Career Advice: When Relocating for Work is the Right Option

Relocating for work is an enormous decision. You’ll be moving your entire life - and potentially your families’ lives too - for a career, and there can be absolutely huge implications for that.

As well as changing jobs, you’ll need to get to grips with new surroundings, find somewhere new to live and physically make the move. It’s a lot to deal with! 

However, when relocating is truly the right option, it can be the best decision you’ll ever make. 

Here’s when relocating for work is the right option.

1. Quality of life 

If your relocation will bring you and your family a better quality of life, then it will undeniably be the right decision for you. 

Quality of life can be determined in a number of ways. Perhaps your commute will shorten, meaning you get more time at home with your family. Alternatively, it could be that you get flexible working hours at your new job, meaning that you can work your hours around childcare and stop missing quality family moments. 

It could be that your new job is a significant financial increase, meaning that your family will be more financially stable and thus able to enjoy more holidays, or a general increased quality of life.

Perhaps your new job would move you closer to your family, meaning that you can enjoy time together a lot more. It could also mean that you’ll get to travel to exciting destinations as part of work, thus broadening your horizons!

If you feel like relocating for work will increase your happiness - then it sounds like it’s the right option for you. 

1. Timing is everything 

It’s undeniable that timing needs to be on your side for your relocation to be smooth and beneficial for your family.

For example, if your children are in the middle of the school year, or if your partner has reached a fantastic point in their career - it can be tricky to get the timing right to make relocation work for you.

If time is on your side, if you have children and they transition to a new school easily, if you’re not in an awkward stage of your renting cycle, and if your partner has plenty of time to find themselves a new job, or to continue making their existing job work, then relocating might be the right option for you. 

1. Your career progression is clear

While relocating doesn’t need to be forever, it’s important that the job you’re planning to relocate for will fulfill your career ambitions and offer you some progression or exciting opportunities. 

If you’re going to move your entire family and your life to a new location, then your new opportunity needs to offer you plenty of opportunity for progression so that you can enjoy an exciting career with plenty of goals and opportunities. 

When you can foresee a future for yourself that includes exciting challenges, learning opportunities and developmental steps - it sounds like relocating could be the right option for you. 

1. Your family are on board 

Whether you live with a partner, have children or are currently living close to your parents or other family members - it’s important that they’re on board for your relocation to be a success.

If you have the support of your nearest and dearest and they’re willing to back you for this opportunity - then what have you got to lose?

If you’ve been presented a relocation opportunity and it meets the aforementioned criteria, then it sounds like it might be the right option for you - and you should grab the opportunity with both hands!