Nola Bound

PLAN YOUR MOVE

Moving Timeline:  One MOnth Prior to Returning Home

LIVING ACCOMODATIONS
Make final decisions around the type of living arrangements you will have when you return.
If you are a homeowner:

  1. Does your residence need to be rebuilt or repaired?
  2. If so, have you completed and followed up on your applications for Insurance, FEMA, and the Road Home Program?
  3. Have you found and hired a contractor to complete your repairs or rebuilding work? 
  4. Do you have a place to stay until your residence is livable?
  5. If you are going to temporarily stay in a FEMA trailer on your property, make sure the trailer will be ready for your arrival date.

If you will be renting:

  1. Identify and secure a location by signing a lease and  paying a deposit.

If you utilize HUD or Housing Authority assistance programs (Section 8, Housing Voucher, or Public Housing):

  1. Call to see what assistance they have available.
  2. Make sure you have completed all necessary steps to securing a residence.

If you are going to be staying with a friend or relative:

  1. Talk to them about the time you plan to stay with them.
  2. Make sure there is a mutual understanding of timeframe, shared responsibilities, and bills.

Decide which utility services you will need and make sure they are available in the area you plan to live.

  1. Determine if there are deposits and connections fees and any outstanding balances, then budget accordingly.

Electricity
Gas
Water
Phone
Cable
Trash
Determine how you and your family will make the journey home.

  1. Do you need to reserve a moving truck or van? 

Do they need a deposit?
What form of payment do they accept? Will they need a credit card?
Can you return the truck or trailer in the Greater New Orleans Area?
Will you drive yourself or pay someone to do so for you?
If you are driving the moving van, do you have a personal vehicle that will need to make the journey?  How will this be accomplished?
Map out the route you plan to take if you are driving back to the Greater New Orleans Area.

    1. Will you need a plane, train, or bus ticket home for yourself or your family? 

What possessions will you be able to carry with you?
Will you need to ship any other belongings?

    1. If you have children and/or pets, determine how they will be traveling home and plan for their transportation.

Purchase and collect moving supplies such as boxes, tape, scissors, blankets, bubble wrap or tissue, markers, and box labels.
Complete a change of address form with the post office.

EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME
Determine if your current employment has an opportunity for you to transfer back to the Greater New Orleans Area.
If you cannot transfer with your current employer or if you are currently unemployed, determine the necessary action steps you will need to perform in order to obtain employment. 
If you use public transportation, determine the routing and scheduling to make sure it is accessible from your home and that it will be able to connect you to your place of employment.
If you receive Social Security Income, make sure they have your new address and the date you are moving.

HOUSEHOLD AFFAIRS
Keep all of your moving information together in a large envelope or folder where it is easy to find and won’t get lost.
Determine whether or not you will need to move or transfer any bank accounts (i.e. checking, savings).

  1. Do you need to establish new accounts at a new bank?
  2. Will you need to stop or start any automatic deposits or withdrawals from your current account?
  3. Find out how long it will take to transfer your banking accounts to ensure access to your funds on moving day and when you return.
  4. If needed, order checks with new home address.

Gather all health-related information (such as prescriptions, medical records, immunization record, x-rays, etc.) from doctors you have seen while living away from home.

  1. Make a list of the doctors you have seen, their contact information, and what they were treating you for.
  2. Make a list of all medications you have currently, or recently, taken and what you are taking them for.
  3. If you have children, get a copy of immunizations they have received and which, if any, they require.

Notify employers, healthcare providers, insurance companies, creditors, magazines and newspapers, post office and any others of upcoming move and change of address.
Organize and store all important documents in on place so they are not displaced in the move.

  1. Personal identification information (photo ID, social security card)
  2. School records
  3. Tax records (vehicle, property, or income tax documentation)
  4. Real estate records,
  5. Disaster assistance information
  6. Any other legal documents

SCHOOLS & CHILDCARE
Make sure you have identified where you plan to enroll your children in school and/or childcare in the Greater New Orleans Area. Make sure they have a spot available for your child to begin in the timeframe you are planning to return.
Provide any information requested and complete paperwork as required by the school and/or childcare facility to ensure a place is held for your children.
If your employment makes it necessary for your children to attend an after school program or child care, locate a program and take necessary steps to enroll them.
Notify school and/or childcare facility where children are currently enrolled of your plans to return to the Greater New Orleans Area and the last day the children will be attending at their location.
Plan for how your children will be transported to and from school and childcare once you are in the Greater New Orleans Area.

PERSONAL SUPPORT
Make a list of friends and family living in the Greater New Orleans Area.
Identify community resources such as recreation centers and churches that are in your area and can lend support.
If you utilize food stamps or other forms of public assistance, contact the appropriate offices to let them know of your plans to return home. If allowed, turn in program applications before returning.

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