I’m now an expert at moving. I’ve just completed my third move in 4 years. Let me tell you it was a learning process.
The first move, a move from my student accommodation in Dublin 6 to Sandyford was a disaster. I haven’t got much stuff and when the movers knocked on my door at 9 a.m. and I was still suffering the worst hangover of my student career I wanted to curl up in my bed and ignore them. When I say movers… probably best to describe them as a few lads who borrowed a van. It was still half full of electrical tools from its real job. I begged them for 30 mins to throw my meager belongings into random plastic bags. I had no time to wrap the TV and the lads had nothing to protect it. It was not the only victim of the move. A study desk that had served me well for the last 2 years of my degree lost a leg and a set of cups lost a battle in a badly packed bag for life. After being left in the lobby of the Beacon to fend for me, still hungover and thirsty I slowly moved my belongings to my new 5th-floor apartment.
Life after the first day at the Beacon was bliss. I loved my new surroundings and my first job was a five-minute cycle. I promised myself that the next time I moved I would be prepared. I signed a year lease with a college classmate and ended up being there 3 years. He moved on but I easily got new housemates when they were needed. One of the housemates ended up being more than that.
In the beginning, I didn’t want to move. I had grown comfortable in my surroundings. The Gym was 5 minutes away. The shopping center was 5 minutes away. The Luas was 5 minutes away but our careers had moved. I was now working in the City center and my partner in Howth. Living in Sandyford was no longer convenient.
Our belongings had grown. We had our own bed and sofa and some small pieces of furniture. When we found the apartment on South Circular Road I hated it. We took it without thinking twice. We had been looking for a month at every opportunity and had nothing offered to us. Young and employed meant nothing to a landlord who had people offering more than the asking price just to end their search. We had a budget and could not start making silly bribes to greedy landlords. We took the apartment on the SCR and then began thinking about the move.
I had seen people come and go over the three years in Sandyford and saw varying degrees of efficiency in every move. There were people like me who moved in with plastic bags and wobbly bits falling off IKEA furniture and then there was Kevin. Kevin moved into the Beacon a year ago. 10 perfectly sized boxes all marked with contents. Bubble wrapped around his computer screen like an expert at Moving. Shrinkwrap clear bags for his clothes. He had even taken the lampshade off his light to protect it in transit. He also had proper movers. They trollied his labeled boxes up and placed them in the corresponding rooms. Kitchen box to kitchen. Bathroom box to the bathroom. I looked on remembering my hungover fight with the elevator as it tried to snap a remaining leg off my desk. We are earning now, we can afford some help. I decided to employ a moving company.
We employed a company called Supervanman.ie as they were local and had great reviews expert at Moving. They made the move very easy. Yes, we had to do the packing and wrap our fragile items but once they arrived they took control. They had a large trolley that took 10 boxes at a time. Down the elevator and into their colorful van. They dismantled our bed and maneuvered the sofa out the door and down the stairs. Easy was the word. I felt embarrassed with the little I had to do. I offered them tea or coffee but they declined. They had another job on later and had to press on. The full movie took 3 hours and as our bed was being reassembled we both agreed it was effortless.
The apartment at SCR was horrible. My instincts were right. I hated it as we signed the lease and hated it more when the first patches of mold started appearing on the windowsills. We agreed after about 3 months that we would start looking for an alternative. We both had good jobs and were happy together. Why not buy? We were in the recession and prices had dropped from crazy highs to affordable for a 2 income white-collar partnership.
We found a nice place in North Dublin and our offer was accepted. We had been given a moving date a month away and let our landlord know of our intentions of moving on. He was happy to see us move on to our own place and said the break in the lease was fine. He would get someone else quick enough. It was him who recommended Vanquotes.ie. Expert movers from all over Ireland are all on one database. We filled out the forms and got three quotes back very quickly. We went for the one with the best price and comments left by previous customers.
I packed up using all my skill from experience and also very helpful hints in the expert at Moving section on the website at vanquotes.ie . I was able to get a month’s free bin collection and free house insurance because of my credit card. The money saved from the hints section probably paid for the move.
All the boxes are now in the rooms, left by the movers. Nothing has been damaged, nothing is out of place. I will write them an excellent review.
Life has moved quickly. Responsibility has been thrown at me and together with my partner we have embraced it. I still have my bag for life and may use it again in the future when we need to move again. It’s not a chore anymore. A little organization and a good moving company are all you need.
