15 Benefits of Moving to Another State

Picking up your life and moving it to another state can seem like a huge change — because it is! It’s also an opportunity to do something completely new, in a new environment, and with new people. While it’s scary, and a total leap outside your comfort zone (literally), it’s also a great way to revolutionize your life.

There are several benefits of moving outside your home state. Depending on where you move, you might save more money from month to month, and can finally afford to buy a house. You may expose yourself to different cultures you weren’t surrounded by in your hometown. Probably the most important upside to moving away is that it gives you a chance to begin a new chapter in your life. You can press the reset button and truly start fresh. Why not reinvent yourself and be the person you really envision yourself to be? Take chances, step outside of what you’ve known, and make a plan for those dreams that were just dreams when you were back home.

The world is waiting for you. Whether it’s moving to another nearby city, or to another country, you have the chance to continue your journey in a new setting. Let’s take a look at 15 such benefits that come from deciding to move to another state.

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You Will Grow as a Person

We say we want to grow, but it’s hard. It’s harder to change when you’re so comfortable in your surroundings. It’s less motivating when everything is so predictable, you know everyone and easily live in the same patterns. Don’t get me wrong, this is also comforting and secure, but a lot of people move out of their hometowns and states for these very reasons. At some point in your life, you may want to experience a new environment, meet new people, and have to depend on yourself more, with less support (which may at times function as a crutch). Changes like these are what give us that growth; you can’t help but evolve in new surroundings. So if you are stagnant where you are, and need a life change, moving to another state just might be the solution. If college students can do it, you can do it too. Just think of the possibilities!

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It Might Be Much Cheaper Where You Move

I just moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. Since getting settled in the Southwest, I’ve noticed that pretty much everything has been cheaper to purchase. Gas is half the price, I’ve seen products in the supermarket for less than $1, and real estate is actually affordable. It’s been such a shock, that I relish pointing it out to my mom every time we go shopping. By moving, I opened up the possibilities for me to do so much more with my money and my time. Imagine the other states where the cost of living is even lower?! You can really make your money stretch to great new lengths when you decide to move to another state, though the flipside is also true if you’re moving to pricer states like California, New York, and Hawaii.

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You Can Have a Fresh New Start

There are moments where we all want to start over — it’s part of human nature. It’s hard to change courses or do something different when everything else is the same. Maybe your current friends don’t seem to encourage, understand, or believe these new ideas from you. Maybe you feel you have outgrown your neighborhood or your city. None of this may apply —perhaps you’re just tired and bored. Think of the excitement you get while traveling, or purchasing something new. Everything is something to discover, to get to know, and you feel a certain burst of energy and excitement from this. Moving to a new state makes you feel like a kid again because you literally are relearning a lot from scratch. It’s a bit scary and stressful, but also so much fun!

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You Might Have More and Different Job Opportunities

When you know what you want to do with your life, in terms of your job or career, you may find that the opportunities for that role are not available where you live. Or the opportunities are there, but they are few and far between. For example, we all know that if you want to be an actress, you should probably move to Los Angeles. If you want to be a successful model or fashion designer, New York is your best bet. Think about where you can be successful with what you want to do. It may lead you to another state or you can break the mold and start something new where you currently are!.

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You Get to Make New Friends

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It’s so hard to meet new friends when you’re a grown ass woman, but maybe it’s easier in a whole new environment because it’s all new. You’re kind of forced to go out there and learn the lay of the land. To navigate your new surroundings and get to know everything (and in the process everyone). You’ll want to check out some of the cool local bars, restaurants, and stores, where you could meet new people. If you’re not interested in making new friends immediately (or at all), that’s cool too. But if you’re eager to go out there and get some new BFFs, you could always find a local Meetup or Facebook group to acquaint yourself with folks in your new city.

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You Can Be Closer to Family and Friends

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The number one reason my mother and I moved to Arizona was to be closer to our family. We all started off as a cohesive family unit in San Francisco, and then splintered across the country, to places as far away as China, Colombia, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando, Florida. There’s nothing like family time, so if that means being near biological family, or the family you made out of friends (or both!), moving to another state to be closer to them could be a great idea. I am also closer to the states where my BFFs have moved to, so that’s an added bonus.

