DEAR HARRIETTE: My company is opening a new headquarters in a different state, and I have been promoted to run this new office. As a young professional, I will have to pick up and move my life to a new city where I know no one and am not familiar with the area. I have been researching places to live and the surrounding locations, but even after finding an area that is great for me, what can I do to get familiar and integrated into the community that I will be living in once I have moved? I want to know about things that go on in my area and possibly meet people and have friends near me. What do you suggest? -- New Job, New Me

DEAR NEW JOB, NEW ME: Congratulations on your promotion! This is an exciting time. It’s smart that you want to figure out how to acclimate best in your new home. Because people are not going out very much these days, getting to know your neighbors and community will be an even bigger challenge than normal. But the ways in which you connect to people are still pretty much the same. Look up organizations in your industry, and become a member. Attend virtual events that they plan so that you can meet people. Look up the local chamber of commerce to discover events in your area. Some socially distanced activities may be planned, as well as virtual ones. Be sure to join in. What are your extracurricular interests? Look them up. Find out what is happening in your area that is of particular interest to you. Over time, you will find your people and your interests.

DEAR HARRIETTE: It has been a hard year for everyone living in this pandemic. The tenants who live in the accessory apartment in our home have been unable to pay their rent for the majority of this year. I don’t know their situation, but they tell me each month that they are unable to make payment. They are both still working, and their young daughter goes to school and day care. I know that much, but even after months of nonpayment, new laws enacted during the pandemic won’t allow me to evict them. I’ve resorted to other things like locking the driveway and discontinuing the included cable and Wi-Fi package, but they remain here comfortably.

I am retired and depend on the income to sustain myself and own a home. Without it, I am unable to pay my own bills. I’ve had to dip into my savings just to get by without the income. What should I do next? -- No Income at Home

DEAR NO INCOME AT HOME: Request a meeting with your tenants. Appeal to their humanity. Point out that everyone is suffering now, including you. While you understand that this pandemic has affected this family, point out that you know they are both working and paying for child care. Ask them to offer something monthly toward their rent.

Check to see if there is any tax abatement offered in your town for landlords. This will provide a credit to your property tax bill -- at least some relief.

You may also want to hire a lawyer to determine what you can do legally to protect yourself. When the time comes that the rent freeze is over, you want to be ready to evict them. Meanwhile, here’s hoping that your personal humanitarian appeal will have an impact on your tenants.

(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR HARRIETTE: I just started a new job about two months ago, but I hate it. I took it because I was out of work and a friend recommended it to me, but it’s not what I imagined. My work-life balance is completely off. I work overnight; I am working my body in ways that are painful, like it's deteriorating day by day. I feel like I need to get out now to get my life and sense of mind back. But I really don't have a good enough reason to leave this job, and I am scared about what to say to my manager. I have never quit a job before without a plan. When I have resigned in the past, it was because I had a better job, but right now I have nothing. I can't just lie, either. How do I properly leave the job with no reason at all? -- Hate My Job

DEAR HATE MY JOB: I think you should slow down and do nothing for a moment. I’m sorry that you do not like your job. But I want to say that we don’t always love our work or the circumstances that we find ourselves in. Especially now, during this pandemic, it might be wise to reconsider how you look at your job. Can you approach it differently so that you can make it work? It sounds like you have had to make a lot of adjustments, especially regarding time. Two months may not be long enough to establish a rhythm for your body that works. Examine your situation very carefully before giving up. If the time truly doesn’t work, do you think you could request a shift change? Would it be better if you worked during the day? Don’t give up until you consider all the options.

Finally, if you truly cannot stay, make a plan and start looking for a new job. It would be best to walk toward another job than to be unemployed again, if you can manage to stay short-term.

DEAR HARRIETTE: A young lady I do not know reached out to me, based on a referral from a friend of mine, asking if I would donate to her college fund campaign. I empathize with her, but I can’t afford to contribute to her right now. Honestly, I do not appreciate that my friend made this referral without asking me first. I have been struggling to put food on the table and keep my kids in school. I am a generous person, but I simply cannot afford to fund this girl. I don’t like being put in this awkward position either. I want to tell my friend. Should I? -- Awkward Position

DEAR AWKWARD POSITION: So many people are suffering now and unable to fulfill their dreams, at least at this moment. It doesn’t help when friends to not keep this in mind when they ask for favors. You should speak to your friend and tell them how uncomfortable this makes you. Explain that you wish you could help, but you truly cannot right now. Suggest to your friend that they check in with potential donors before connecting people. This will save everyone unnecessary discomfort and potential rejection.

(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR HARRIETTE: I have a friend in my circle who recently came out as a lesbian. She told us that she had dated girls in secret in the past but decided to let all of us know because she has a crush she can no longer keep quiet about -- but she’s waiting for the right time to say who it is. A couple of our friends have been asking me how I felt about what she said, and it’s giving me the impression that I am the one she has a crush on. To my knowledge, I am the only one in the dark about what is going on.

I am engaged to a man, and I am so happy with him. My friends are my life, and we have been close since high school; I plan to have them as my bridesmaids. I can't imagine having to turn down one of my close friends and potentially break her heart, but I love my fiance, and my friends all know that. If they are all talking about me and plotting something to get us together, I would be really upset. I could be overthinking all this, but I'm unsure about what’s going on, and I feel like they are doing it all behind my back. How do I handle this? -- Who Does She Love?

DEAR WHO DOES SHE LOVE: Stop wondering and ask. Go directly to your friend. Tell her that you are happy for her coming to know who she is, just as you know who you are. Tell her you feel uncomfortable because you are unsure of where her heart lies. If she professes her love for you, tell her you love her as your friend, but you love your fiance as your life partner. You hope she understands and you fear that this revelation from her may hurt your friendship, but you pray it does not.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I work at a company that is pretty mixed politically. I didn’t learn that until the presidential election. Before, I blindly assumed everybody thought like me. And then the debates began internally with people saying things that were rude and dismissive if you didn’t agree with them. It has just gotten worse as the nation seems to be going to hell. It is hard to work when people can’t be civil with one another. What can we do to get back to some semblance of normalcy? -- Business as Usual

DEAR BUSINESS AS USUAL: Our world has turned upside down. People’s views are out in the open, often raw for all to see. On one hand, this may be good, as it is revealing the truth about what people think. On the other hand, decorum seems to have left our society.

Your manager or business owner needs to set the tone. It would be smart for your manager to speak to the company, acknowledge that we are living in difficult and volatile times, and state that everyone at your company is expected to behave respectfully, keeping personal political views to themselves. The manager may need to create guidelines and penalties if staffers refuse to behave professionally. Better still would be to create safe spaces for staff to speak to therapists or health care support if and when they feel emotional about anything.

(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)