The psychology of moving

For serial movers, shifting homes goes beyond chaos and cleansing, becoming a means to self-discovery

- Shephali Bhatt

What's the first thing you do after moving to a new place? I always do laundry.

On the first night in the apartment I moved into last month, the washing machine hummed as I wiped the drying rack with disinfectant. I find this oddly satisfying about relocating: the deeper-than-usual cleaning of ordinary things; everything you own gets a fresh start along with you.

A month on, a few cartons remain unopened, most corners still unorganised. The joy of relocating is harder to locate. Having moved more than five times in just the last decade—because of redevelopment and job relocations—I began to wonder what our way of moving reveals about us as people.

"Frequent relocation can shape personality around the theme of transition itself," says Delhi-based counselling psychologist Anindita Chatterjee. "For some, it fosters movement and adaptability; for others, a need for control. The rhythm of repeated endings and beginnings may teach us to live—or force us to live—with impermanence."