun day with family and friends helping out. Moving is the start of new beginnings, a fresh start, an excuse to buy new bedding. I love figuring out how to fit everything in the car and the new place, it’s a giant 3D puzzle, and we all know I like puzzles (blog about that here). I also like the physical activity, it’s a great feeling being exhausted from a good day of lifting things around.
However, for my most recent move, although some part of me was excited, this one made me sad and thoughtful. There were many differences to a usual move for me. This time, I was moving in a pandemic. I didn’t have anyone to help. I only moved 20 minutes up the A34, so I felt I could do it all in my car on my own. I figured it would only take 5 trips, and I was right (a win for my planning puzzle brain). On the fifth trip I really did miss having moving buddies. But, after all, I am strong independent woman enough to carry my stuff up and down stairs and in and out of cars thanks to my BASE Training Coach, Lee Carder (read more here).
But, I think I am finally tired of moving. I had moved twice in the 6 months prior to this, so it felt like I had been moving constantly in 2020. Does this mean it’s time for me to start thinking about settling down? How are you supposed to decide where to live for the next 5 years of your life at least? I’ve only managed that once and it was in the hands of my parents.
The thought of staying in one place for a long time, feels like closing doors to potential, currently unknown opportunities. But it also feels like opening doors to new different ones. Maybe I am finally growing up. Let’s watch this space!
