Relocating Home!!!

So, now you are done with your schooling overseas and you have probably been working over there for a number of years. Everything is fine - you have a good job, you come back home daily to your lovely apartment, you have a bunch of nice friends but you just feel something is amiss. YOU WANT TO GO HOME!!!

You’ve run this by your friends over there but they just do not understand that this might be your ‘house’ or the country where you live and work, but it is not just ‘home’.  Home is where most of your friends whom you grew up with are, your extended family is there, all those pepper soup joints you love so much, are there too! You’ve gotten tired of speaking another man’s language; you wan ‘yarn’ abeg.

Okay, your mind is now made up; you are coming home. But hey, before you do, here are a few advices to guide your return:

1.       Don’t Panic: I know, your emotions are going awry; you’re happy now, then you are anxious, scared and unsure. If it is a move you have to make, brace yourself. It’s just like going on a new adventure; you may be unsure of where you are going but you are optimistic it will turn out alright.

2.       Reconnect with old friends and contacts: get the names, numbers and email addresses of your old friends, and start re-introducing yourself. This is where your connections on the social networks would yield. Talk to people who have recently been home and learn everything new you can via the internet too.

3.       Identify key members in the industry you want to work in: Find these through media stories about the businesses. Who’s showing strong quarterly results or rolling out new products? Who in particular is being quoted? Other indicators may include Twitter, which you can check to see who has the largest number of followers. These contacts are important because they will signify where the jobs are (in many cases) and the focal point for key networks.

4.       Get employed! This cannot be over-emphasized. Due to the economic downturn, there really are no jobs anywhere, Nigeria included. Get your resume out there; this is not time to be shy. Leverage on the friends and industry contacts you can have. This will afford you the opportunity of knowing who is employing. One thing that can make your relocation depressing is not having a good job.

5.        Send your things home: After all, you have lived in that country for some time now and have a lot of stuffs. You need to sieve through all the things you have and decide the ones to go and the ones to stay – bear in mind the cost of haulage too. Remember if you are relocating to Lagos, the girls in Lagos don’t play so you need to be fashionably dressed all the time, so your heels MUST come home with you. Some other things you aren’t quite sure of, place in storage and dispose of the rest.

6.       Accommodation: After determining what industry you want to work when you come back home, you’ll realize that most of these industries are situated in similar locations. If you are relocating to Lagos and are interested in working with an advertising agency, you’ll find that most of them are situated in the Ikeja area while the telecommunication industry has most of their head offices in Victoria Island; it’s best you situate your accommodation close to your workplace because the stories you’ve heard about the traffic situation here is actually true! Contact a good Real Estate brokerage firm, write them a detailed brief as to your desired location, type of accommodation, required amenities, distance from fun & shopping centres, and of course your budget. Get them to send you as many pictures of different properties as possible and if you can, get a friend or family member to check it out and give you an opinion.

7.       Make travel plans: Now you’ve secured a job at home and gotten an accommodation, there’s no turning back. Put in your notice for resignation, book your flight and arrange for temporary accommodation at your destination, if your place is still under renovation. How do you get from the airport home? Take care of all required paperwork to make your move hitch free. You might also need to send out change of address notices.

Are there more secrets to an easy relocation? Probably, I’m all ears…