# Moving Text Messages: 26 Templates to Send
> 26 short text templates to announce a move, share your new address, ask for a hand with the boxes or invite friends to the housewarming.
- Source: https://www.envoyer-sms-gratuit.com/en/blog/2026-11-08/sms-deces-annoncer-proches-modeles
- Published: 2026-11-08 (8 November 2026)
- Author: L'équipe Envoyer SMS Gratuit
- Language: en
- Categories: Cas d'usage
- Tags: Cas d'usage, Rédaction, SMS groupé, Format SMS, Envoyer un SMS, SMS en ligne
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**Short answer:** an effective moving text contains three pieces of information and not one more: that you are moving, the date, and what the recipient is supposed to do about it (save the new address, come and help, drop by the housewarming). A full address rarely fits under 160 characters: write it as a single block with no line breaks, or send it in a second, dedicated message that the person will be able to find again easily.
A move means twenty to forty people to notify, and by no means the same message for each one. The neighbour who kept the spare keys, the aunt who sends a card for every birthday, the three friends you are hoping to see turn up with a hand truck on Saturday morning, the doctor chasing you about a booster shot: same starting information, five different wordings.
Hence the list that follows. Twenty-six short templates, sorted by situation, with the one technical constraint that really matters when you type a postal address into a text message — and the method for sending all twenty-six from a single workstation without picking the wrong recipient.
## Why does a postal address blow past 160 characters?
Because a full French address easily runs to 70 or 90 characters on its own, before the sentence introducing it. "14 bis rue des Petites-Écuries, Bât. C, Appt 32, 75010 Paris": 58 characters. Add "New address as of 1 December:" and you are past 100 without having signed off yet.
A standard text message carries 160 characters in the GSM-7 alphabet. Beyond that, the message is split and reassembled on arrival, each segment then holding only 153 usable characters. That is no disaster in itself — but two traps lie in wait precisely for address messages:
- **Accented characters and rare symbols.** In GSM-7, `é`, `è`, `à`, `ù` cost nothing extra, but `œ`, the curly quotation marks that some word processors insert automatically, or an em dash copied over from an email will tip the whole message into UCS-2. The limit then drops to 70 characters. An address containing "Saint-Cœur-de-Marie" can therefore triple the number of segments.
- **Emoji.** A single 📦 triggers the same switch. Save them for invitation messages, never for the one carrying the address.
Before sending, run the text through the site's [SMS character counter](/outils/compteur-caracteres-sms): it shows the detected encoding and the number of segments. How it all works is explained in our article on [the 160-character limit](/blog/2025-11-15/sms-160-character-limit).
> Practical rule: one message to announce, one message for the address. The second is the one the person will dig out of their conversations six months later — it needs to be clean, with no sentence around it, copyable in one go.
## How do you announce your move to family and friends? (6 templates)
Warm tone, minimal information, no logistics. You announce, you give the date, you promise the details later.
1. We're moving! We're leaving the flat on 28 November for a house in Tours. I'll send you the new address as soon as we have the keys.
2. Big news: we're changing cities. Leaving Lyon at the end of November, heading for Nantes. Let's talk this week, I have a thousand things to tell you.
3. The boxes have started. We're moving on 5 December, still in the same neighbourhood — 400 metres from the old place. Exact address to follow.
4. Small change of scenery: we're leaving the centre for somewhere with a garden. Moving in on the 12th. I'll give you the tour as soon as it's tidy.
5. We've signed. Move set for 20 December, a bit tight before the holidays but the opportunity was there. I'll keep you posted.
6. I'm moving on 30 November. Same phone, same email address, just a different living room. The new address is coming in a second message.
Note what these six messages have in common: not one of them contains the address. That is deliberate. The announcement circulates, gets commented on, gets forwarded; the address, on the other hand, gets filed away.
## How do you share your new address by text? (5 templates)
One message, one block, no frills. Write the address on a single continuous line: some gateways and some messaging apps handle line breaks badly and turn a neat layout into mush.
7. New address as of 1 December: 14 rue des Lilas, Bât. B, Appt 7, 69007 Lyon. Entryphone: Durand. Phone number unchanged.
8. For your cards and parcels: Marie Lefèvre, 3 impasse du Four, 44000 Nantes. Letterbox under the name Lefèvre, no gate code.
9. Address valid from 15/12: 22 avenue Gambetta, 2nd floor left, 33000 Bordeaux. The lift stops at the 1st, expect one flight of stairs.
10. New address: 8 chemin des Vignes, 34970 Lattes. White gate, third house on the left after the roundabout. GPS often gets it wrong.
