At this age, it's not news to anyone that change can be scary, but usually ends up being a positive thing. Whether it's changing your hair color, changing schools, changing friend groups or changing wherever it is that you call home, change is the essential key to bettering our lives. However, making a big change in your life comes with a price, and isn't always easy. Here are six pros and cons to making a big change by moving to a new city.
Pro: Everything is new and exciting!
Discovering the local restaurants, parks, clothing stores and all of the fun things to do in your neighborhood makes even a visit to the local Starbucks seem exciting. Every day you spend in a new city, you'll experience something you haven't experienced before, making each new day that much more interesting and memorable.
Con: You almost never know where you're going.
Getting lost becomes a daily activity itself when you're trying to acclimate yourself to a new location. Maps will quickly become your new best friend, and you'll just have to accept being that person with their eyes glued to their phone while they try to navigate through the bustling streets for a few weeks (or months).
Pro: You get to have a clean slate and a fresh start.
You get to be whoever you want to be, and create the life that you want for yourself without anyone or anything holding you back. The less people you know the better, because no one will be there to bring up whatever baggage remains in your old life.
Con: You have very few friends.
If you know one or a few people it can definitely be comforting, but for the most part you'll be spending a lot of your early days on your own until you can meet people and form a new friend group. It can be hard at first, but just know that it'll all come together once you meet the right people!
Pro: You get to experiment with new restaurants and new foods.
Every city has their own food specialty, so wherever you go you'll wind up experimenting with something new. Whether it's pizza from Brooklyn, NY or BBQ from Kansas City, you're bound to enjoy it and feel so lucky to be eating it in the place where it's done best. It'll be fun to try out all of the local spots and eat a few authentic meals, until you become one of the regulars yourself.
Con: You spend a lot of money.
When you don't know exactly what you're getting yourself into, it's easy to drop loads of cash completely by accident. Before you know it, you're racking up a $70 Uber charge because you don't know how to use public transportation, or getting a $35 manicure because you didn't do your research beforehand, and eating out every night because you don't have all of the supplies you need to cook. Eventually you'll figure it out, but your wallet will definitely take a hit when you first arrive.