While it's common for most New Yorkers to move to a new apartment every few years, I moved for the first time after living in the same place for the last 6.5 years. Here is my personal experience on what it was like to move during a pandemic.
I moved to New York City - arguably the best city in the world - in 2014 with a small U-Haul packed with minimal furniture, a couple suitcases, and a bicycle. While most of my friends moved to a different apartment every few years (and some even every year), I stayed in the same 3 bedroom apartment with roommates for nearly 6.5 years due to its proximity to work. However, when the unforeseen COVID-19 marred the world and I spent more time than ever at home, I decided to take the plunge and moved to a new place on my own.
Because of a mass exodus of people out of the city and into the suburbs during the pandemic, the housing market was in my favor. Many landlords, whose apartments have been vacant for as many as 4 months, were offering crazy deals and discounts. After scouring through endless listings on StreetEasy and seeing about 10 apartments in my desired neighborhoods, I signed a lease on a small but cozy 1 bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village.
I have never moved once in 6.5 years, so I accumulated a lot of items during those times. I had some serious decluttering to do! After consulting with a few friends who consider themselves "moving pros" and doing my own online research, I decided to make the move as stress-free as possible by working with a moving company to help guide me through the process.
Next step? Choosing the moving company that's right for me. I read online reviews and one company stood out to me as "the one" - Rabbit Moving and Storage. Not only did Rabbit Movers have one of the best reviews (4.6 stars on Google and almost 600 reviews on Yelp), but it also has a unique mission of employing the creative types - from artists to musicians to writers - who are as passionate about art as they are about reducing as much of the customers' stress as possible.
The onboarding process began with a free estimate from the website. You have the option of getting a quick quote by simply putting in the from and to addresses or - for a more accurate pricing - record your inventory by marking different items you have. Shortly after filling out the information, I was assigned a "Relocation Consultant" who followed up with me for additional questions and confirmed the date and time of move. As easy as 1, 2, 3!
While Rabbit Movers offers packing and unpacking moving services, I decided to tackle this task on my own. In order to ensure I had enough time to pack all my belongings, I asked Bunny, my Relocation Consultant, to deliver a total of 25 boxes ranging in sizes (small, medium, and large) 5 days before the big day. Rabbit Movers also confirmed a few details of the move, including a 2-hour arrival time window.
On the morning of the move, I received a text message from one of the movers - Nick - that he was on his way. The two movers (both named Nick!) arrived right on time. Nick asked some questions to confirm which furnitures and boxes should be moved, and they were quick to get to work. Nick and Nick were extremely efficient at moving boxes and dissembling bigger furnitures like the bed frame. Additionally, they did an extremely thorough job of wrapping fragile items and corners of the furniture to ensure all the pieces get moved in one piece.
The entire process on Move Day - from arrival and loading to drop off and re-assembling of the furniture - took a little less than 4 hours. I was impressed by the movers' respectful, careful, efficient, and professional treatment of my belongings, and further amazed by how Rabbit Movers helped to make my first moving process so easy! I will be spending the next few days unpacking and organizing my belongings, and am so excited to settle down in my new apartment.
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