11. Here's the address so you have it to hand: 51 rue Nationale, Résidence Les Ormes, Esc. 2, 59000 Lille. Code 4512B.
Three details make the difference between a useful address and an address that generates three phone calls: the name on the letterbox, the access code, and the note that corrects the GPS. Include them whenever they apply.
Also make sure your name is on the letterbox from day one: an [engraved letterbox nameplate](https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=%C3%A9tiquette+bo%C3%AEte+aux+lettres+grav%C3%A9e+nom&tag=ds0608-21) costs a few euros and saves two months of mail returned to sender. Changing your address with official bodies, meanwhile, takes a single online procedure through the « Je change de coordonnées » (I'm changing my contact details) service on [service-public.fr](https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/R11193), which notifies the Caisse d'allocations familiales (Family Allowance Fund), Assurance maladie (national health insurance), the tax office and Pôle emploi (the national employment agency), among others.
## How do you ask for moving help without putting people on the spot? (6 templates)
Asking for help by text has one huge advantage over a phone call: it leaves the person free to say no without having to face your voice. Give them explicit permission to decline, state the exact time slot, and say what there is to carry.
12. I'm moving on Saturday the 29th, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 2nd floor with no lift. If you're free and up for it, one more pair of arms would change everything. If you can't, absolutely no problem.
13. Need reinforcements Saturday morning to load the van, 9 a.m.–noon. No piano, no giant wardrobe, promise. Pizza at lunchtime. Are you free?
14. We're loading on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. You're the most organised person I know, I'll take even an hour of your time. Let me know.
15. Straight question: would you have a car with a big boot on Saturday afternoon? Two 15-minute trips, no more. I'll fill the tank.
16. I'm looking for someone to hold the door and tick off the boxes while we load, Saturday 9 a.m.–noon. Nothing to carry. Coffee and croissants provided.
17. If you're passing through the neighbourhood on Saturday between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., we're at 12 rue Pasteur emptying the flat. Even ten minutes would help.
Before sending the message, check you have something for the helpers to work with: a set of [moving straps](https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=sangles+de+d%C3%A9m%C3%A9nagement+lot&tag=ds0608-21) and two spare rolls of packing tape save the half-hour lost looking for a way to handle the bookcase. And number your boxes: a black permanent marker on every side is forty-five minutes saved at the unpacking stage.
## Which templates work for neighbours, the caretaker and local services? (5 templates)
Neutral, factual tone, no sentiment. These messages exist mainly to avoid misunderstandings on the day: a van parked across a dropped kerb, a monopolised lift, an entryphone ringing into the void.
18. Hello, we're moving on Saturday 29 November. The van will be outside the building from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the lift will often be in use. Sorry for the disruption.
19. Hello Mrs Martin, we're leaving the 4th floor on 30 November. Thank you for these six years of good neighbourliness. I'll leave you my number in case any mail arrives.
20. Hello, I'm moving on 5 December. Could you forward my mail to my new address? I'll send it to you by message right after this.
21. Hello, we're moving in on the 2nd floor on 12 December. There will be noise during the day, not in the evening. Do knock if you need anything.
22. Hello, we moved out on the 1st. The flat on the 3rd floor left is empty, please stop leaving parcels there in our name.
For mail, a text is no substitute for official forwarding: La Poste (the French postal service) offers a paid temporary or permanent redirection service, taken out at a post office or online at [laposte.fr](https://www.laposte.fr/reexpedition-courrier-vacances-demenagement). The message to the neighbour is for the forgotten parcel, not for six months of bank statements.
## How do you send a housewarming invitation in one text? (4 templates)
A successful invitation comes down to four elements: the date, the time, the place, and what is expected of guests. Everything else is clutter.
23. Housewarming on Saturday 13 December from 7 p.m., 14 rue des Lilas, Lyon 7e. Drinks and finger food, come as you are. Let me know by Wednesday?
24. We're christening the flat on Saturday the 20th at 6 p.m. 8 chemin des Vignes, Lattes. Nothing to bring, unless you insist: cheese.
25. Housewarming on Sunday the 14th, 3 p.m.–8 p.m., afternoon-tea format that goes off the rails. Address: 22 avenue Gambetta, Bordeaux. Children welcome.
26. We're celebrating the new place on Friday the 12th at 8 p.m., 51 rue Nationale, Lille, code 4512B. Tell me if you're coming, I'm counting glasses.
