Monday, 14 November 2011

[JonPorobil]

I spent this past weekend moving. We went from an apartment to a townhouse just under a mile away. It's a little bigger, and has a washing machine and dryer. On the other hand, it costs a little more and is in a worse neighborhood. So it seemed like an even trade. Some things better, some worse.

This is the first place we've ever lived where the gas wasn't covered by owner, so we didn't realize we had to have it turned on. We're now going into day three without hot water or a working stove and oven. They're going to activate the gas and light the pilot tomorrow. So far, that's the only big "oops."

Unexpectedly, even though I'm running the exact same hardware as before, my wifi works much better in the new house than it did in the old apartment. When things settle down, I'm going to try to get up my webcam downstairs by the piano and do some Google+ hangouts with it again.

Question of the Day: How long ago was your last move, and what (if any) were your major setbacks?

[Paco Del Stinko]

I'm moving in a week or so. Two flights down. My set-up now is two big rooms, one small room, plus bath. One of my big rooms is the kitchen. Downstairs will be the same set-up, but the little room is the kitchen. BIG difference. I'll have a suite-like bedroom and a cozy kitchen plus music room without a chair in the middle of the room. I'll post pics one day soon. I'll be on a South-West corner, lots of sun for plants, heat and my cat. Only forseeable setback is giving up my view of Lafayette Square. Free entertainment in the form of motor and pedestrian traffic, police cars, ambulances, fights, idiots of all size and shape parading by. But I still get to walk to work, which is the best.

[roymond]

We moved here 12 years ago. Finished the renovations two days before our first son arrived. If you are going to have kids, it is required that you move and renovate right up to the last minute. The couch arrived the day before the boy. Couches are essential. We didn't have a crib even.

We didn't have any big issues. The neighborhood...it's pretty nice, and about as close to Manhattan as we can get without crossing water. I've lived in Brooklyn for 31 years, so it was a long time coming. We aren't planning on leaving until the kids move out, or something extreme happens. The main thing is thank god mortgage rates kept dropping and we (my wife) kept refinancing!

[HeuristicsInc]

We moved two months ago. There were setbacks, oh yes there were setbacks. But I think I should not share them to protect the guilty parties, at least not on the internet. if we ever get together at a sf thing i can tell you in person if you want to know.

re: having kids and moving, we didn't get the offer on our old place until long after the baby was born. bad market. so we moved after.

on the good side, i get a big space in the basement for my studio. working on figuring out what's the best arrangement of furniture and such.
-bill

[Lunkhead]

We've been in our current place three years as of this month. Yay! Our place was a real find, with tons of space and light and amenities for significantly less than our last place. And we could (and did) get a cat! But unfortunately we've been a little rough on the place and the things we don't like are starting to outweigh the things we do like, so we'll see how long we stay there.

I hate moving though. Looking for a new place to live is right up there with looking for a new job in terms of unpleasant processes for me. Ugh...

[Billy's Little Trip]

We just moved last Feb. Went from a nice size house in a bread and butter neighborhood where we raised the kids, to an uppity part of town in a nice size condominium in a pretensions but "has everything" community. They tend to frown down upon my shenanigans here. Such as my golf cart full of drunk friends yay-hootin' down to the micro brewery at the end of the block, etc. lol. But my new neighbors are all pretty cool for the most part.

My biggest regret is the loss of my awesome studio I had at my house. My new music room is an upstairs loft with no door that's open and looks down on my family room. My music isn't any worse, nor better, but I have to choose my loud recording times now. Mostly just vocals.

I do not miss my big yard. I thought I would, but I totally do not. I now have a nice sized private patio that's perfect for BBQing and entertaining. I'm across the street from the pool, spa, gym, BBQs, park. So if we have a big to-do, it's over there.

[RangerDenni]

1. A year ago last September
2. I am married. I have a congenial marriage. It's good
3. The moving process was horrid. Serious lines were drawn in ugly sand.
4. We moved in with a roommate.
5. We moved in with a roommate
6. We moved in with a roommate.
7. Did I mention I have a psycho roommate?
8. My roommate is an audio engineer. This benefits me occasionally. Sometimes it actually does the opposite.
9. When we move again we are hiring movers and a marriage counselor. #onlypartiallykidding
10. We will not have roommates again.

....I just wrote 6 paragraphs right here and started crying. I'm really not happy with my situation. That's so not cool here though. I think there is a male counterpart to feminism, and I am that so I will not fling my estrogen at y'all this fine afternoon. Thank you.

[Lunkhead]

We got movers for the first time when we moved into our current place. I don't want to move without movers again, unless I've sold all my stuff and decided to live a very ascetic lifestyle. They were more than worth the money if you ask me.

[RangerDenni]

yeah that's what we're figuring.

[fluffy]

I bought my condo a bit over 3 years ago. The only real setback is the ongoing issue of the apathy of the majority of the HOA which means that building maintenance basically never got done (until we finally got enough of the folks to show up for a vote to hire a management company, which has made things a lot better). Turns out not everyone actually gives a shit about protecting their own half-million-dollar investment, despite claiming not being able to afford the things necessary to do it. (So why do they own?)

People are weird and petty.

