Can you move during COVID-19?

As most of the world continues learning more about SARS-CoV-2 and how to effectively avoid getting COVID-19, a record number of people are heading into unemployment. The last few weeks have been devastating. According to CNN, "6.6 million U.S. workers filed for their first week of unemployment benefits in the week ending March 28, according to the Department of Labor — a new historic high."

However, some employees and their families had been in the midst of taking on new jobs or positions and were somewhere in the process of relocating. Many found themselves asking whether or not they could relocate and then if the answer to that was yes, asking whether they should relocate! How far along they were in the process, where they were moving to and from, and a variety of other personal circumstances have impacted relocating employees' ability to move.  

According to Move.org, if you are asking whether you can move during COVID-19, the answer is likely "yes," but it is recommended that you check with your moving company and local elected officials to see if there are specific orders restricting travel and gathering. For many locations, moving is considered an "essential activity." Because new locations are deploying "stay-at-home," "shelter-in-place" and "lockdown" orders, there are an increasing number of locations where relocation is no longer an option for now and delaying the move will be required. These orders are impacting a wide variety of services from household goods to destination services to home-finding support.

In a recent Plus Relocation survey, some respondents mentioned that their company was not stopping moves already in motion but holding those at the beginning stages. Two-thirds of respondents reported that they had delayed or are had considered delaying new relocations or assignments, while a quarter shared that they were considering putting all relocations and assignments on hold.

Here are a few additional articles related to moving during COVID-19:

• What you need to know about moving during the coronavirus pandemic
• Moving in NYC during coronavirus is more nightmarish than usual
• Coronavirus: People urged not to move house
• Can you hire movers during the coronavirus outbreak? Yes, but it’s more complicated