To Move or Not To Move? How to Make a Big Decision

12th September 2013 | Posted In Moving Tips & Advice by Ben

Moving is a big decision regardless of whether you are moving home, job or are a business owner thinking about relocating the business. No matter what kind of decision stands before you, these are some of the many considerations you should ponder along with a few methods you can use that will help you figure out what step to take next.

Tips for decision making

1. Why is moving on your radar?

First things first, why are you considering moving? If your move has been forced by practical reasons, for example, an expansion which means you need more space or a new family member on the way, that makes the decision a little easier.

You might have financial reasons to move, for example, you might want to decrease your monthly outgoings and so moving to a cheaper area or a smaller property might be a priority.

Moving is a big commitment, both financially and emotionally so it’s not something you are going to want to do on a whim. Being bored of your surroundings might be an influencing factor but don’t let impulse dictate such a big decision.

Once you have identified your reasons to move, the next thing that you need to do is to look at the options available to you.

2. Evaluate all of your options

You’ve got this far and you now know why you want or need to move. Next, you need to figure out what options are available to you, what kind of property will be suitable? How will you fund it? When is the best time for you to move?

This next step is often heavily influenced by financial constraints and more practical, logistical considerations and you might find that weighing up the alternatives is often easier said than done; so one way to approach this is to write a list that clearly shows all of the options available to you.

Looking at the alternatives in black and white on a page or on a screen can often help make your options clearer and putting your time and attention on the task can often mean new options reveal themselves to you that you might not have previously considered.

3. Consider all the relevant criteria

Besides each of the options you’ve identified and laid out, you now need to evaluate them to determine which of these is the optimum solution for you. Criteria for evaluation will differ from person to person and depending on the nature of the decision to be made, but essentially you’re going to want to make a pros and cons list.

Do your research and don’t ignore any negative implications, they will only come back and bite you at some point in the future! Be wary of taking advice per se, advice is very different to hard facts and information.

Advice is driven by emotional responses and don’t forget, people on the whole dislike change and as a result will react negatively to even the merest hint of change!

“Getting someone else’s perspective is usually a good idea,
but don’t take their views or advice as gospel”

When it comes to moving you are going to need to fulfill lots of different criteria. For example, location, size, cost and future potential will all need to be taken into account. What’s the point of moving the entire business to a new location that’s barely big enough and won’t cope with any future expansion? Likewise, why move to a property in an area with poor schools which means you’ll need to move again in a few year’s time?

4. Identify the ‘opportunity cost’

Think about what is important to you personally if you are considering a domestic move and think about what matters commercially if you are considering moving your business. You also need to think about what will happen if you decide not to move – what are the implications of doing nothing at all?

5. Listen to your heart, but don’t let it be your sole influence

Thinking logically and being brutally analytical during this kind of process is thoroughly recommended, but that doesn’t mean you can’t leave room to listen to your intuition or be guided by your heart to some extent, just make sure it is not the only thing influencing your decision.

6. Leave time for reflection

Once you’ve arrived at a decision, don’t jump in right away. Give yourself a little time to reflect. The subconscious is an amazing tool and even if you’re not actively thinking about something, your subconscious is probably hard at work mulling things over.

We often hear the term “sleep on it” before a decision is made, and that’s meant to provide a little bit of time for reflection so you can ensure at a gut intuition level, that you’re happy before you actually put your decision into action.