Making a new beginning in life is always going to be somewhat exciting, offering a chance to relaunch your life somewhere new, do new things and even, if you want to, look at remoulding yourself as a somewhat different person. The excitement that this opportunity represents can, sometimes, mask a more deeply-felt sense of apprehension. It would be surprising if it didn’t, in fact, because no matter what age you are, moving somewhere new entails changing a lot more than just your address.

Indeed, the homesickness we all tend to feel when we are first settling into a new place – whether it is another city, a different country or even just a new house – is completely natural. Even if there were very good reasons for moving, the truth is that your life was anchored around one place: its sounds, sights, smells and feelings. Moving away is inevitably going to give you some feelings of uncertainty, including the sense that you’re making a huge mistake. It’s important to know how to conquer those feelings.

Go for a walk

This may sound like the classic self-help cliche: distract yourself from how you’re feeling by engaging in light physical activity. And if that works for you, that’s great. A better reason to do it, though, is to offer the chance to acquaint yourself with the newer surroundings, become more familiar with local shops and cafes, and perhaps even meet some new people while you’re out. The more you engage with where you are, the less you will regret and pine for the place where you were.

Retain a keepsake of the old place

Just because you no longer live somewhere doesn’t mean it’s erased from your life. Whatever age you are now, you can probably remember a little something about everywhere you’ve lived before. These things are part of us all. When people leave a place, they metaphorically take some of it away. Also, as in the case of Irish people wearing ruby Claddagh rings or Swedish people still taking fika in their new homes, you’ll literally bring something with you to your new home. Your life isn’t a series of unconnected snapshots – it’s a continuous thread that runs through everywhere you’ve been and all you’ve done.

Realise that nothing is ending for good

One contributory factor to homesickness and the long adjustment period is the constant impulse to think of people back home: what they are doing now and how they are feeling. You may even wonder if they’re missing you. The likelihood is that they are, very much – but that they will be getting on with life; that’s something you’ll need to do too. There is no reason you can’t go back at some point – none of the aspects you miss will disappear just because you’re not there to observe them – and also no reason you can’t have people over to visit.

Every new start we make in life entails feeling a little loss – and, indeed, a little lost – but if you keep in mind the positives and take the chance to embrace the new, you’ll get over that sense of loss before you know it.