Have you ever thought about packing up everything you own and moving to a new place? Maybe it’s for adventure, maybe it’s because of a breakup or maybe it’s just because you’ve lived in the same place your whole life. Whatever your reason might be, you are making a great decision.

Moving to a new city can have a very positive effect on your psyche.

If you are skeptical and not quite as open to change, you are not alone. According to the Pew Research Center, 37% of Americans have never lived outside of their hometown. Another 20% of Americans have never lived outside of their home state. This means that 57% of Americans have not had the adventure of picking up and moving to a new part of the country.

If you are in that 57%, here are a few reasons why you might want to consider packing up and saying goodbye to your comfort zone:

• You can get to know yourself better. You have the freedom to discover who you are and what you truly want without any distractions or influences from others.
• You can become more independent. Being independent takes courage. Getting to know an unfamiliar environment, which soon becomes familiar, teaches you to get over fear. You will reach a point where facing fear and getting to know the unfamiliar alone are no longer scary.
• You can create new relationships and learn how to build networks. We all grow up with built-in connections and networks, whether it’s in the form of school, church or family. When you move to a new city, you must learn how to build up a new network and create new relationships. This might take some time, but once you’ve done it, you will feel confident that you could do this time and time again.
• You can become more adaptable. In a new city, you must keep an open mind and continue to constantly adapt. This makes you less and less scared of change and eventually teaches you to embrace change. This can be very useful throughout life, as it constantly throws us changes.
• You can become self-reliant. You become aware that it is in fact YOU who makes things happen in life. And you learn how to make those things happen.

Perhaps the greatest reason to move might be that you can always move back! A move is not permanent. You have the ability to move back home or somewhere else if it does not work out, however you will be wiser and stronger because of your new life experiences.

Amanda Dempsey, LAMFT
Adempsey @ growcounseling.com

Photo Cred: camera1