If you live in New York City, the combination of wonder, excitement, and potential for stress needs no introduction. We all love New York City because it’s a place where anything can happen, and often does. This makes the most leisurely of times a lot of fun, and very stimulating. When it comes to something like moving, however, those same qualities can have us pulling our hair out.
When you choose to move from one location to another within New York City, you have two options: do it yourself or hire movers. Even if the places are nearby, and you’re in excellent health, hiring movers might be a better idea. Here, we look at why you should consider professional help.
Professional movers are street smart
No matter how well you think you know your way around New York City, unless you’re a professional driver in the City yourself, you probably can’t beat a professional mover’s knowledge. Even if you do know the streets and all their rules like the back of your hand, know all the ins and outs and shortcuts and alternative routes, you probably don’t know certain specifics to moving—such as whether it’s both legal and safe to unload at a particular location.
Also, like it or not, when someone sees a moving van and uniformed professionals, they give them a bit more leeway. And when it comes to securing good spots and navigating the streets and sidewalks, a more automatic respect for the moving process from the rest of the world is quite a blessing you just won’t have.
They’re natural problem-solvers
Likewise, professional movers have been through it all. Whether it’s a landlord problem, a traffic cop problem, a narrow staircase that you swear your furniture won’t fit up, an unexpected broken elevator, at the end of the day it is their job to work around it. And they do, because they have hundreds of times before.
Likewise, they won’t get frustrated when things aren’t going right. It’s their job to finish the task, and so they quickly employ the experience they’ve gathered from countless previous jobs without getting mired down in emotions. Of course, that means you won’t be suffering through the stress and anxiety, either.
They’ve got the tools and equipment you don’t
To be fair, you could have all the tools in the world. But you probably don’t, and you certainly don’t have the same level of experience at applying them to a successful move, nor backup equipment should any of these items fail.
Professional movers do. They keep in stock a multitude of tools and equipment that they use daily. These items include:
- Multiple dollies
- Hand trucks
- Hosting straps
- Lifting straps
- Huge tool sets for quickly assembling and reassembling furniture
- Moving blankets
- Skid pads
The list goes on. They also may have items like traffic cones, walkie-talkies to communicate with each other, and a host of other things that make the process a lot, lot easier. Plus, if you don’t have the tools, you’ll overcompensate and potentially put yourself or one of your friends or family members in the hospital trying to get that couch up the stairs.
Insurance is a requirement
This is a huge deal, and there’s not much you can do about it on your end. Many buildings in New York City strictly require movers and other service providers to have a certificate of insurance prior to entry into their building. If you’re moving from another location within the City, you’ll find this requirement on both ends. Not only that, some buildings will even require you pay a fee (if you’re lucky, a refundable deposit) to cover damage to the common areas like hallways, or the apartment itself.
It’s important that you discuss all this with your building manager beforehand. Having a moving company handle all this for you is a lot easier. First of all, you just won’t get traction with most buildings unless you have the insurance, and you don’t. Secondly, movers can handle all the business and procedural details that you’re not familiar with.
You’ll be more effective, and you just might save money
It doesn’t matter how great you think you are at moving. Simply imagine professional movers with all their tools and expertise. Now, picture the same situation, but it’s just your friends and family. Does everyone know how to properly load and secure items? Do they know how to place and secure skid pads? Do you really want them to overexert themselves carrying heavy items upstairs, possibly ruining their backs and your items in the process?
Movers do this for a living, and there’s no doubt they’ll do it faster and more effectively. But by minimizing risk to your possessions, and getting the process done faster, it’s completely possible you’ll come out on top financially, too.
The Final Say
When it comes to moving in New York City, the same hectic nature that gives the City its charm also makes it a veritable challenge. You have the option of doing everything yourself, or hiring professional movers. There are pros and cons to each method, but there’s no doubt that if you want the safest, easiest, more reliable method for moving from point A to point B in New York City, professional movers are the best route. You’ll save yourself time, headache, injury, and just possibly a bit of money as well.