For a housewarming, the message gains a lot from being sent about ten days ahead, with a reminder the day before. Our [invitation text message templates](/blog/2026-11-03/modeles-sms-invitation-voeux-annonce) go into the wordings that actually get a reply, and how to follow up without nagging.
If you are putting the guest list together calmly ahead of the day, a [spiral notebook](https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=carnet+%C3%A0+spirale+A5&tag=ds0608-21) sitting next to the keyboard is still faster than a spreadsheet for ticking off replies as they come in.
## How do you send these messages from a computer without making mistakes?
A full-size keyboard is the only sensible way to type thirty addresses without botching a postcode. There are three routes, depending on your hardware.
| Method | What you need | What it allows |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Online sending site | A browser, nothing else | One message to one recipient, with no app to install |
| Google Messages for web | An Android phone + a QR code to scan | Your existing conversations, from your own number |
| Phone Link (Windows) / Messages (Mac) | Windows 11 + Android, or iPhone + Mac | The same conversations, built into the system |
For address messages, the difference is concrete: with Google Messages for web or Phone Link, the text goes out from your number, so the recipient finds it in their usual conversation thread with you — exactly where they will go looking for the address in six months' time. With an online sending site, the message arrives from a technical number. Handy for a one-off message, a poor choice for information meant to be kept.
Step-by-step instructions for each method are in the guide on [sending a text message from a computer](/guides). Two useful habits for a move:
- **Prepare your lists in advance.** Family, close friends, neighbours, services: four groups, four different messages. Sending to several recipients has its own rules, set out in our article on [group texts from a PC](/blog/2026-10-17/sms-groupe-envoyer-plusieurs-destinataires-pc) — notably the need to avoid a collective group chat, which exposes everyone's number to everyone else.
- **Schedule the address message for the day after you move in.** Sent too early, it arrives before you are sure of the flat number or the door code. The method is described in [scheduling a text from your PC or Mac](/blog/2026-10-16/sms-programme-envoi-differe-pc-mac).
If you are doing a lot of typing during this period — cancellation letters, inventories, forms — an [adjustable laptop stand](https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=support+ordinateur+portable+r%C3%A9glable+bureau&tag=ds0608-21) spares you the wrecked neck that comes from two-hour sessions on an upturned box.
## What goes wrong most often in a moving text
- **The address without the access code.** The courier rings, nobody answers, the parcel goes back. Gate code, hall code, floor, name on the letterbox: all four, every time.
- **The single message sent to everyone.** The neighbour does not need to know you are hoping for an extra pair of arms on Saturday, and your friend does not need your apologies about the lift.
- **The vague date.** "End of November" lets nobody block out a slot. Give the date and the time.
- **Forgetting the meter readings.** This is not a writing problem, but a text with a photo of the meter and the exact reading, sent to yourself on moving-out day, saves a lot of arguments with the landlord. [Transferring files between phone and computer](/blog/2026-10-12/transferer-fichiers-telephone-pc-mac-sans-cable) then lets you archive those photos properly.
- **Emoji in the address message.** You switch to UCS-2, the message gets split, and one segment can arrive on its own if the network is busy. A truncated address is worse than no address at all.
## Frequently asked questions
### Should you notify people by text or by letter?
Both, for different recipients. A text is more than enough for friends and family, neighbours and everyday service providers. Official bodies (tax office, health insurance, family allowances, bank, insurer) should be notified through their own channel, usually online: the bundled procedure on service-public.fr covers the essentials in one go.
### How long before the move should you send the message?
Two to three weeks for the announcement and the requests for help — any earlier and the date gets forgotten; any later and people have already planned their weekend. The address message, on the other hand, goes out on moving-in day or the day after, once you are certain of the letterbox number and the door codes.
### Can you send the same address to thirty people in a single send?
Yes, provided you use multiple individual sends rather than a group chat: each person must receive the message separately. Otherwise you are handing out thirty contacts' phone numbers to thirty contacts, without their consent.
### How can I tell whether my message fits into a single text?
By counting the characters before sending. The site's counter shows the character count, the detected encoding (GSM-7 or UCS-2) and the number of billable segments. An address message spread over two segments is perfectly acceptable; it is the unintentional switch to UCS-2 that you want to avoid.
### What if someone close to you never reads their texts?
Back it up with a phone call, but send the text anyway: it will stay in the history for when the person goes looking for the address. For recipients who are not comfortable with digital text, a very short message containing only the address, with no sentence around it, is the easiest to find again and to show to someone else.
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*Updated 8 November 2026. Change-of-address and mail-forwarding services evolve: check prices and timescales on service-public.fr and laposte.fr before starting the process.*
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