Services Provide Welcome Relief to Moving Experience
Making a move from one place to another is always difficult, and as a single person, you may be facing it alone, often with no support system to lean upon.
A single person sometimes relocates to a new town, new home and new job in one step. For the single custodial parents, there is the added pressure of helping children adjust to new surroundings.
Growing comfortable with a new job, new home and new friends may simply take time; however, there are ways single people can hasten the process.
The Smart Move specializes in minimizing moving trauma. “We take up where the moving van leaves off,” says Patty Dakides, founder and president of the Laguna Hills-based company.
For $25 an hour, Dakides and company will coordinate your move, unpack, line the shelves, wash, clean, organize and, if you wish, decorate your new home.
A well-worn and weary transplantee can come home after a long first day at the office to discover a dinner complete with wine, fresh-cut flowers and a card that reads “Welcome to your new home” waiting on the table.
“When everything is in order on the home front, the rest of life seems to run more smoothly,” Dakides says.
Betsy Collins started Irvine-based Bright Beginnings, a neighborhood welcoming service, five years ago when she was newly single. “My husband and I split up suddenly after our move here. I had lived in Ft. Worth for many years, and I hadn’t made any friends. Starting the company was really a defense against the devastation of a 28-year marriage.”
Working with local chambers of commerce, city officials, real estate agents and referrals from private citizens, Collins and her daughter, Melanie Hodgson, cover an eight-city spread from Fountain Valley to Newport Beach.
They phone new residents to schedule a “welcoming” appointment. Then they dispatch a company representative to each recipient’s home, bearing free and “dollars-off” coupons for goods and services offered by local sponsors. “We also present them with a valuable packet of civic information that includes a letter of greeting from the mayor, maps, DMV and voter registration information,” Collins says.
Local retailers, such as beauty salons, fast-food chains, department stores and malls, offer free gifts of haircuts, pizza and dry-cleaning services. Health care professionals, such as dentists, doctors, optometrists and chiropractors, offer complimentary teeth cleaning or a free medical diagnostic evaluation.
The welcoming packet also includes information on social, cultural and charity groups. “We leave each newcomer with a consumer directory of sponsors and our phone number, in case they have any questions or require further assistance,” Hodgson adds.
Bright Beginnings welcomes all newcomers, single or married. For new citizens who reside in South Orange County, Collins and Hodgson offer free referrals to other neighborhood welcoming services.
Both mother and daughter are unmarried, and they believe that single people on their own have special needs when relocating to a new place. “The toughest part about being new in town,” Hodgson says, “is taking that first step of getting to know your community.”
They offer these tips to help singles make a smoother and faster transition:
Get involved mentally, physically and spiritually, according to your interests. Join groups that cater to your favorite pastimes and hobbies.
Subscribe to a newspaper and regional magazine so you can learn about the area. They list places to visit, dine and shop, and publish information about scheduled events that can acquaint you with singles activities and cultural events.
Nearly all large apartment or condominium complexes organize regularly scheduled events, from aerobics classes to Sunday brunches, barbecues and ski trips. Many of the participants will be new to the area. Take advantage of these offerings. Many are low cost and some are free.
Networking is the name of the game for any professional, especially if you’re single. Contact the chamber of commerce in your area. You need not be a business owner to join your local chamber. The general public is welcome. Fees vary among chapters, but average annual membership runs about $75 for non-business owners. With a variety of motivational breakfasts, mixers, cocktail parties and other events offered throughout the year, you can make valuable business and social connections.
It’s rare to find a native Californian in Orange County. Why not start your own newcomer’s social group?
Ask other people who have moved to Orange County for suggestions on making a smooth transition. People enjoy being helpful, and they will probably extend a social invitation.
Don’t wait for someone else to make the first move. If you want to be part of your new environment, you need to show your interest in it.
It’s easy to bury yourself in work when you don’t have new friends or your social calendar is unfettered. But don’t get into a routine that you can’t change once your social life perks up.
Make a point of an in-person meeting with the parents of your child’s friends. Not only is this something that every parent should do, but you will widen your social network.
Reach out. Let people know you need them. Talk to people at your health club, the dry cleaners, at church or while doing volunteer work. As a newcomer, your best resource is other people.
