You shouldn't be surprised if your teen isn't happy when you break the news that your family is moving out of state. Many teens don't handle drastic life changes well, and to your teen, making a long-distance move means leaving family, friends, and everything that is familiar. So, if your teen doesn't immediately like the idea of moving away, it's okay. It doesn't mean that you'll have to drag your child with you kicking and screaming. There are several things that you can do to make your upcoming move easier for your teen.
Consider Your Teen's Schedule
The less you interrupt your teenager's life the better. It's easier for teens to adjust to a new place when the move is planned around their school schedule for several reasons:
Keep Your Teen Involved in the Moving Process
The less your teen knows about your move the more anxious he or she will feel. So, you should use the time before your move to encourage activities that will make your teen feel involved with your move.
It's probably easier to plan your entire move, hire dependable movers (such as those from Smith Dray Line), and find a new home than it is to convince your teenager that moving far away will be a good thing. But, don't worry too much about your teen's immediate reaction to your moving announcement. Instead, keep your teen involved with your moving plans. This way, moving out of state with your teen will be an easier process.
If you are getting ready to move and you've lived in your home for quite a while, you can quickly get overwhelmed with the amount of stuff that you have to move. If you have advance notice of the move, you can start clearing the house out slowly. When I was packing up our home of nearly twenty years, I knew that I was in for a lot of work. I decided to start 6 months before we moved and slowly began clearing the house out and putting what I wanted to keep for the new home in storage. Use what I have included here on my blog to get through this difficult time a little easier.