We Moved 6540 Homes This Year—Here’s What People Never Told Us About Goodbyes

Goodbyes are weird. They sneak up on you like bubble wrap under your feet—unexpected, loud, and oddly satisfying.

This year, we at Shift Buddies helped 6540 families move out, move on, and move up. We saw cardboard castles built and bubble wrap battles fought.

We hauled furniture, packed memories, and watched as people stood silently in empty rooms that used to echo with laughter, footsteps, and arguments about “where the remote went.”

But here’s the thing nobody talks about: moving is more than logistics.

It's emotional. It's chaotic. It’s full of lessons people rarely put into moving checklists. So here’s what we’ve learned—not from our packing tape, but from our people.

1. Goodbyes Begin Before You Think They Do

Truck Stickers by Printyo

No, not on moving day. The goodbye starts the moment you decide to move.

It’s that awkward dinner when you look around and realise, “Oh, I won’t be eating here again.” It’s that neighbor who randomly drops by with bananas and suddenly becomes sentimental. It’s when the wall that’s been patched and repainted five times starts feeling like a friend, not just drywall.

What no one tells you: goodbyes aren’t one moment. They’re hundreds of tiny ones that pile up quietly.

2. We’re Not Just Movers—We’re Memory Sherpas

Most folks see us as simply the team that shows up with a moving van. And yes, we lift your fridge like it’s made of feathers (okay, maybe marshmallows). But we also witness your transitions—quiet, chaotic, painful, powerful.

We’ve been hugged by strangers. Given moving-day pep talks. Shared late-night chai with clients staring into packed boxes and wondering, “What now?”
So no, we’re not just movers. We’re memory sherpas, helping carry the weight—physical and emotional.

3. You Grieve Places Like You Grieve People

We quietly grow attached to the places we call home, more than we often realise.

Your old home saw your best parties and your worst days. It held your stories without judgment. Leaving it feels like ending a relationship. And guess what? It’s okay to grieve it.

Our team has started recommending a small ritual: one last coffee on the balcony, a quick walk through each room, maybe even a final selfie with the walls. You don't need closure, but you might want it. And that’s valid.

4. Not All Goodbyes Are Sad

Some homes were a chapter people couldn’t wait to finish.

Maybe it was the nosy neighbor with binoculars, or the leaking ceiling that played “drip drip drop” as a bedtime lullaby. Maybe it was the job transfer you secretly prayed for. Either way, leaving was a relief.

We’ve seen families who couldn’t wait to slam the door one last time. And that’s just as real.

Not every goodbye needs tears—some need champagne.

5. Your Dog Might Handle It Better Than You

We’ve had pets hop into our moving vans like they own them.

Dogs usually adjust faster. Cats? Not so much. But guess who struggles the most? Humans. We overthink, overpack, and over-feel everything.

Maybe that’s the lesson here: approach change like your Labrador—curious, cautious, but ultimately excited.

6. People Hold On To The Weirdest Things

You’d think people get emotional about chandeliers or dining tables. Nope.

It’s fridge magnets, crooked photo frames, old doormats. We’ve helped clients wrap everything from a broken guitar string to a brick (yes, just one) from their first home.

One client made us wrap a piece of chipped wall paint because it held their baby’s height mark. That wall? Demolished now. But the chip? Still sitting proudly in their new home.

Turns out, we don’t hold onto things.

7. Some Goodbyes Are Just The Beginning

Every move starts with a goodbye—but not every goodbye is an end.

Shifting homes has taught us that change, however daunting, is deeply hopeful. It’s an opportunity to start fresh—both with your walls and your life’s next chapter. It’s swapping your 5th-floor apartment for a garden view or trading your 2BHK for a studio because you're chasing a dream (or just tired of roommates who don’t do dishes).

Goodbyes make room for new hellos. You don’t see it at first, but trust us—we’ve helped 6540 homes get there.

8. Coffee Helps. So Does Laughter.

Want a moving tip that doesn’t sound like a robotic checklist?

Keep coffee within reach. It powers you through packing marathons and last-minute panics.

Laugh when your partner tries to label boxes with emojis. Laugh when you realise the one box labeled “urgent” contains only Halloween wigs. Laugh because if you don’t, you’ll cry—and either is okay, but laughter comes with better photos.

9. Letting Go Isn’t Weak—It’s Brave

You’re not “running away” by moving. Today’s chaos is the price you pay for tomorrow’s calm.

Maybe the rent got too high. Maybe the space got too small. Or maybe the memories got too heavy.

Whatever your reason, walking away from something that was once “home” takes courage.

Let that sink in: you did a brave thing.

10. People Say They Won’t Cry… But They Do

We’ve seen it all. The stoic dad who breaks down when the crib is loaded into the truck. The teenage son who acts too cool to care but stands frozen, staring at his graffiti-tagged bedroom wall.

Tears don’t always show up when the truck pulls away. They hit later—when you're unwrapping dishes or opening a drawer in your new home and finding an old note, a ticket stub, or worse... a single AirPod.

Nobody talks about the lump in your throat when your empty home echoes back your silence.

Conclusion

If you’re planning a move, recently moved, or still stuck between “should we stay?” and “should we go?”—know this:

You’re not alone. You’re human. And change doesn’t have to be neat or poetic—it just has to be yours.

And if you need a team who gets that, we’re Shift Buddies. We’ll bring the boxes, the muscle, and maybe a tissue or two.