answer:Oh man. I’ve moved quite a bit for work and for love. The biggest pains are: -Finding a new dentist, doctor, trusted car mechanic…blah blah blah. You get the idea. The full network of people you know to call when something goes wrong. Starting over in a new place means having to rely on Angie’s List or a trusted coworker in the new location. -The whole move. It’s never easy, even when you’re relatively light on material possessions. I have friends who’ve been relocated by their company. The company paid for their car and home furnishings to be hauled cross-country and for them to stay in an “extended stay” type hotel for the first few months while they house-hunted. Company paid for it all. If your company offers this, I heartily suggest you go this route. Resist the urge to accept a rental that is anything other than month-to-month initially if you can…and if you can stay in an extended stay near your new employer initially while home-hunting this is best. Take the time to look for a new place to live..don’t feel guilted into being in the office..considering finding a Buyers Agent (a realtor – even if you’re not going to buy a house yet) to discuss the best areas in town to live for you and your family. They’ll know where the schools are best, which neighborhoods are mostly young families, etc. Most buyers agents will jump at the chance to help you-even if you only intend to rent now—because you WILL want to buy eventually, and so building the relationship is a good thing. Friends that have recently relocated (DC back to MN) tell me that they made several trips house hunting—both for their DC rental (when they were moving to DC for a couple of years) and then before returning to MN. I went the U-Haul route because I left my job to move cross-country. (OH to MN) Last time I did this my wonderful future in-laws came with my future husband and helped me move from my 3-bedroom house over 2000 miles. I packed in advance of their arrival – so we loaded the truck and took off. I drove with my (future) MIL and my dog in my car, my (future) FIL and fiance drove the UHaul. The U-Haul sucked eggs and had mechanical issues—but my fiance is a handy mechanic so he did his best to keep it running (since UHaul was NO help)—which required a few stops for parts and MacGuyver style side-of-the-road fix-it sessions. I suppose my one bit of advice would be: once you get there resist the urge to settle quickly. I recall that you’re expecting..and your wife will no doubt want to set up the nursery (the nesting instinct is REAL!)...but if you end up at a place that you don’t love it’s that much harder to move with an infant. Hopefully you can make some trips together to find a place to live that meets all your criteria (close to work, doctors, pediatrician, shopping—but in a really nice area you’ll enjoy living in..and Oh, affordable!)..that’s probably the key to happiness in your new location. Another thing to remember: banking. You may need to, depending on how national the presence of your current financial institution is, need to set up new bank accounts. That’s one of the first things to do—‘cause you need that before you set up utilities & bill payments for the new place and so forth. Good luck! Enjoy the adventure.. hope your new home is wonderful. :)