5 ways to make your relocation successful

Life offers many choices: you can remain in a possibly unhappy environment or you can proactively choose to make a change. Of course nothing is ever simple, but it is possible to accomplish even challenging objectives, one small step at a time, especially if you get to improve your life in the process.

Having literally lived this, I speak from experience – moving from Gauteng to the natural beauty of the KwaZulu-Natal Coast close to four years ago.

Every place has its own magic and works well for different personalities. However, I wanted to exchange the stress of the city, the traffic and the happenings. I wanted a better life, filled with nature, beauty and peace.

Having spent several holidays down at the South Coast, I knew that for me, this was the place to find all of that, and continue supplying great web design through my boutique web design agency, Freedom Studios, established 7 years before this decision to move. I am tempted to go as far as saying that the agency’s name pointed in the direction of this decision, long before I was even consciously aware of it.

As with any freedom, there were certain challenges and costs to pay along the way, but at the end of the day it is the challenges that provide our valuable lessons which have had a significant impact on myself and my growth as a web designer.

If you are thinking of relocating, here are 5 key points to make the move a little easier:

  • Believe you can do it! If this is something you really want, find a way. Know it is not going to be easy, but it is possible.
  • Try and find options to virtualise your business or services to work remotely if possible.
  • Be prepared to scale down and let go of all the things that clutter your life.
  • Be sober minded and remember that a holiday town is not the same out of season. It’s quiet – very quiet and that is why you want to live here, but that also means that business opportunities are few. So be prepared and try ensure that you don’t need to rely on business from local sources.
  • Take a realistic view of the fact that developing a strong client base takes a lot of time, effort and trust. Once a trusting relationship is in place clients will support you no matter where you are. As long as you keep looking after them and producing good work, you will keep them happy.

Being realistic by expecting challenges and preparing yourself mentally and emotionally certainly assists any move. But once you allow a certain time to pass, you can enjoy the benefits of your change both in your work and in your personal life, which for me is now the beach and the vast ocean on my doorstep, clean air, better climate and a much better quality of life which I get to enjoy with my family while I continue my focus on producing the best custom made websites for my clients.

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