Moving house is one of the most stressful experiences you can go through in life. Indeed, according to a New York Times poll of a thousand people, 45% of people said it was the most stressful thing they had ever done.
We have recently been through the house moving experience and I can honestly say it’s one of the most stressful things I have ever done in my life. But why?
I started the move with the mindset it will happen when it happens. We were lucky as one of our friends owns an estate agency business and another is a Conveyancer so we knew that we would be thoroughly looked after throughout the process and it would be easy. We then went out and found the house of our dreams.
Of course, after the offers are accepted everything goes very quiet as the paperwork begins with the solicitors. Weeks roll by and the uncertainty begins. Will it even happen? When will it happen? What if it all falls through? Now, of course, these are hypothetical worries and I can’t control these outcomes but that doesn’t stop the worry surrounding the move.
As a world we hate uncertainty, it’s bad for us as humans and stock markets hate it even more. And that’s the trouble with moving house there are huge uncertainties until you receive the call to say you have exchanged/completed.
I don’t mind admitting I cried so much at exchange I couldn’t even speak to our Conveyancer (happy tears of course) and the pressure valve had been released and finally we knew we were moving.
A phone call could change a mood. We’d feel like it wasn’t going to happen and then suddenly we get a call to say it’s all completed. It really is the highs and lows which make it tricky to navigate.
I wanted to write this blog today to detail the emotions I felt throughout and hopefully raise some awareness of asking for help if you find the move too much. Now that its nearly over I am being asked already if we will ever move again. Of course, the answer is 1,000,000% no.
- Alex Wiseman, Partnership Manager | Norfolk and Waveney Mind