3 Tips on Moving and Settling in a New City
By: Thomas Cummings, Associate Consultant
After spending my first two months at Veeva working remotely as an Associate Consultant in Paris, I was delighted to be able to move to Barcelona last January. With the move came all the excitement of discovering a city, a country, and a culture I knew quite little about.
However, this was not the first time I had to find my bearings in new surroundings. I have actually spent most of my life moving every couple of years, and have been fortunate to discover a number of wonderful places this way including Paris, Munich, San Francisco, Frankfurt, Visp (Switzerland), and Toulouse.
As many new, old and future Veevans prepare to move to new cities and might be feeling nervous about leaving their comfort zone this way, I would like to share three less obvious tips that have helped me make my entire experience a lot more enjoyable and interesting.
- The ideal living place
I’ve found that finding a great place to live is about finding the right balance between two rules: The perfect place doesn’t exist; don’t search forever. The place you are going to live in is going to influence every aspect of your life, so search wisely.
No matter how tempting it is to quickly choose a fair-priced and well-located apartment or shared flat after a quick visit, I can tell you many horror stories of construction work, sewage fumes, mad roommates, pests, or devious rental contracts. So you may guess what my opinion is about housing websites with a virtual-tour-only policy.
- The locals
Especially when starting at Veeva, it is truly awesome to discover and enjoy life in a new city, travel, and perhaps even move into a shared flat with fellow Veevans. In addition to enjoying the fun within the ‘Veeva Bubble’, I would however also highly recommend connecting with the locals of the city (even if this requires a few language courses!). This will not only open you to new friendships and local advice but give you the authentic experience of truly settling in the new city. It also happens that chatting with local offer interesting and valuable external perspective e about Vevea. And when they don’t, they can be a great way to fully disconnect from the work world! There are countless different ways of getting to know locals, from joining sports or art associations to walking up to a bee-keeper in a city park and asking him what he’s doing. Never underestimate how happy locals can be to welcome foreigners who make an effort!
3. Hidden gems
Every city has hidden gems. Delightful museums, bars, gardens, theatres, markets, historical locations, or activity programs that are hardly advertised in guide books and websites. I’ve personally never regretted making an extra effort to look out for these hidden ‘minor’ attractions that will give you a substantial amount of trivia as well as a better sense of the ‘pulse’ of the city.
Tip: A fun and interactive way of discovering off-the-beaten-track locations is through the treasure hunt game Geocaching. This combines the search for a small treasure box with local history and recommendations.
For this afternoon, let’s see who’s up for joining me on a guided tour of the Barcelona Museum of Funeral Carriages :)
I hope these tips can help you make the most of your arrival in a new city. These are simple tips that you may already think of. I’m here to tell you there tried and true. If you have any questions or would just like to have a chat, I’d be delighted to!
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Veeva.
