Hear from Maia Thomas, Responsible Business Apprentice in the Manchester office, about her experience moving to a new city shortly after accepting a role and what her experience has meant for her.
I started my move from Northampton to Manchester at the age of 18 after accepting my offer with Addleshaw Goddard as Responsible Business Apprentice. I accepted my offer in August and was aiming to move by the end of September, which didn’t leave me much time to find an apartment, buy furniture, and move my belongings into a new city. Thankfully, during this time I had support from my dad to drive us to Manchester and view apartments (putting in an offer and signing the contract by the 2nd apartment!).
There are a few points I’d like to highlight to help someone re-locating, learnt through mistakes/challenges I faced during my move. Checking stock and locations is crucial to making buying furniture as easy as possible. I started renting an un-furnished apartment, which required planning on how my dad, and I were going to get the furniture to my apartment. As I had moved from a small village in Northampton, to a big city, there weren’t many opportunities to go to an IKEA. Originally, we had planned to go to Birmingham’s IKEA in a hired van on the way to Manchester, but they didn’t have stock of the items I was looking for, therefore leading to several back-and-forth trips in Manchester over a 2-day period, which was not an enjoyable experience. If I was to do this again, I would have arranged collections of the furniture more in advance to avoid the repeat trips and ensure I get the items I am looking for.
Starting fresh in a new city is a difficult but rewarding experience; adjusting to living alone, balancing work, social life, and life admin can become very challenging, but it is important to find friends at work, in the city, at universities etc. and maintain a support group both inside and outside of your daily job. I receive plenty of support from my team and colleagues as I often get asked how I find Manchester, alongside being away from my family, which breeds an environment where I can be open about how I’m doing. It is extremely easy to become small in a city and get on with life without putting yourself out there, staying ‘comfortable’, it is important to learn who you are as a person, and strive toward the life you want to live, not what you can become accustomed to.
Exploring your area and making your space your own, whether it’s plants, decorations, or clutter, is important for feeling like your new space is ‘home’, which can be tricky when moving from somewhere you stayed for a long time. I’d suggest visiting cafes, social clubs, and gyms to start creating routine, and potentially meet people in your new neighbourhood, this will help speed up the process of feeling like a small fish in a massive pond.
Overall, relocating from my family home had its challenges, and required consistency and resilience; however, if I were given the choice to do it again, I would. The experiences I’ve had in the city, and new people I’ve met have made it all worthwhile.