How to Move to the City

Moving to the city is much more different compared to the suburb or a small town. It is bigger and faster so making the move will be a hectic affair if you are not adequately prepared for the big day. Below are some city moving tips to make it easier when moving to the concrete jungle.

Before embarking on the process of how to move in the big city you need to do some prepping that does not involve packing boxes. After making the decision to pack up your things and move, you need to do the following to make it easier once you move into the neighborhood.

Research the Cost of Living

You need to find out if you will be able to afford to live in your new neighborhood so make sure you find out about food prices, healthcare, transportation, and of course, housing to help you come up with a realistic budget. A cost of living calculator like the Bankrate Calculator is beneficial for this by helping you list the average pricing for everything ranging from household supplies to recreational activities and housing. You can also do some online research on your own or ask someone you know who already lives in the new area.

Explore the City

If you are able to visit the place before making the move, make sure you do it. You can also get to know the layout of the area from afar. Determine which areas are commercial and residential, the safest and most dangerous areas, as well as the areas with features you are interested in. Get a sense of the city before making the move so you can get a taste of what to would be like to live there.

First, you need to deal with packing. It can be intimidating packing every single thing in your house into a single moving van but if you go about it in an organized manner, you will be able to cut stress on the big day.

Get a Planner or Notebook for the Move

A moving notebook or a business planner is more important to the move than duct tape or boxes. Get one with big pages with each page for one day. Put in some receipt envelopes, zipper pouches, and business card holders. So how will you use this notebook? Before moving, you can use the notebook to jot down relevant phone numbers for the movers, make notes on the houses you found while on the hunt, and to track phone calls. Put all the business cards you will use in their slots for convenient reference.

You can put snippets of drapery goods, paint swatches, wallpaper, and flooring into a pouch in the notebook for decorating references while you are at the store. You can place a receipt envelope in the notebook for any receipts you will use when fixing up your old place. You will also have another receipt slot to hold receipts for your house hunting endeavors and travel to the new place in the city. This will save you so much time. Your moving notebook will also help you after you have made the big move to the city. It will help you schedule appointments to turn on your house essentials at the new place like cable, water, and the lights. You can put down the names of any good amenities in the neighborhood mentioned to you in passing by your new neighbors. Keep a local map in the notebook or planner so you can easily get around in the city and avoid getting lost as much.

Label the Moving Boxes

When learning tips on how to move to the city, this is another important point to practice during the move. Ensure you label all your moving boxes when preparing for your move in the city. If you do not do this, you risk losing your items via theft. You also need to label them properly to help you save time while prioritizing your things when packing and for easier location when unpacking in the new place.

Label your boxes with your name, the specific room for the items, the box contents, and specific instructions for any fragile items present. Your notebook also comes in handy when labeling because it will allow you to include an inventory list. You can number the boxes and list down the exact contents of each box. This can be useful when there are boxes of the same type of things. This inventory list will help you find everything you need in the new house easily and quickly. Have a copy of the inventory list at hand along with the numbers on to help with insurance. It also helps to label the boxes based on priority, number, and color.

Develop a Floor Plan for the New Place

This is another city moving tip that will take the hassle out of the process. It helps to know what things you will take or leave before the big day. A floor plan is relevant to letting you know where your items will go into your new house and how much space is required so you can get rid of items you no longer need. Measure the furniture pieces in your old home, specifically the heavy and large items like sofa sets, tables, and beds so you can get a clue of the space needed for each item in the new place and where you will place them. Take pictures of your things and measurements of the items in your new place and match them to your measurements. Ensure you note down the essential indications on your floor plan to help you remember on the moving day.

Think of different potential uses for each new room to find out if you can have multiple uses for some of the rooms. This will help you reassign furniture on a specific day. Make templates of the larger furniture pieces and go to your new place where you will use them to help you find out the ideal layout for you. This will help you with the arrangement of your furniture in your new home. After finding out how you will put the furniture in each room of the new house, sketch out the floor plan and place up copies on the walls of each room with this layout to help the movers know how to arrange your items. After making the inventory list, organizing, and labeling your boxes with your moving notebook at the ready, you will be ready to call in the cavalry. Hiring a licensed moving company is another city moving tip that will save you a lot of time and headache for the moving process.

Hiring a Moving Company

Moving can go very well or very badly depending on the type of help you get for the move. Ensure you are hiring a quality moving company with a good reputation so you can get the best possible services for your money’s worth. Make sure you get an accurate in-person estimate from the moving company. The company’s estimator should be thorough when looking through your home as a big portion of the mover’s prices will come out of the estimated weight and space taken up by your things in their moving trucks. Be wary of moving companies that ask you for a large deposit or money before they even touch your things to move them. You can pack your things yourself if you do not want any damage to your things or if you are looking to not pay the extra packing fees. However, if you are pressed for time and you already have your list in order, you could benefit from the packing services offered by the moving company.

Moving In

Before moving in your things, make sure you clean the apartment completely to make sure you get rid of all the unseen dirt and to get rid of the old energy even if it has been left clean for you. This is also better so that when you move in your things, you will have one less chore to do.

Need Help Moving to the City?

Alpha Moving and Storage is here to help with that city move. Give us a call today!