# How to Keep a Stressful Move from Affecting Your Marriage



## Administrator (May 8, 2013)

Whether you are moving to another neighborhood in the same city or going all the way across the country, moving can be very stressful. The stress starts well before the actual move, as well – it begins when you start planning for the move and packing up your things. If you aren’t careful the stress and leech its way into your most important relationships. Keep reading to learn some helpful tips for how to keep the stress of your move from affecting your marriage.
*
Understanding How Moving Affects Relationship*

Even if you are moving for a good reason – starting a new job or pursuing another important opportunity – the move itself can be very stressful. It takes a great deal of time and planning to pack up your life in one location and to restart it in another. If you aren’t on the same page as your spouse throughout the entire planning and packing process, the move could be disastrous for your relationship. It is very important that you and your spouse have an honest conversation about the move – do both of you want to go through with it? Will one of you be affected by it more than the other? Share your true feelings and worries about the move instead of keeping them bottled up inside.

If one partner doesn’t like the idea of the move it can sow seeds of resentment in your relationship. It can also become a problem if one of you does more of the work in planning, packing, and transferring your lives. Throughout the process you and your spouse need to be in constant communication and you will both need to be willing to make compromises. You also have to consider how the move might be affecting your children, if you have any. Involve them in the conversation as well so they feel that they have some say in how things go – you don’t want to just make all of the decisions and then force them on your kids.

*Tips for Reducing Stress During a Move*

No matter what the cause, stress can drive a wedge between two people, even if their relationship is incredibly strong. To prevent the stress from overtaking your relationship you and your spouse need to make an effort to stay connected – make important decisions together and talk through the options before you make any big choices. Even if you feel like you are scrambling to get things done, make sure you set some time aside for yourselves. If the reason for your move benefits one of you more than the other, talk about some compromises you might be able to make or make an effort to find ways to ensure that both of you settle in to your new location as quickly as possible.

Even if you plan everything down to the most minute details, there is no way to avoid stress during a move. What you can do, however, is plan ahead and stay connected to your spouse to ensure that the stress of the move doesn’t drive a wedge between you. Be honest with each other and be willing to make compromises – that is the only way to make the move really work.


----------

