Moving day, and settling in afterwards.

The week before

• Confirm completion date and time with the solicitor and the removals firm.
• Pack a first-night box: kettle, mugs, tea, milk, loo roll, medication, phone chargers, bedding, towels, toiletries, a change of clothes, scissors, a torch, bin bags, cash. It goes in the car, not the van.
• Pack a first-week case as if for a holiday.
• Arrange for a friend or family member to be with you on the day, and someone to look after pets.
• Defrost the freezer, use up the fridge.
• Take final meter readings and photograph them on the morning you leave.

Moving day

• Do not sit outside the new house at 9am. Keys come when your solicitor confirms the money has arrived, usually late morning to early afternoon.
• When you get in: meter readings first, photographed. Find the stopcock, the fuse box and the boiler controls.
• Have the removals team put the bed together and the kettle on before anything else.
• Check everything the seller said would be there, is. Tell your solicitor today if not.
• Get a locksmith to change the locks in the first day or two. You do not know who has keys.
• Order a takeaway, and stop.

The admin: who to tell

Who	Why
The council (old and new)	Council tax, and the single-person discount if it applies. Register to vote at the new address.
The Pension Service / DWP	State Pension, Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance. Also report the money from the sale if you receive means-tested benefits.
HMRC	Address change; it matters for tax codes and letters.
Private and workplace pension providers	So payments and statements keep arriving.
Bank, building society, credit cards, Premium Bonds	Statements, cards, security.
DVLA	Driving licence and vehicle log book. It is a legal requirement.
GP, dentist, optician, pharmacy	Register locally in the first week; ask about repeat prescriptions before you run out.
Insurance	Buildings from exchange; contents from moving day; car insurance (a new postcode changes the premium).
Utilities and broadband	Close the old accounts with your readings; open the new ones. Then shop around; the tariff you inherit is rarely the best.
TV licence, subscriptions, clubs, charities	The ones that write to you.
Solicitor	Update your will with the new address, and check the powers of attorney are registered.

Royal Mail redirection for 12 months catches the ones you forget.

Settling in: the first month

• Unpack the sitting room and the bedroom first, with the pictures up. A home with photographs on the wall feels like yours.
• Knock on the neighbours' doors. A two-minute hello now saves months of nodding awkwardly.
• Find the essentials on foot: shop, pharmacy, bus stop, post office, café.
• Join something in the first month, whatever it is: the library, a walking group, the U3A, a church, a volunteer shift, a class. One thing, weekly, on the calendar.
• Have the family to visit early, so the new place has memories in it too.

Settling in: the first six months

Expect a flat patch after the boxes are gone. It is normal and it passes. Most people say the new place felt like home after about six months and that they belonged after a year. Keep the weekly thing going, say yes to invitations, and go back to see the old friends. If you are not coping, tell your GP; it is a big change and there is no prize for doing it alone.

Set up a small repairs fund (about 1% of the home's value a year), put the mortgage or service charge review dates in the diary, and file the completion statement, survey and guarantees somewhere the family could find them.

A note on the numbers. Tax thresholds, benefit limits and typical costs are correct as far as we know at the time of writing (2026) and, unless we say otherwise, are for England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland differ in places. Rules change and your circumstances matter. This is information, not advice: check the current position and talk to a solicitor, an FCA-authorised adviser or a tax professional before you act.