In the months following the tragic loss of a loved one, it can be difficult for you to move on, particularly if the relationship was close or of long standing. It can be even more painful if you have to make your way through the mundanities of day-to-day life in the same house, neighborhood, or town that your loved one called home. One of the ways you can start to deal with your grief is by selling your house and moving to a new place. Here are some ways a change in scenery can benefit you.
Moving can help you save money
While you may be too overwrought to think of financial matters now, you may find that you would need to find a new place to live, even without painful accompanying emotional triggers. The cost to maintain a home and the standard of living to which you have become accustomed is likely high, and you will now have to think about how to maintain your lifestyle on your own. Depending on your current state of affairs, you may be able to save a great deal of money by moving to a smaller house or apartment in a less expensive area. Keep in mind that this does not mean you necessarily have to move across the country. Sometimes you can find a great deal simply by moving across town or even down the street.
You may also find that you no longer need the same amount of space as you did when you lived with your loved one. A decently sized apartment with your preferred amenities may still cost significantly less than your current house. Always prepare appropriately. If you are looking for a different town, start by researching where you can get the best mortgage rate.
Moving to a new area can help you process your grief
A change in scenery can help you begin to move on from your loss. Places are often imbued with the memories of experiences that have taken place there and the people who called them home. In many cases, the dramatic, expensive adventures that you and your loved one may have shared together may be less painful to recall than your loved one’s simple daily habit of walking to the local corner store or spending an hour in the park. Additionally, you may find that spending time in your town without your loved one may bring forward different parts of town or things that you may not even have consciously known had an emotional connection.
Keep in mind, these emotional triggers are not necessarily negative things. In time, as you process and eventually accept your grief, they often become tinged with nostalgia and the melancholy joy of memory. However, particularly in the months immediately following the death of your loved one, repeated exposure to these kinds of triggers may be too much for you to bear.
By moving to a different city, state, or region, you will help to remove yourself from those emotional triggers. This is vastly different from willingly forgetting your loved one. You still have the memories of the life you shared together, as well as whatever mementos you have chosen to keep. The same idea applies when you are going through your loved ones belongings – take the objects with the most meaning attached to them, for both yourself and the memory of your loved one, and eventually this will help you move forward. A change in location can simply make it easier to pass the days. Once you no longer experience painful memories every time you walk through your house or drive down the street, the healing process will be able to begin in earnest.
Grief is an inherently lengthy, painful process, but sometimes can be made even more painful through prolonged exposure to emotional triggers. Moving may help you begin to deal with your grief while saving money as you adjust to your changing circumstances.
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