Moving home still tops the stress level chart – beating having a baby, marriage and job interviews
52% of the nation feel moving home is one of the most stressful life events and with the additional requirements of social distancing and other pandemic based procedures, it’s just got a whole lot more stressful. When it comes to moving, 28% find it more stressful than having a baby, getting married, going to job interviews, doing a driving test. It also beats waiting for what was the biggest elephant in the room to leave until COVID-19 arrived – Brexit.
One of the reasons for this, according to new research by the home setup service Just Move In is, 44% of movers spend up to three hours just swapping their utilities over.
Just Move In reduces the stress and hassle of the home moving process by recommending the best essential services and doing the leg work for you. Freeing you up to focus on the important parts of moving, like remembering to take the kids, face masks and hand sanitiser with you.
The latest survey of home movers by Just Move In found that 52% of those asked ranked moving home at an eight or above on a scale of one to 10 when asked how stressful they found moving – with 10 being the most stressful.
When looking at the most stressful aspects of moving home itself, 49% of people found packing the most stressful part, followed by transferring your services and updating existing utility providers (27%).
With everything that needs organising for a smooth and successful home move, it comes as no surprise that transferring services and utilities ranks so highly, with 44% of movers spending over 30 minutes on the phone to each supplier. With council tax, water and sewerage, gas and electricity, TV and broadband, phone and insurance as a minimum, that’s more than three hours spent on the phone. Time that could be spent on other things – like binge watching Netflix.
|
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most stressful, how stressful was moving home?
|
|
|
How stressful
|
% of respondents
|
|
1
|
1%
|
|
2
|
2%
|
|
3
|
4%
|
|
4
|
4%
|
|
5
|
8%
|
|
6
|
10%
|
|
7
|
18%
|
|
8
|
27%
|
|
9
|
13%
|
|
10
|
12%
|
|
Rank the following on which you have found the most stressful
|
|
|
Life Event
|
% of times ranked 1st
|
|
Moving home
|
28%
|
|
Job Interview
|
21%
|
|
Driving Test
|
20%
|
|
Having a baby
|
16%
|
|
Getting Married
|
11%
|
|
Waiting for Brexit
|
5%
|
|
Thinking about moving to a new home, what was it that you found most stressful?
|
|
|
Task/activity
|
% of respondents
|
|
Packing
|
49%
|
|
Setting up new services (e.g. internet) in my new home and updating my address with current utility providers
|
27%
|
|
Organising a removal service
|
10%
|
|
Updating friends and family with my new address
|
1%
|
|
Other
|
13%
|
|
How much time would you typically spend calling your council, water and sewerage provider, gas and electricity provider, TV and broadband provider, phone provider and insurance providers?
|
|
|
Time taken
|
% of respondents
|
|
Less than 10 mins
|
8%
|
|
Between 10 and 30 mins
|
34%
|
|
Over 30 mins
|
44%
|
|
N/A as I did this online
|
14%
|
You May Also Enjoy
Breaking Property News 21/11/25
Inheritance Tax Receipts raise £5.2 billion in seven months
FMB calls on Reeves to scrap housing tax threat
Full Steam Ahead! UK Construction to return to growth in 2026
Winter is Coming: Douglas & Gordon Warns Landlords and Tenants to Take Action Before Disputes Occur
