The three decisions people make too early
Buying a house before you know the area
A house is the largest, least reversible purchase most families make, and relocating buyers frequently make it within weeks of arriving, based on a weekend of viewings and a school rating website. Selling again inside two years usually costs more than a year of rent.
Furnishing a home you may leave
Furnishing a family home from scratch is a serious expense before you count delivery, assembly and the six weeks of sitting on the floor waiting for the sofa. If you move again in a year, most of it does not come with you economically.
Signing a lease on an unfurnished home
An unfurnished lease looks cheaper per month. Add furniture, appliances, kitchen equipment and linens and the first-year cost is often higher than a furnished lease — with the added cost of your time.
What a furnished year actually buys you
- Time to see the commute in real traffic, in the worst month of the year.
- Time to visit schools in person rather than reading ratings.
- Time to learn which neighbourhoods feel right, which is not something a website can tell you.
- Time for a job to settle before you tie a mortgage to it.
- Time to build local credit and rental history, which materially improves what you can borrow later.
Relocation checklist
1. Confirm your move date and the earliest you need to be housed.
2. Set a rent budget and hold to it — furnished leases cost more per month than unfurnished, but they fold in furniture, appliances, kitchen equipment and linens.
3. Shortlist two or three areas rather than one. Stay flexible.
4. Gather documents: identification, proof of income or employment, references, visa status if applicable.
5. Arrange a furnished twelve-month lease before you arrive, not after.
6. Register for utilities, schools and a local driving licence in the first month.
7. Revisit the buy-or-rent question at month nine, with everything you have learned.