How time flies when you are having fun. Oh how true this statement is. It is almost one year since I moved into my current apartment with my partner and the time has literally zoomed past. Whilst it has been a fantastic year living in our great little property, it did dawn on me recently just how long addresses stick in our minds.
With Christmas having been and gone, it was the festivities themselves which made me think about addresses and more precisely, did my friends and family all have my most up to date address. I had been in the property 10 months after all so surely they would know. But how would they, if I hadn’t contacted them and told them, why would they? Did I even care?
I am almost 12 months at this address now and sometimes still want to put the postcode of previous places I have lived. I don’t even move around a lot, I literally had lived in two places until the age of 19, but since moving to London 6 years ago I have had five different addresses in six years, still not that many but still more than I would have had if I hadn’t have moved to the capital.
When you move around it is very important that you update all of your documents and paperwork. This is the one thing I hate most about moving. So you don’t forget and to help you with moving in the future, I comprised a quick list of things to not only change, but also check before/after moving to help you remember what needs to be done.
- Get your mail redirected. You do not have to wait until you have moved in to your new property to set up the redirect and setting it up can help catch any letters that may fall through the cracks from places you have not remembered to notify about your move. It is not that expensive to do and the only time I have not done it, I ended up not getting some important paperwork about my university until several months after it was sent!
- Tell your bank. This is probably one of the most important to prevent your details from falling into the wrong hands, even if you do not get sent a paper statement anymore, still let them know so they can update their records.
- New insurance. Optional of course, but regardless of whether you are buying or renting it never comes in wrong to have contents insurance to protect your possessions. Some mortgage terms actually state that you need buildings insurance too in order to take the mortgage so do look out for that.
- Drive with caution. You need to apply for an updated license with your new address on. You can apply for this to be updated on the government website or by post and it is FREE so get it done as you could be fined up to £1000 if you don’t. You need to also change details on your car ownership documents and insurance policies you may have on your vehicle. You may also need to apply for a parking permit for the new property.
- Take final meter readings. Make a note of gas, electric, water and anything else that you might have going in to your property that you need to keep track of. You don’t want to get billed for someone else’s usage.
- Move your TV licence. This is not something I have ever had to do because I have never owned a TV but this is something most people will want to get on top of as soon as possible.
- Get broadband set up. Sometimes your provider will not be available in the new area so make sure you check first. We have all had that black zone week or two where we have no internet in our house just after moving. It is always worth having a look to see what is the best deal for you when you move as well, as switching could save you some pennies.
- Register with a new doctor/dentist. This won’t always be necessary if you are moving down the road, but if you are switching areas, make sure you find yourself some healthcare.
- Tell your employer. Notifying your place of employment is essential – you do not want legal documents or even your pay slips, if you get them in the post, going to the wrong address. The last time I moved, it took my employer at the time three and a half months to get my address changed! It is also good to tell student loans companies, no matter how reluctantly you do so, so they can keep track of you.
- Subscriptions. Before you move, look at changing the address on services you subscribe to. Some companies, work 6-10 weeks in advance when it comes to their rewards vouchers and mailings, so as soon as you know you new address, get things changed over so you don’t miss out. Also take care when ordering things online. If your pages auto populate with all of your information, make sure that all of this is updated – nobody wants their things being shipped to the old address.
It is also useful to actually tell your friends and family. Provided that fleeing from them is not the reason for your move, it is good to let them know where you are going. These are just some of the most useful pointers to change over when you move house.
As careful as we may be to change everything over, no doubt we will all log in to some site months or even years down the line and be confronted with an address from several residencies ago, but we are only human at the end of the day.
Did I miss any critical points out that you do when you move? Let me know in the comments below.
Ellies London 
I am so glad I found this post! Moving is such a a nightmare anyway, so it’s nice to have a thorough checklist. My husband and I are probably buying a house this year (eep!), so I hope that’ll be the end of our nomadic lifestyle. Either way, we’ll remember who to notify. Thanks!
