Whether you’re young and traveling for school and work or just haven’t bought a house and have to move houses/apartments often, those of us who have had to move a lot endure these struggles:
- Packing and unpacking. A few years ago, I really enjoyed packing and unpacking. It meant adventure, excitement, and new beginnings — and while that is still true, it also now it is a tedious part of life that I do often. Sometimes it feels like I’m merely living out of a suitcase or a box.
- Moving large furniture. It’s the worst part of moving. It’s back-breaking and challenging, and you can’t do it alone.
- Tied into the previous struggle is moving large boxes or bags up stairs. I have had to move plenty of bulky, heavy suitcases and bags, along with boxes. All I can say is that it gives you a good workout.
- Never fully setting up your room and/or house, and merely adding home-y touches (sometimes). This has been a huge struggle for me. I love putting up pictures and decorations, but I find it tedious to put these things up since I have to take them down in a few months and move them some place else. I also love to have colorful walls, but it’s not worth the time and money to paint if it’s going to have to be painted white again when I leave.
- Roommate after roommate. Now, I’ve had some truly amazing roommates that I still stay in touch with and absolutely adore. However, there are some roommates that I am happy to never talk to or see again (for whatever reasons that I will not go into in this post). It’s also taxing to develop friendships with roommates and be ripped apart.
- The struggles of not having your own furniture. When I’m back home, I have to move all of my furniture. Since I’ve been off completing my internships, I’ve only taken the essentials. This sucks because I really cherish my furniture (especially my bed and my desk!), and I can’t wait to have my own personal furniture again.
- Tied into the previous struggle is not wanting to have a lot of clothes, house ware, decorations, etc. This is because I don’t want to have to keep moving all of my extraneous items. I’ve found that minimalistic lifestyle = easy for travel and moving.
- Not establishing yourself in your job, internship, or school. I’ve found that I don’t feel connected to the places that I’ve worked because I know that I’m only going to be spending a short period of time there. Of course, you still need to network and make sure that if you wanted a more permanent job, then you can get one. But I remain a little reserved in establishing myself in a specific career path.
Finally, the worst struggle of all:
- Not developing close friendships or relationships. Throughout my travels, I have been very aware of the fact that my stay is temporary and I have been reserved in developing close relationships. This hurts mentally and impacts my physical well-being. Being social is an important part of being human, but I know that I, personally, have neglected it as I have been traveling.
This is, of course, my experience in having to move a lot. I’m not one of those people that has lived in one house their entire life. Every few years of my life I have had to move houses — luckily, it hasn’t always been moving towns, but several times it has. It is a struggle that I am sure will continue throughout my life unless I magically settle down later in life.
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Thank you for reading! Have you experienced any of these struggles of moving a lot? How many times have you moved? Let me know in the comments below and like this post if you want more like it!
Xoxo’s
Emmalee
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Emmalee Mauldin 