I Hate Moving, Part 2: New York City

Moving out of New York City has its own particular irritants. Cities demand special rules because there are just too many people in a small place. Cities make us more selfish because just by living here we've given up on optimal satisfaction. All of us are needy and deprived, and we expect others to know that and to act accordingly. I get out of YOUR way? You get out of my way! Unless you have a clear indication that you're more needy (e.g. you have no legs, your head is shaved and you have a goatee, you're currently shooting a gun) then nobody gets out of anyone's way.

House-moving is onerous and resource-consuming, which is multiplied ten-fold by the city's inability to be accommodating.

Live in an apartment building? Well, since you live on top of hundreds of people who have their own barely contained needs, you can move out during certain hours of the day, on certain days of the week, and you can use only one elevator. The elevator never leads directly to the street (and the truck) – there's usually 2 elevators to navigate and a long corridor.

Need a big moving truck? Well, it's New York, can't block the intense traffic. Big moving trucks need a place to park – you can do so illegally (the movers give you that option); the move may go quicker, but you need to pay whatever fine they accrue.

Two years ago, three weeks after we got married, we moved ONE BLOCK and that took three days and thousands of dollars.

Don't Forget the Weather!

Also, thank the Lord, it's raining. And the forecast has rain all week. The city freaks out in the rain. Moving in the rain, besides being depressing, gets difficult because if slick sidewalks jammed with pushy New Yorkers taking up 150% space with their umbrellas; all your property (especially boxes) need to be covered and protected. The rain probably adds an hour or two to an already tight move.

Action Packers

We hired our movers to pack up our apartment and they said they need to come two days ahead. We move out Thursday so the packers come tomorrow. Tonight is the last night of normalcy in New York (if you can call it that). Just as you clean for the cleaning lady, we're now packing things away in a manner that we can find it later. I packed my DVDs myself (6 boxes full). Things that we want to keep for the weekend– or give away – we've tucked aside in suitcases. Moving on a Thursday made sense at one point but given the difficulty of NYC, who knows if they can deliver our stuff in New Haven til Friday! Thank God for summer shabbases.