Moving without losing it in NYC

My phone rang as I tried to shed the winter layers of puffy down coat, hat, scarves (yes, it’s so cold I’ve been layering two), and fleece zip-up. I wouldn’t have answered, but it was a college friend I’ve been playing social media tag with for a few days.

“Hey,” I said breathlessly.

He laughed. “Uh, hi. Is it a good time?”

“Yes! I just walked up three flights, and I’m taking my coat off. But yes!”

“Three flights?” He asked. “You moved from the old place?” He meant the tiny, ground floor studio on Central Park West. “You loved it there.”

“Did not.”

“I thought you did.”

“I loved it, because I had to,” I reasoned. “I’ve moved on.”

Here’s a question from Anna:

Hi, Amanda. A lot of people who read your blog are interested in moving to NYC. But what about moving from one apartment in NYC to another? Any advice? Thanks!”

My response:

I’ve lived in three apartments in my four years in NYC. Technically four, I guess. But that sketchy apartment I stayed in one night before breaking the lease is a whole other blog post.

My abridged apartment history: 1) Fully furnished apartment share on 107th Street with a Columbia student, a nosy foreign exchange student, and a septuagenarian for about a year, 2) studio apartment on Central Park West complete with a decrepit bathroom and minor cockroach infestation in the warmer months for two years, and 3) one-bedroom apartment on Central Park North for what will be two years in June.

Whew! I think I’m having flashbacks all of a sudden. Someone rub my feet.

Finding an apartment in NYC, whether you live here already or not, is an Ask Amanda monstrosity unto itself. So let’s assume you know how to do this.

But then what? How do you prepare, besides gathering a lot of caffeine or benzodiazepines or whatever it is that helps you get through hard times? Because that’s what moving in NYC is - one freakin’ huge hard time.

This is all relative, though. It’s not performing or undergoing brain surgery. It’s not a natural disaster. It’s just putting all your breakable shit in a box and taking it somewhere else, probably losing or breaking some of it in the process.

Let’s all relax.

When you’re apartment hunting, you’ll go into the process knowing what you want as far as size, location, and price are concerned. Be smart and bring in your own pen, paper, camera, measuring tape, and flashlight, too.

Many times people see an apartment once, decide to take it, and then never get access to it again until the day they move in. You don’t want to be the sucker crying on the sidewalk, because you just realized your couch will have to be cut in thirds to even fit in the doorway. Or the person who swears, “There was an eat-in kitchen when I saw it the first time! Dammit, I just bought this table!”

So be equipped when you check out potential apartments. Brokers and building owners will not be. Instead of eyeballing, perhaps you’ll even want to have measurements for your biggest must-have items. In my case, this would be my chaise sectional sofa. That bugger is something I intend to keep, and no one can physically put bugger in a corner.

Oh, and I mentioned the flashlight, because some apartments you look at could have the electricity turned off. You need to see what the place looks like in the light, Carol Anne.

By the time you choose an apartment, you should have an accurate record of what kind of space you’re working with. This will help you decide how many people you’ll need to help you move, and just what you’re getting into. Moving into a walk-up vs. an elevator building, what floor an apartments is on - these are things you’ll need to tell the people who help you, whether they’re professional movers or friends or whipping boys and girls.

Before you start packing anything, figure out what you can get rid of. It’s the time to donate gently-used items to Goodwill, your neighbors, or friends and to throw out that crap you’ve been saving for a rainy day that will never come. We all hang onto stuff we don’t use. Get rid of  as much as you can stand. And then get rid of a little more. If you haven’t used something in six months, consider it an unnecessary item.

And hooray for you if you’re able to follow this advice. I sometimes can’t.

My NYC moves have been pretty painless, because most were BBF, Before Big Furniture. When I first moved to NYC, all my belongings fit in two suitcases. By the time I moved to my own place, I needed a few more trips in said suitcases, but everything still packed up easily.

It was getting my unfurnished studio that killed the mojo. Suddenly I needed a bed, desk, TV, chest of drawers, and basic cooking supplies. That’s all that would fit in my tiny apartment, and I filled it up with the quickness.

When I jumped at the chance to get a one-bedroom apartment two years later, I had to move all this stuff. Suitcases were not going to cut it. I was fortunate to have a boyfriend who rented a car and carried the heavy stuff up three flights of stairs for me. He even coerced his friend to help. And no one killed each other or broke anything!

But guess what happened once I got more living space?

A couch happened. And a chair. And all these lovely decorations that I had no room for in my previous dwellings.

The next time I move, should I choose not to die alone in this apartment, is going to be an ode to suck.

I’m going to have to leave it to the professionals, as the couch weighs approximately one ton. It took three men to get it up here in the first place. I paid a flat-rate and offered them glasses of water and a nice tip.

So I’ll box everything up by room and try to write clear, obvious labels to aid in unpacking. “This one says, ‘I hate this mess,’” I’ll read later. “This must be full of toiletries. Or something.”

Then I’ll have to do some research. Notice I’ll getting all hypothetical on you? It’s because I haven’t had to do this research yet, and by God,  I won’t until I have to.

Because moving in NYC generally blows. It just does.

Anyway, do some research to figure out your options. Start by talking to friends and acquaintances who have survived a move in the last two years or so. Ask about the moving professionals they used and how much their services cost.

Rather than trust some of the shady posts on Craigslist, go to Yelp.com and type in “movers.” Start reading reviews. Then call these places up yourself and tell them what you need done. Be prepared to answer questions about how much stuff you have, where you live now and where you’re moving, what floors your current and future apartments are on, and so on.

For a more streamlined approach to NYC moving, consider CityMove.com, where you enter information about the job you need done and then let local movers bid on it. From there, you can see which one offers you the best price and has the best reviews from previous CityMove customers. (Full disclosure: I’m being compensated to mention CityMove. That said, I genuinely think the reverse auction site is useful and simplifies the frantic shitshow that is moving).

You also need to check moving rules your apartment buildings may have. Some only allow moving on weekends or certain daytime hours. Know this beforehand so you don’t waste anyone’s time or your money. If you can move on a weekday, you’ll save yourself some headaches in terms of traffic and parking, whether you do the job yourself or hire movers.

Again, I’m seized by flashbacks. I think I need to sit still for awhile and appreciate that I’m not surrounded by boxes.

But you can get moving.

Related Posts

1. Moving to NYC: The attitude, the plan, the tears
2. Making new friends in NYC
3. On your first trip to NYC
4. I broke up with the Upper West Side
5. Because life was getting too relaxing
6. Up close and anonymous
7. Blame it on the fumes