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Your Dating Life Might Improve

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Dating may seem difficult, or practically impossible in your town or city — hello, San Francisco! But moving to another area could completely change that for you. In fact, moving to another area means organically meeting new people that you may not have met otherwise. You will have more things to talk about, and can always stir up some convo at your local coffee shop or yoga studio. Moving to a new place opens you up to a fresh, new dating pool of people who may be more your speed. Make sure to take advantage of it, be optimistic, and enjoy your new dating prospects!

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You Get to Experience Different Cultures

Living in the San Francisco Bay Area exposed me to multiple cultures. I had the honor and privilege to learn about all kinds of backgrounds, including so many different Latinx cultures. This speaks to my work, as I wouldn’t have known so much about various Latinx cultures in the first place if I didn’t live and experience life among them. When you move to another state, it may not be as diverse as California or New York (unless you’re moving there), but you will experience something different. Even if it’s people from your own background, you get to see how they experience their ethnicity through the lens of the state they are in.

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You Get to Live in Totally Different Weather

Moving to another state can mean experiencing the weather in a whole new way. Some states experience all four seasons in all their glory, while others seem to experience them all in the span of a week or two, like in San Francisco, California. Some states have frigid winters, hurricanes, tornadoes, or scorching summers, like Arizona, and the weather can vary greatly within the borders of a single state. If you do move to a state that has very different weather than your home state, fear not. Just do your research, plan accordingly, buy the essentials, and enjoy the positive weather that comes your way!

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New Food to Try Out and Love

This could be filed under experiencing new cultures, but getting to try new food is so awesome that it deserves to be mentioned on its own. Moving to a new state means experiencing all the culinary delights that state has to offer. Even food you know and love can have a different spin in a new state; take for instance Mexican food. I hear in Arizona, Mexican food is very different from California. I can’t wait to try it out and report back to you guys my findings!

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You Don’t Have to See the Same Idiots Anymore

I usually don’t like to write anything negative, but this is true, funny, and oh so liberating. The exes you don’t want to run into, those friends you dropped when you found out they weren’t really your friends, the family members you’d like to only see on holidays (if that), and all other sorts of people who drain your happiness are not going to be where you’re moving. It’s a fresh new life without drama! Woohoo!

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Everything is Brand New

I touched on this earlier, but it’s definitely worth repeating — moving to a new place means brand new everything! Seriously, how exciting is that? Being in a new environment, of course, can be stressful as you learn to navigate practically everything around you. But it’s an adventure that you sign up for, and there is a lot to look forward to when you make a change like this. This is why people travel, to get to know other places, meet different people, and experience change in their lives. Don’t let the change stress you out. Instead look at it as a fun, exciting, and brand new thing!

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A Sense of Being an Adult and Being Independent

When some kids leave the nest and go to college, moving away is a sign of adulthood and independence from their parents. Moving to a whole new state, no matter what your age is, is a big step in life and takes a lot of adulting to accomplish. You are showing that you can take all you learned as an adult in your home state, and do it all over again from scratch somewhere else.

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You Get to Be the Cool Person from Another State

Whether it’s riding with your old license plate, getting carded, or walking around with your team’s colors (go SF teams!), you instantly stand out in a new state. That goes without saying. Because you’re new in town, people will want to know where you’re from, what it’s like there, and your views on having lived there. Being from a different area is enough of an icebreaker to start a conversation with pretty much anyone. You’re cool and interesting to people because you’re different and from a different place. Inversely, you’ll also want to learn all about the new people living where you move to.

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You Will Appreciate Your Hometown Even More

It pains me to see how much San Francisco has changed. I didn’t want to stick around to see more iconic and historic places closing. I didn’t want to continue seeing rent going up to the point where all natives are forced to leave. I didn’t want to see the spirit of SF dampered. I’ve only been in Arizona for about a month, but I appreciate and love my hometown of San Francisco even more now. Because it’s where I was born and raised and is so much a part of who I am. It’s also beautiful — in all its colors. When you move, it often makes you appreciate the place that molded you. But if that places brings you pain, then celebrate the brand new place you are in now. Pa’lante con esta nueva vida!