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Right? I know what you mean – I have moved a few times since coming to London and I always seem to miss a few of these off. Since I know I will be moving again in the Spring, I thought this would be useful! I think remembering to tell people I move is the one I am worst at! x
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What an incredibly useful checklist you have provided here! When I moved I forgot the little things like changing the address on my driving licence. All who are moving home ought to read and bookmark this post xxx
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Thank you so much – that’s very kind ♥ I’m glad you find it useful – I always tend to find myself forgetting at least a few of these with every move! x
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I learnt so much from your post. Even though I have moved a lot here in Greece, there is no need update the address on the license. Great tips. It is interesting to learn from the experience of other people.
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Thank you – I’m glad you found it useful/informative! Of course things will vary from country to country but some, like telling friends you have moved, that’s a universal one! 😂
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This covers all of it, thank you! I’ve moved house many times and updating things can be a pain. This list at least makes it easier 🙂
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Thank you so much – your words are so kind and I am glad that you found the list helpful 😀
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This is a really good list of what needs to be done when moving. I have moved several times and I often forget to update something, which leaves me scrambling to get it done. We are hoping to move later this year, so this is a good reminder of what we need to make sure to do for that move.
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A list really can help – I have moved a few times since coming to London and will move again this year and thought this would be a big help for not only myself but others ♥ I’m glad you found this useful x
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This is a great list! I recently moved house and there were so many things to update and change my address for. I found it helpful to write a list of every single place I needed to tell about my change of address.
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I’m glad you found the list useful! Thank goodness for a good old fashion list – we would be so lost without them! x
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Such a helpful checklist – we moved to our current home over ten years ago and the amount of documentation you have to update is horrendous. The driving licence was relatively straightforward but having to notify banks, building societies, stocks/shares and insurance companies was a complete pain! Thank you for sharing this 🙂 x
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It really is – I have moved quite a lot in recent years and feel your pain! It sounds like the list of places to tell only gets longer and longer 😲🥱 When did being an adult get to be so much fun…
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I have moved to austria so moving somewhere is not easy.
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Oh wow – it’s interesting some of the comments here, people advising of how easy/hard moving where they are is! Hopefully it isn’t too stressful 😬
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That’s great advice Ellie! I recently had to do this and it’s such a headache. I’ll also add to the list insurers, pension providers and the student loan company.
Didi | http://www.didicrawford.com
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Oh yeah, they’re great things to add. I don’t usually have to change insurers or pension providers and I’m usually moving house when I move jobs, but student loans can always track me down! I also need to add to the list changing your details with any investments you have ♥️
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Great list of reminders – it’s always such a hectic time when you are moving!
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Thank you – glad you found the list useful 😁
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I haven’t moved yet but this will be such a useful post for when I do move! 😊 thanks for the tips xx
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Thank you for reading and commenting ❤️ I’m glad you found my list useful 😁
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Remember all the trips to the charity shops and the tip? Its amazing all the stuff you accumulate over the years. I would say to people sort out your bits and bobs now even if you are not moving. Chances are you will never miss them😊
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Yeah it’s really easy to not miss the things you get rid of, but for some reason think oh i might use this one day! 😵 The perks of living in a lil London flat is that everything needs to have its own space, or just don’t buy it! Otherwise my flat would look like a hoarder home! 😜
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Great points! Moving is such a nightmare and quite often you end up forgetting things so lists like these are always super helpful. I always make lists of what I need to change and update by usually something slips through the net 🤦🏻♂️ thanks for sharing! X
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I do love a good list – especially the ones where you finally cross something off and then realise you have about ten more things to add! I’m glad you found this useful – thank you for commenting x
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This is great, I think you’ve covered it all. Hope I’ll need this list soon 😉😃
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Me too! 😁 Love a good list – written in coloured pens! ♥️
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These are all great tips and I would know I have moved more times then I care to remember.
Allie of
http://www.allienyc.com
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Thank you 😊 I’m glad you found them useful. It can help a lot to have these things written down too! X
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Such a helpful list. This topic came up amongst friends on the weekend and I was surprised who had/hadn’t done some of the really straightforward ones. I guess with the stress of the move it often slips peoples mind! The only one I would add is the electoral register!
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It really can – moving can make you forget your name some days! The electoral register is such a good one and very important < see, I made a list of things to remember and even forgot something this important! 😂😲
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