How to Avoid Problems
When You Relocate

A medical information manager and mother of two in Princeton, N.J., isn't happy about moving to a quiet Minneapolis suburb for her husband's job. Her two sons, who are in their early teens, won't be either -- when they find out. They won't know until two weeks before the movers pull up, a strategy that will eliminate a summer of complaints from them. They'd protested bitterly for months before they moved to New Jersey from San Diego four years ago, though they adjusted quickly once they'd arrived and started at their new school.

She doesn't want to go through it all again.

As a professional with her own career, she's also upset about leaving her job and casts a jaded eye toward spousal-assistance programs, which she's been through before and found to be of limited use.

Common Problems

This family is anticipating two of the most common problems employees experience when they transfer, relocation consultants say. Relocation is rarely easy or trouble free. But many problems are predictable. That's good news for transferees who have relocated two or more times, but not so good for the uninitiated who relocate only once – 52% of all relocators.

Being prepared can help you make better decisions and ease the transition. Here are some of the snafus you can expect to encounter when you move to take a new job:

1. Your children resent the move. Many people wait until the summer to move so their children can finish the school year. This can be a mistake, says Richard Otto, sales manager at the Impact Group, a career transitions service provider in St. Louis. Children generally are happier if they can start immediately in school, where it's easier to meet friends, even if it means picking up mid-year. Otherwise, they could spend the summer months isolated in their new home, moping and resenting the move.

"Teenagers are not real enthralled about moving. It's not so hard on younger ones," adds Mr. Otto. Teenagers' budding social lives are just beginning to become all-important, he explains. Expect to suffer heavy damages on your phone bills, he warns.

Getting the kids involved in the move will also help smooth the adjustment, says Mr. Otto. Explain why you're making the change, why it's important and what it will mean. Let the children help plan some aspects of the move and make them feel part of the process early on.

2. Your spouse can't find work. As more women build careers and more households depend on two incomes, many relocating couples struggle with this issue. Additionally, more men are finding themselves in the position of being the trailing spouse as their wives pursue high-powered jobs that require them to relocate.

Some companies offer career counseling and job placement for the trailing spouse, says Dennis Ransdell, vice president of corporate relations at ReloAction, a Pleasanton, Calif., relocation management company. However, few have policies in place across the board. If you want assistance, you may want to negotiate a package before accepting an offer, he adds.

The need for such support can vary according to where you live and what kind of position you're taking, says Mr. Ransdell. Employers in the Midwest are less likely to offer help as fewer couples there depend on two incomes. A second paycheck also can be less important to senior-level executives who are more likely to earn higher incomes, he says.

3. You get slammed by hidden costs. Again, this problem is less likely to be a concern to senior managers at large companies, who typically can expect to have all their expenses paid when they move. But less-senior professionals should manage expenses carefully. Review your company's relocation policies to make sure you know what will and won't be covered.

Employees should keep in mind most packages are intended as an assistance program, says Pat O'Connor, director of outsourcing programs at Burnet Relocation, a Minneapolis relocation management firm. "Don't expect to be reimbursed for every dime," she says. If you receive a lump-sum payment package, wait before you rush out and buy a new computer with the cash. Contrary to what many expect, employees rarely make money or break even on such deals.

Further, many moving van lines have complicated fee structures and few transferees understand all the charges on their invoice, says Brian Fudenberg, vice president of sales and marketing at Burnet. You could run up additional expenses for services you thought would be part of the standard package, such as assembling beds, bringing boxes down from the attic, using special crates for fragile possessions, disconnecting gas and electric appliances or even shuttling your possessions to a trailer farther than 75 feet from your front door.

Additionally, timing is critical, Mr. Fudenberg says. If things go wrong with your closing or some other aspect of your move that requires you to put your possessions in storage, be prepared for sticker shock. The first day of storage can be expensive and the total cost could make up 20% to 30% of your overall van-line bill, he says.

4. You don't like the new community. Often transferees move into a new area without knowing enough about it and discover later -- whether because of the schools, housing, commute or culture -- it's not right for them, says Mr. Ransdell, whose firm provides transferees with unbiased and independent evaluations of communities. To ensure a good match, employees may want to consider renting for six months before deciding to purchase a new home there, he says.

5. You're shocked by the cost of living. This issue catches some transferees by surprise, especially employees moving from the Midwest to either coast. You can buy a lot more house for $250,000 in the Midwest than you can in, for example, the San Francisco Bay Area. Many companies will offer cost of living adjustments or mortgage financing to ease the financial pain. But most transferees want to replicate their lives and housing situation as quickly and as easily as possible, says Mr. Otto. When they discover they can't, "they view whatever happens to them as a negative."

For instance, an executive earning $70,000 who moves to New York City from Bloomington, Ind., would need to earn $159,456 to maintain his previous standard of living. But a move from New York to Bloomington would require only a $30,729 salary to stay even.

Who's Transferring

While the typical transferee hasn't changed much recently--most transferees are still white men between the ages of 35 and 45 with two children--workplace demographics are altering the profile, according to a survey by Rochester, Wis.-based Runzheimer International.

An increasing number of relocating employees are under age 35 -- 43% in 1997, compared to 21% in 1996. Further, more are single -- a quarter of transferees in 1997 compared to 16% in 1996. However, fewer transferees have no children -- down to 10% of all transferees in 1997 from 18% in 1996.

Most transferees are in sales and marketing or executive management, but a growing number are engineers or scientists. Additionally, more transferees are ethnic minorities -- 18% in 1997 from 12% in 1996 -- or women, 20% in 1997 compared to 16% in 1996.

Ms. Lorber is managing editor of the National Business Employment Weekly.

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