It's looking like I will be moving back to the ATL around the weekend of August 10th.

The last time I moved, I had no furniture, and a place to stay while I scouted NYC. This time I have furniture, a boyfriend volunteering to fly up and help me drive my stuff back down, and a apartment lease to find.

Anyone got moving tips? Apartment-hunting tips? U-Haul tips? Y'all, U-Haul's prices? Are scary.

-- Anonymous, May 16, 2002

Answers

Just wait until the MOC sees this thread and gives you his moving advice - especially about the truck rental.

How much furniture do you have? Is it unthinkable to hire movers? I believe that's what H did when she moved to Atlanta and had her stuff on a moving truck. I cannot reccommend this enough - hauling your stuff is some kind of nightmare you don't even want to think about.

The memory of moving in our books... it gives me a rash.

-- Anonymous, May 16, 2002

Oh! This stuff I know about!!

1. Don't go with U-haul, they are the most expensive. Ryder, Budget or Penske would be better. Book online, since you will get a better deal, and do it soon since August is the time a lot of college students rent trucks, so they may go fast and the prices will go up the longer you wait.

2. If you can get someone to drive the truck back it would help since round trip is less expensive.

3. You can hire people to move your stuff into the truck at the front end and into your apartment at the back end. It's a couple of hundred bucks, but since that is the pain in the ass part of moving, it might be worth it.

Make the sure the truck has an "air cuhioned ride" thing on it somewhere. It makes all the difference, just ask my spine.

4. You definitely know this town better than I do, so I wouldn't begin to tell you about apartments, although we were able to rent through Habersham Properties pretty easily and the apartment is reasonably priced.

-- Anonymous, May 16, 2002

Since you do know the city, finding an apartment should be easy, since you seem to be leanign towards complexes. Your choices are pretty limited to Post and Gables, from what I can tell, but Post seems decent.

How MUCH furniture do you have, is the question. Moving companies calculate it by weight, but also by distance. It was like 560 miles from Columbus and I don't remember how much weight I had, but it was nothing once they got it all in the giant truck. My whole life and a baseball player's shoes.

And why isn't RCW paying for this?

-- Anonymous, May 16, 2002

My total furniture: 1. My bed. 2. My dresser. 3. My bookcase. 4. The little orange night stand table that can fold up into a two- foot-by-two-inch space.

Which should give you an idea of how small a space I've been living in for the last year and a half. I'm slightly worried that the movers would charge me a minimum because I have so little stuff.

As for RCW paying: that issue hasn't really been broached; all I hear is that the budget's tight. The editor who might be able to help me about apparently had family issues this past week, so I haven't gotten a chance to talk to him yet.

-- Anonymous, May 16, 2002

With so few things, maybe you can cram it in a large pickup. The pickup will be cheaper, but you're still going to get reamed on a one way trip.

Take Hannahbeth's advice and contact a mover. Even with the small amount o furniture you have, it might make sense. Once you're in Atlanta, you could have them drop it off at a temporary storage place, like your parent's house, while you apartment hunt. You don't want the moving co. to store it, it'll probably cost some $$.

Aww, what the heck, sell everything! Problem solved!

Apartment-hunting tips: Visit in the evening when most people are home to get an idea what the noise level is like and how thin the walls are. I lived in an apartment building where the walls were like paper and it was like living with 70 of my closest friends. I should have paid the extra $100 a month and moved into the place down the street. But I'm not bitter.

-- Anonymous, May 16, 2002

Not for everyone, but I UPSed my entire apartment for around 200. The only problem is that you have to be there when the shipments come. But to get from Chicago to Philadelphia, it was the cheapest option.

I've never been to Atlanta, but Philadelphia being the rental hell it is, I have some general tips. Ask what floor it's on before you visit a house apartment. I once visited a place with a circular staircase that was on the 5th floor. I have no idea how the hell one moves into a place like that. Also, sometimes a high-rise building is worth it, even if it costs a little more.. The buildings with tons of apartments often have better amenities. I live in an old building that's converted, but it's 18 stories with an elevator and all that junk. I don't mind paying the little bit of extra. And you're from NYC anyway, so you're used to high rents.

-- Anonymous, May 16, 2002

I second the advice of the person who said to consider selling your furniture. Will Sage be getting a new roommate? Maybe she/he will be interested in buying the bed from you? Or you can try the classifieds or ask around with friends. Seriously, with so little furniture, you should give real thought to selling it. If all you need to move is clothing, books, computer, and some other miscellaneous stuff you can probably get it all into a van or small Ryder truck. This will save you oodles of money in the move and you may be able to shift everything with just you and the Nonsmoker. I know some moving companies won't even consider you if you have less than X amount of stuff. Hmm, does NYC have movers like Starving Students? If you're attached to your bedroom furniture then an outfit like that might work - they're one of a few companies that do deal with small moves.

As for apartment hunting tips, when you find something you're interested in take an application and then (if possible) go back and visit at different times of the day, even if you're just walking around the neighborhood and can't go in the building. It's best to have a day, eve and night visit if you can. This will give you a more realistic idea of noise issues, what parking is like when everyone's home, if there are shady characters around, etc. And when you get to the point where you have a lease in hand, read the whoooollllle thing! Don't skip parts that don't seem relevant now - you never know when some little bit of small print could come back to get you later.

Good luck!

-- Anonymous, May 17, 2002

What I couldn't fit into my Sundance, I sent by air cargo, and it was more than reasonably priced. For whatever reason, people who work in the cargo areas at the airports seem to be the funniest and kindest people on earth, too.

