What to Do When Your Best Friend Is Moving Away

“One for all and all for one!”

The famous quote has long inspired and fascinated people all over the world, encouraging true friends to help and trust each other, making them believe that they will never be alone, no matter what.

And indeed, it is your best friend who will be there for you through thick and thin, who will support you through every challenge and will follow you in every dream, who will rejoice at your happiness and will share your pain… Up until the moment when this dear friend of yours reaches a turning point in their life and has to move away to a different city, or a different state, or a different country.

The news for the upcoming relocation will probably come as a shock, leaving you speechless and battered, and completely at a loss. However sad and confused you may feel in such a situation, though, you need to remember that your friend is probably even more stressed and upset by the imminent change.

Your buddy will need you more than ever in such a difficult period in their life. But what can you do to help them, to comfort them and reduce the stress? How to deal with your best friend moving away? How to handle it all?

The following “Best Friend Moving Away Survival Tips” may be exactly what you’re going to need under such dire circumstances.

Be Supportive

Your best friend is at the threshold of a new life. The least you can do in this unnerving moment is to be as supportive as possible. So, be brave enough to overcome your own sadness and find the strength to reassure your friend that everything is going to be alright.

Show how much you care

Tell your friend how excited you are for the great new opportunity they’re going to have, how happy you are for them.

Research all the positive aspects of the area they’re moving to and point them out to your friend. Ensure them it seems to be an awesome place and they will certainly love it. Encourage them to explore it at length and to make every effort to adjust to the new environment as quickly as possible.

Like any move-related pictures or comments your friend posts on Facebook and never miss a chance to lighten the mood with a joke or two, to express your sincere wishes for good luck, and to get everyone excited about the big move. Your friend will appreciate the sentiment.

Offer a sympathetic ear

Your friend will certainly have plenty of apprehensions and worries, expectations and hopes regarding the forthcoming relocation. Listen carefully to everything they have to say to help them vent their feelings and try to come up with some useful and reasonable advice. Make every effort to ease your pal’s anxiety and reassure them that things will change for the better.

Tell your best friend you’re going to miss them a lot but the relocation will not affect your relationship and will not sever your special bond. Promise to stay in touch. Always.

Help your friend move

Helping your best friend move away from you may seem to be a bit too much. However, you probably don’t want your dear pal falling victim to moving scams, or having an accident while trying to move all their belongings by themselves, or wasting so much time sorting through miscellaneous items and packing for moving that they can’t even spare a moment for you, do you? So, get over your self-pity and lend your friend a helping hand:

1) Find a reliable moving company for your friend to hire.

• Reach out to all your friends, relatives and acquaintances who have moved recently and ask for opinions, recommendations and feedback on the moving companies they worked with;
• Find out how to prevent moving fraud and ensure a safe relocation;
• Read online moving reviews, visit moving websites, and compare the tariffs and conditions different moving companies offer;
• Make a list of licensed, insured, and trustworthy movers who seem to perfectly meet your friend’s particular relocation needs.

You will save your buddy plenty of time and will help them avoid moving scams.

2) Help your friend organize and pack their items.

Sorting out a lifetime’s worth of belongings and packing them safely for shipment is a time-consuming and laborious process you can easily help with.

• Spend several hours at your friend’s place and put your renowned organizational skills to work. It will be quite fun going through your buddy’s possessions together – you will have the chance to spend some more time in each other’s cherished company, chat your stress away and relish in the fond memories of your shared past evoked by some half-forgotten items you come across;
• Help your friend decide which of their possessions to take and which ones to get rid of before the move. Go one step further and help your pal organize a garage sale (if they want to sell some of their no-longer-needed belongings), offer to take the unwanted stuff to a charity center or to a recycling center, etc.;
• Look around your home for packing supplies you can give to your friend – every cardboard box you find stored and forgotten in your garage or attic will save your buddy some money on packing materials;
• Help your friend pack their belongings as safely and efficiently as possible – wrap and pack every single item with utmost care, provide optimal protection for all the articles that will be loaded on the moving truck, and make sure every box is well padded, tightly sealed, and properly labeled.

3) Offer help on Moving day

Moving day will be the greatest challenge you and your friend are going to face during the relocation period – both physically and emotionally. You need to adopt the grown-up approach and do your best to prevent both unforeseen accidents and nervous breakdowns.

• Go to your friend’s place a couple of hours before the movers arrive and help your pal prepare well – finish packing, remove obstacles from the way, cover the floors, walls and banisters with protective materials in order to prevent property damage and personal injuries, etc.;
• Offer your friend to take care of their kids and/or pets during the chaotic moving procedures, so that they don’t have to worry about the little ones’ safety and well-being;
• Bring home-made food for everyone to keep the energy levels high and the mood – light;
• Hold your tears and make your final goodbye as cheerful as possible – use an insider joke to chase away the sadness, tell your friend they’re lucky to move to such an awesome place, and hug them really, really tight.

Good to remember: In the event of a self-move, your friend will need help not only planning and organizing the relocation but also lifting and carrying heavy items, loading and driving the rented moving vehicle, etc. Make sure you are there when your buddy needs you.

SEE ALSO: The ultimate moving game – let friends help you move

Spend as Much Time Together as Possible

Spend every spare minute you have before Moving day with your friend:

• Go fishing, or go camping, or go dancing, or go playing your favorite sport together – just do whatever you love doing with your special friend once again;
• Spend entire weekends just hanging around, taking long walks in the park, watching movies, or chatting away;
• Have dinner at your favorite restaurant, get a drink at your favorite bar and ask the bartender to play your favorite songs that night, revisit every favorite location of yours and indulge in bittersweet memories;
• Take plenty of photos, videos and voice recordings – some tangible memories of your friend will help you deal with the pain when they are gone.

