10 inspirations for a happy family relocation. By Jutta Depner
Naturally, each move is different. Yet, still, there are some activities to support success through novelty and challenges that every relocation brings:
1. Appreciate what you left…
- What are you grateful for?
- How will you positively discontinue relationships and places?
- Some relations will last – how do you expect them to change?
2. Study your family’s identity…
- Who are you here and now?
- What motivated you to move?
- Which changes do you expect as a family?
3. Build a new home…
- What does “home spice” smell like for you?
- What can you improve compared to your previous home?
- What is soul food? Enjoy it occasionally as a treat. Explore new tastes and textures as additions to family food.
4. Be creative – monitor your development…
- With pictures, mind maps, emoticons on graphs, through music or annual photo books.
- Express your experiences in extraordinary ways and review from time to time to get amazed about your development.
5. Stay special to each other…
- Keep up family rituals.
- Celebrate your personal events.
- Create the family language by adapting from the new local language in a way that only you will understand.
6. “Show and Tell”
- Share your experiences: your likes and dislikes, what you love to incorporate and what you will never get used to.
- Vent in the intimacy of your family and invite each other to the positive sides.
7. Find new friends…
- It takes time to establish friendships. Actively manage the process: use the recommendations friends gave to you, become a member of a church, in clubs, school PTA and try it out. In case you don’t feel at ease – let go lightly and start at a different place.
8. Give time…
- To each member of the family team with different speeds and new rhythms and habits.
- To find your ways around; even small achievements can take long in the beginning.
- To your body, it needs to adjust to new food, new sounds and smells and a new micro-climate.
9. Embrace surprise…
- You make a friend on your very first day – wonderful!
- The more people there are on board, the bigger the chances for challenging surprises. Most are going to settle over time. If not, there are people and organisations who will support you. No need to hesitate, open up to external help.
10. Profit from your base back home…
Friends and family will help and be compassionate. However, they cannot see the whole picture and especially family, may worry more than you like them to in case you include them in every struggle.
Invite them to come and visit. Especially kids will be proud to guide through your new life physically an you will experience together how much you have already achieved.
Want to know more? Call to chat with Jutta today…
+852 2789 9907
Psynamo Limited
1201 Car Po Commercial Building
18-20 Lyndhurst Terrace
Central, Hong Kong
flourish@psynamo.com