• Create a home inventory of household goods -- lists, video and photos
• Review pet care and travel plans
• Contact your car insurance company about coverage in transit and at your new location
• Make sure you have duplicates of car, luggage and other important keys
• Give a copy of your travel plans with date, route and contact phone numbers and important documents to a friend or sponsor.
• Give a copy to your Realtor, too!

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--After you know your new address, you can take a copy of your ratified contract to the school system your kids will attend, and register them right away...in most cases, you will not need to have physically moved in for them to begin attending classes.

--Before your closing, you will need to secure hazard insurance for that address, and give the contact info to your real estate agent and/or closing company so they may make sure that your coverage is instated per your lender's instructions.

--It's a good idea to call ahead for utilities, once you have secured your address and know your move-in date, so you can probably just transfer service from the previous owner's, without service interruption. Call Dominion Virginia Power, 1-888-667-3000 and Virginia Natural Gas, 1-866-229-3578 toll free.  Cox cable/phone/high speed internet is 757-224-1111, Verizon bundles are available at 757-954-6222, or 1-(800) 564-0999.  Individual city/county water and sewage accounts and waste management are specific to the area your address is in.  Check the city web page for yours in the links above.