Questions to Ask Before Moving to a New City
Twenty questions to answer before you commit to a move: what a month there really costs, how deep the job market is beyond the one offer, what the commute and the paperwork involve, how long it takes to see a doctor, and how adults there make friends. Some are for people who live there, some for a recruiter or landlord, and the last few are for you.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What does a month here actually cost once rent, transport and heating or cooling are in?
Why ask it
Cost-of-living indexes average across a metro area and miss the thing that breaks budgets, which is usually one line item: a car, a heating bill, childcare, or parking. Ask a resident for their real monthly total rather than a percentage comparison.
What would someone doing my job be paid here, and how far does that go?
Why ask it
A raise into a more expensive city can be a pay cut in practice. Compare offered salary against rent for the sort of place you would accept, not the cheapest listing, and check whether your field pays a local premium or discount.
If this job ended after a year, who else here would hire me?
Why ask it
This is the question that separates a move you can recover from and one you cannot. If you can only name one employer in your field within commuting distance, you are moving for a single job, and that should change the terms you accept.
What is the commute like at the times I would actually be travelling?
Why ask it
Map estimates are calculated for empty roads. Ask someone who does it at eight in the morning, and ask what happens when it snows, floods, or the one bridge closes, because that is the version you will live with.
Can I live here without a car, and if not, what does running one cost?
Why ask it
Insurance, parking permits, tolls and inspections vary enormously between cities and can add up to a significant sum a year that nobody mentions in a relocation conversation. Get local figures, not national averages.
How does renting work here right now: how fast do places go, and what do landlords ask for?
Why ask it
Some markets need multiple months up front, a local guarantor, or an in-person viewing within hours of a listing. Knowing the requirements decides whether you can arrange housing remotely or need to arrive first and rent short term.
Which areas would suit me, and which ones look good online but do not work day to day?
Why ask it
Listings photograph well and say nothing about noise, a flight path, a two-bus commute, or a street that empties after dark. Locals will name the mismatch immediately if you ask them this way round.
How long does it take to register with a doctor or dentist as a new patient?
Why ask it
In some places it is a week and in others practices are closed to new patients for months. If you or anyone with you needs regular care, this can be the most disruptive part of a move and it is rarely researched.
If I take regular medication or have an ongoing condition, how does care transfer?
Why ask it
Referrals, repeat prescriptions and specialist waiting lists often restart from zero when you move, and insurance networks may not follow you. Sort the bridging arrangement before you give notice, not after.
What is the weather like in the worst month, not the best one?
Why ask it
Most people visit in a good season. Ask about the length of the dark or the humidity, and how much of the year it shapes what you can do, since that is what determines whether the place suits you rather than the postcard version.
What do people here do on a wet Tuesday in February?
Why ask it
The answer describes real life better than a list of attractions. If it is mostly driving somewhere else, or staying in, you are learning something about the winters you would be spending there.
How do adults make friends here?
Why ask it
Some cities have obvious routes in, sport, clubs, church, work. Others are built around people who grew up there and are slow to open. This is the factor most likely to decide whether you stay, and the least likely to be researched.
Where would my children go to school, and how does admission actually work?
Why ask it
Catchments, lotteries, waiting lists and mid-year entry rules all vary, and a school's reputation matters less than whether there is a place available in the year you need it. Ask a parent there, not a ranking site.
What taxes and fees will I pay here that I do not pay now?
Why ask it
City income taxes, vehicle levies, higher sales tax and property surcharges are easy to miss and permanent. Work out the annual difference on your actual salary before you compare rents.
What paperwork does arriving involve, and how long does each step take?
Why ask it
Registration, licences, a local bank account and utility deposits often depend on each other in a chain, and some require an address you cannot get without them. Knowing the order saves weeks and, if you are moving countries, real money.
What is the thing that annoys everyone who lives here?
Why ask it
Asked directly, this gets you the honest complaint that people withhold when you seem enthusiastic. If several unconnected residents name the same thing, treat it as a fact about the city rather than an opinion.
Who do I already know within a couple of hours of there?
Why ask it
One or two loose connections shorten the first hard months more than anything else. If the honest answer is nobody, that is manageable, but it should change how much effort you plan to spend on meeting people early.
How often could I realistically get back to see the people I am leaving?
Why ask it
Work out the actual cost and travel time of a return trip, then be honest about how many you would make in a year. People routinely plan for monthly and manage twice, which is where the homesickness comes from.
What would tell me after a year that this was a mistake, and what would I do then?
Why ask it
Deciding the exit condition in advance turns a possible failure into a plan. It also affects present decisions: a shorter lease, keeping a professional licence current, or storing rather than selling.
What am I moving toward, and what am I moving away from?
Why ask it
A move solves problems of place and does not solve problems of work, health or relationships. If most of the honest answer is on the away side, name what would need to change and check whether the new city changes it.
Researching a move properly
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Where honest answers come from
Talk to people who left, not only people who stayed
Residents defend their city and boosters oversell it. Someone who moved away three years ago will tell you what wore them down, which is the information you cannot get anywhere else.
Ask three unconnected people the same question
One person's answer about commuting, schools or making friends is an anecdote. The same answer from three people who do not know each other is a pattern you should plan around.
Use real listings and real bills, not indexes
Pull ten current rentals in the areas you would accept, ask a resident to photograph a winter utility bill, and get an insurance quote at the new postcode. Three concrete numbers beat any comparison tool.
Test the place before you commit
- Visit in the worst season rather than the best one, and stay in the neighbourhood you would actually rent in.
- Do the commute at the real hour, on a weekday, using the transport you would use.
- Shop for groceries and eat where locals eat, so the weekly cost is something you have observed rather than estimated.
- Take a short lease or a sublet for the first few months if you can, and keep the option to move within the city.
- If a remote trial is possible, spend a fortnight working from there before you give notice on anything.
Costs people forget
The move itself
Movers or a van, deposits on two properties at once, overlapping rent, connection fees, and replacing the furniture that will not fit or is not worth shipping. This total is regularly double what people budget.
Licences and professional continuity
Some qualifications, registrations and insurance policies do not transfer between states or countries, and re-qualifying takes time and money. Check before you accept a start date.
The first six months of a smaller social life
New arrivals spend more: eating out, travelling back, joining things, replacing the help that friends and family used to give for free. Budget for it rather than being surprised by it.
Common mistakes
- Judging affordability on rent alone, with no allowance for tax differences, transport and utilities.
- Moving for a single employer without knowing who else in the city hires your skill.
- Deciding on the strength of a holiday visit in the best month of the year.
- Signing a long lease before you have spent a weekday in the neighbourhood.
- Assuming healthcare, schooling and licences carry over automatically.