Stockpiling memories will not make it hurt less when you separate but will at least give you something to go by until you see each other again.

Get Your Special Goodbye

If saying goodbye is hard, then you should consider yourself lucky – having someone in your life who is hard to say goodbye to means that you have found a soul mate, that you have not been and will never be alone. So, the least you can do in appreciation of the time spent with this special person you call your best friend, is to find a way to express your deep feelings for them and give your buddy a heartfelt send-off.

1) Organize a farewell party

A goodbye party will not be all joy and fun (tears are certain to make an appearance at some point), but every joke and every smile you share on that special occasion will embed cherished memories in yours and your friend’s mind.

Eat your favorite snacks, enjoy your favorite drinks, listen to your favorite music, dance, tell jokes, recall funny events, go wild – anything that will make you laugh, that will make you remember, and will bolster your friend’s courage for a fresh start.

2) Write a goodbye letter

There are no rules as to what your goodbye letter should contain – anything will do as long as it makes your friend understand how much you appreciate them, how much you care about them, and how much you are going to miss them.

Remind your buddy of the first time you met, of all the funny and sad experiences you had together, of your shared dreams and hopes. Or refer to a particular story that says it all. Or throw in some jokes only the two of you can understand. Or include a coded message that will require your buddy to remember something specific from your past in order to decode it.

Your imagination is your only limit – just be sure to imbue the letter with your sincere feelings to make your friend feel your warmth and your love when they open it.

3) Go someplace special

Visit your favorite place in town – just the two of you – and spend some long private moments in your beloved surroundings, either sharing your thoughts and emotions or just enjoying each other’s company without anything else on your mind.

Give your friend a tight hug, whisper a few selected last words in their ear, and tell them “See you soon” instead of “Goodbye”.

Make Your Friend a Gift

You can find going away gifts for friends in every gift shop but none of them will be the special something you need for your special friend. You will have to resort to your own creativity:

• Make a photo album commemorating your friendship – select unique pictures that have captured special moments in your lives, write meaningful captions beneath them, and create a palpable reminder of your time together with your friend;
• Use a meaningful object as a token of your friendship – a piece of art, a jewel, a book, or any other article that is associated with an experience you have shared;
• Get your friend something practical for their new home – this way your pal will think about you every time they use the object in question;
• Write a poem, draw a painting, make a funny card, knit a scarf, prepare your specialty home-made food (you can even include the secret recipe), or think of some other way that will allow you to give your friend a piece of your heart (in whatever untraditional form you find appropriate in your particular circumstances);
• Prepare a package of various miscellaneous items that have special meaning to both of you – mementos of the places you have frequented in your home town, keepsakes associated with special occasions, important events, or cherished memories, and so on;
• Make your friend a survival kit – include comfort foods, some funny photos, a couple of travel games, a CD with your favorite music, and anything else that you think your buddy will enjoy on their trip and during the first days in their new home.

Regardless of their specific type, all gifts for friends moving away have one single purpose – to cheer up your pal and remind them that the relocation is not the end of your friendship but the beginning of a new phase in it.

Stay in Touch

It is so easy to keep in touch with people nowadays that the phrase has already become a cliché – and indeed, chances are that the greater part of your interaction is already digital anyway. Yet, it is not true that your best friend moving away will not change anything – it will change everything but your deep love for each other. Staying in touch, however, will enable you to pick up right where you left off when you meet again.

To keep in touch with your best friend after moving you can:

• Talk on the phone for hours on end;
• Send text messages every time you feel like sharing something with your pal;
• Make regular video calls on Skype, Google video chat, etc.;
• Use the social media even more (if at all possible) to get updates on your friend’s new life;
• Play games with each other through a mobile phone app to have some fun together and make believe your friend is right by your side;
• Send postcards and letters to share your thoughts and feelings, but also to provide your friend with a physical reminder of yourself, your love and care;
• Write e-mails, so that your words get to your friend in an instant;
• Plan regular visits and get together as often as you can.

It will not be the same, but will be something, right?

How to Survive Your Best Friend Moving Away

Last but not least, a few words regarding your emotional well-being after… being abandoned… being left behind… being separated from the most crucial person in your life besides your family. So, if you find your mind screaming “My best friend moved away! What now?”, take a deep breath and ward off your loneliness:

1) Give vent to your feelings – acknowledge your sadness, your anxieties and your anguish and allow yourself some time to cope with them. Talk to a trusted friend or family member, express your sentiments in writing, and do not be embarrassed to shed a tear or two;

2) Focus on the positive – think of all the wonderful opportunities your friend will have in their new city, all the exciting experiences they will have, all the new things they will learn, all the achievements they will (hopefully) accomplish and try to be really happy for them;

3) Get busy – the more preoccupied you are with your own life, the less time you will have to reflect on the past. Take up a new hobby, spend more time with your family, reach out to other friends, seek out new exciting activities, etc.;

4) Meet new people – find people who share your interests and points of view, make new friends, and learn to appreciate their different ideas, opinions, and reactions (as opposed to constantly comparing them to your best friend’s attitude in a similar situation);

5) Be grateful for everything you gained through your friendship and cherish it forever, no matter what!