[BBABM]

we just moved across town in august, coincedentally my entry for jon eric's "circle of titles" was the first recording on the first day of our new house. we moved from a wildly inexpencive 2 bedroom apt. my parents owned, to a 3 bedroom house at appx. 3x the price. having the immense amount of extra space is fantastic, but we too moved in with roommates. luckily, they [my girlfriends sister, and sisters boyfriend] are quiet, respectful, clean, and work completely opposite schedules from us. all in all, i cant for the life of me find a bad thing about this move, other than physically moving our mountains of crap, and having to spend the extra $400 or so a month on rent. we now live close enough to walk to a number of bars/restaurants/music venues, and are tucked into a tiny, newly built corner of what Charlottesville Va considers "the ghetto", which is actually a pretty decent neighborhood, other than the gov't assisted housing complex down the street where you can usually see the local gangs amassing at the bus stop. found the place on craigslist, and come to find out the owner is a friend of a family member, so we had no need for background/credit checks... which probably didnt matter, but its like $50 we didnt have to spend.

[Caravan Ray]

Moving, schmoving.

Since leaving home at age 19 - I have moved 26 times in the past 25 years.

3 of these moves were interstate. 4 of them international.

Especially recently - they have become more complex as various additional accoutrements have been added - eg. wife, cat, dogs, child etc.

Don't talk to me about moving.

[roymond]

I used to drag a Knabe standing grand piano around with me. That was fun, because it had a big ass iron sounding board like a grand piano, but it was in a vertical arrangement, which is insanely awkward just to roll it out to clean behind. For some reason friends like helping friends do crazy things like moving pianos because I guess we don't get to move a piano every day, right? But there were some close calls, and at some point I had to admit that I actually would feel remorse if one of them or myself died because it slipped down a stairway. So I hired this Russian guy who showed up alone. I said when will your crew arrive? He said "I am here, where is piano?" This guy strapped the thing around his waist, then looped it over his forehead. He then instructed me to "stay clear", and proceeded to carry the thing down two flights, and then up two into the new apartment. And yet, Napoleon still thought it wise to invade Russia.

[JonPorobil]

That is an amazing story, Roy.

Of course, it's reasons like that which made me go for a digital piano. It has actual hammer action like the real thing and sounds like the real thing, but it's not heavy enough to crush anyone, it never needs tuning, and I can plug it directly into my computer.

[fluffy]

Piano snobs are quick to point out that digital pianos still don't have an escapement in the keys. Like it makes any difference to real playing anyway.

[Billy's Little Trip]

This guy strapped the thing around his waist, then looped it over his forehead. He then instructed me to "stay clear", and proceeded to carry the thing down two flights, and then up two into the new apartment.

I would have been in front of him tickling him the whole time. But only when he was going up the stairs so I didn't get crushed when he drops it. He'd be all, stop that Amedican or I vill bdreak yooo. Then I would have been all, dude, that is the borscht Russian accent I ever heard.

[roymond]

That is an amazing story, Roy.

Of course, it's reasons like that which made me go for a digital piano. It has actual hammer action like the real thing and sounds like the real thing, but it's not heavy enough to crush anyone, it never needs tuning, and I can plug it directly into my computer.

This was in the eighties. The options were: Rhodes, DX7, or ... piano. I had a DX7 already, and my roommate had a Synclavier (for real, that was awesome). Anyway it was my family's piano and I was emotionally attached to it.

It can be heard on my Xmas album, especially on Rudolph and We Three Kings.

[dirgetheband]

...Only forseeable setback is giving up my view of Lafayette Square. Free entertainment in the form of motor and pedestrian traffic, police cars, ambulances, fights, idiots of all size and shape parading by...

Paco, is this the Lafayette Square just south of downtown St. Louis, MO? If so, neato! We live way the hell out in Wildwood. I call it WildHood (or recently "David Freese-ville"). So. Did you happen to get a good look at the double-homicide-eventual-single-suicide from earlier this fall? Good times!

[Paco Del Stinko]

Oh my, no. I live in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in a once powerful shoe manufacturing town called Haverhill (HAY-vruhl) The building across the way from me had a pitbull shot by the police after it chowed on its owners face, but nothing quite like that. The statue of Lafayette is still in the square, but they put him on the side of the road after being in the middle of a rotary for a century. http://members.mva.net/galaca/pictures/lafsq.jpg There's where he used to be.

[dirgetheband]

Oh my, no. I live in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in a once powerful shoe manufacturing town called Haverhill (HAY-vruhl)

Ha ha, well then. Had a college roommate that was from Andover. Umm, the Blues' minor league affiliate used to play in Worcester, which I've been told is pronounced WOO-ster. Many people from Missouri attempt to abbreviate Massachusetts as MS.

I like the story about the dog. Sounds like a much sleepier, safer community than our Lafayette Square.

[BBABM]

Roy, either you told me that story while we were running errands for sfl, or I've heard an identicle story from someone else. Reminds me of:

[roymond]

Oh my, no. I live in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in a once powerful shoe manufacturing town called Haverhill (HAY-vruhl)

Ha ha, well then. Had a college roommate that was from Andover. Umm, the Blues' minor league affiliate used to play in Worcester, which I've been told is pronounced WOO-ster. Many people from Missouri attempt to abbreviate Massachusetts as MS.

I like the story about the dog. Sounds like a much sleepier, safer community than our Lafayette Square.

My people, they from Worcester. Don't knock it. And fwiw, it's Wooosta.