You have so little, if you can ship it to yourself it will probably cost much less than trying to rent just part of a moving truck (which I found to be outrageously expensive).

And word on U-haul. U-haul is for suckahs. The Partner's research showed Penske to be the cheapest available to us at one point, but definitely call around.

-- Anonymous, May 17, 2002

Sell everything, including most of your winter clothes. Take the money you make, add it to the money you'll save on moving expenses, factor in the money you will save on visits to the doctor for stress related illnesses and aches and pains and buy neat used stuff when you find the new apartment. Great buys can be found at garage sales and used furniture stores and consignment shops. I love the idea of having boxes of books, etc. shipped UPS or Air Express. Good luck and I hope to meet you at the wedding.

-- Anonymous, May 18, 2002

Giving up the bed will be hard, especially since (a) it is the first piece of furniture I ever bought on my own and (b) I probably paid too much for it. It is a big soft Kingsdown with padding on both sides and I don't turn it often enough but I heart it.

The dresser and the bookshelf are both Ikea -- neither of them anything special; I actually had to repair the dresser a few months ago. If we subtract out the furniture I'm mostly left with five boxes of books, two or three of clothes, one for CDs and my CD case, one for sheets and towels, and probably three or four more of Stuff I've accumulated over the last year and a half. All of those boxes, conceivably, could be shipped -- even if I don't have an apartment by that time I could always ship stuff to my parents' house, where I have another set of boxes that have been patiently waiting since I was going to move in August '00.

Apparently in NYC the practice is to pay the entire month's rent for the month you're moving out, regardless of how long you're staying. Grr. So now it makes more sense for me to move at either the end of July or the end of August, and The Nonsmoker still wants the earlier date.

And JoLo -- thank you!

-- Anonymous, May 20, 2002

WG, regardless of whether he wants the earlier date - which is natural - it sounds like you're going to have to choose your moving date by determine what date makes the most financial sense. And since this move is increasingly for RCW, they should absolutely fund at least 75% of the move.

-- Anonymous, May 20, 2002

Should RCW fund the move? That's an interesting question. I don't think they should. I get the impression that WG has sort of talked them into doing this. Since she initiated the idea of the move, shouldn't she pay?

If they had told her they were going to transfer her and it was their idea from the get go, then I can see them paying for the move.

-- Anonymous, May 20, 2002

Put it this way, MOC: if I broke up with The Nonsmoker tomorrow, at least one of my bosses would be pretty annoyed to have me stay in New York. Even if I were to stay in NYC I'd still have an obligation, at this point, to be producing stories out of Atlanta. (Where nothing is happening right now. Grr.)

I'm willing to pay if it's a potential deal-breaker.

-- Anonymous, May 20, 2002

I don't know. I think it's a tricky spot. While you will still be under their employ in ATL it won't be in the same sense that you were in NYC. I'm assuming they paid for your move to NYC, and rightfully so, but you're in a trickier spot here, WG, since you requested the transfer to ATL.

I say you rent a passenger van (much cheaper than a truck/van), load as much of your stuff as possible into it, and ship the rest. Including your bed. Sell the dresser and bookcase.

-- Anonymous, May 20, 2002

I was just putting out feelers for the etiquette of the situation. I've never had anybody pay for one of my moves, so I don't know when it happens and when it doesn't.

-- Anonymous, May 20, 2002

Well, my family moved six times when I was growing up because of corporate transfers. For those moves, Big Dutch Oil Co. paid for the moving company, the packing, a per diem for our hotel stay prior to the move, all meals, laundry - everything related to the move.

This is a tricky situation, though. While now RCW is all for the move, the original intention for the move was for WG to get back to her boyfriend.

(And WG, there's plenty going on in Atlanta. For one, the mayor of our fair city told both the Dems and the GOP to take their convention elsewhere, as we don't need their business. In the meantine, Atlanta's convention business is actally plumetting and tourism revenues are through the floor, so what in hell is Sister Mayor (what she wants to be called) doing saying that Atlanta is all full? And there's the Northern Arc controversy, and the fact that about 3,000 truckloads and as many trainloads of nuclear waste will travel through I-20, I-285, and I-75 on its way to Yucca Mountain in Nevada for permanent disposal... There's a lot happening here that's of note. Coke is pondering a move - again - and CNN may be swept up to NYC by it's new parents. Definitely stories of note.)

-- Anonymous, May 20, 2002

You know, WG, I would ask this way "Hey, boss, will I be able to expense any of my move stuff? Because I am trying to line that up now, and look at my options."

-- Anonymous, May 20, 2002

Oh, Sister Mayor.

Well, I know that when the Brand moves store managers around, they pay for everything. And if they recruit you from another city, they pay or everything. And people who've gone to work in other cities got their entire moves paid for. But this situation is different I think. But WG should certainly broach the subject.

-- Anonymous, May 20, 2002

WG, may I suggest you write a story for RCW on Sister Mayor and how she used hip-hop to get elected?

-- Anonymous, May 20, 2002

Once again, T=The Shit. Why did we not start that We Love T thread, again?

To answer an earlier inquiry of HB's: I'm not wedded to complexes; it's just been easier to get information on them long-distance.

-- Anonymous, May 20, 2002

Al, I emailed the boss a week ago, and haven't heard back from him yet; apparently he had a family emergency last week.

-- Anonymous, May 20, 2002