When I settled in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn in the early 2000's, I had just moved to the city and knew nothing about what an amazing place I had stumbled upon. When I moved three years later, it was only a matter of blocks.
Intra-neighborhood moves are strange things: maybe you've found a larger place or a deal you just can't pass up. Almost always, though, people making intra-neighborhood moves love where they live. Why else would you put all of that effort into a move just to relocate down the block? Some peculiarities to the intra-neighborhood move based on my own expereince:
- Some items can be carried - that's right: simply hand carried - from the old house to the new one. I remember loading up a wheeled laundry hamper and pushing it down the sidewalk from my old place to my new. It contained all of the essentials for setting up the new place before the truck arrived. If the new place is close enough, you might even get a few large items down the street, sans-truck!
- Your neighbors stay the same. So do all of your haunts, laudromatte, and commute.
- It's wonderful because you have the excitement of a new home with the comfort of familiar surroundings right outside your door. It's really a confidence boost and makes you settle even deeper into your little corner of the city because you realize how much things stay the same even when you shake up your own life a little.
I have to say that the intra-neighborhood move was one of the best moving memories I have. What about you? Have you experienced one? What were your reasons for moving but staying near?
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we've done this 3 times so far. actually moving 1 block south and 2 blocks east, each time we moved.
Oh lord. I literally moved around the corner last December from a house to an apartment when my roommate moved out and it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. We got a small U-haul and made several trips with a few pieces of furniture and boxes in each trip. I don't know whether it would have been easier to just load up a big truck or not, but it was just so exhausting to be loading/unloading all day, instead of loading up and then being done with it. I think we also had the idea that it would be easier somehow since it was so close, and that may have made it seem harder when we realized it was just as hard as any move. But you're right - it did save on the neighborhood-exploring/grocery store-finding aspect of moving!
I just completed and intra-neighborhood move and I still think that it was a great decision! The move itself was incredibly complicated but that's a whole 'nother story, instead I get a much bigger space a little farther away at the same price with all of my favorite cafes, shops and grocery stores close by!
My first apt on my own (after a roomate situation) was 1 block over and 1 block down -- so I moved everything myself in walking trips. Even though I had very little furniture and stuff (19 year-olds had a lot less "stuff" in 1976 -- but we did have large record collections!) I was beat by the time I was done!
I LOVE COBBLE HILL, when I used to live in Brooklyn I lived in the Boreum/Cobble Hill area (Bergen at Smith.) I can see why you don't want to go too far.
I've done this twice. Once from a one-bedroom to a two-bedroom in the building next door. That was tough... both 2nd floor walkups.
The second time was when we sold our townhouse and moved 200 feet away to the first single-family house around the corner (I can see my old townhouse from here!).
We hired movers the second time and even then it was hard. They weren't as careful about making sure every little thing made it into the truck. There were a lot of things left to carry over by hand once the movers left.
But I love the neighborhood and we were so happy to be able to buy "up" and stay here.
I had several nearby neighbors who were renting houses while considering buying them. Each household has decided to buy a nearby house that's larger than what they were renting. House prices dropped and their number of children increased until they couldn't resist buying and making an intra-neighborhood move. They've been very happy about their decision to stay in this area.
The most intra-intra-neighborhood move I've made was after my live-in boyfriend and I broke up, he moved out and I wanted some place new to make new memories, etc. Well, I moved right across the hall. Easiest move ever!
April,
Do you play chess? It's like you are moving your knight.
I'm doing this right now, in North Oak Cliff in Dallas. We sold our house last month and are closing on a new one about a mile away (tomorrow!!!)... and right now, we're living in a temporary rental halfway between the two. For a spread-out city like Dallas, that's pretty intra-neighborhood. We love Oak Cliff and can't imagine living anywhere else in town.
That being said, I helped move my then-boyfriend (now husband) around the corner once in Austin. I think we hand-carried everything.
Yep, I've done it! What was so amazing to me was how much life changed, even while staying in the same neighborhood. I met a whole new group of neighbors, visited a different dog park where I met new friends, and because we moved to a larger space, my professional life improved. (I'm an artist and I work at home and need a space to bring galleries and clients to.) So one shouldn't underestimate changes brought about by a move in the same neighborhood.
I've done this twice so far. Shall do so again next spring. I will find the perfect apartment this time!
I'll be moving-in next september (20th) and just few blocks away. I really wanted to stay within the same part of the town because I'm familiar with its businesses, parks, equipments, atmosphere, etc.
I'm already packing, boxing, sorting, giving and I know this is for a better living.
I moved from a 2bdrm with a roommate on the 4th floor to a 1 bdrm on my own on the 3rd floor in the same building. i loved my location and my landlord was great, so I was really happy to be staying put. I planned on skipping the boxing process, though, which was a huge mistake. what i expected to be an easy move turned out to take forever because i was just taking arm-loads of stuff at a time.
The first place I moved into in Sacramento ended up being horrible (loud, very dirty and weird neighbor who would stare in our windows). But the neighborhood was great. We moved the next month (good thing it was a month to month rental) right around the corner. The place was larger, cleaner and only $5 more a month. We loaded up our car with everything, or walked it around the corner. We even put our mattress on top of our car, I drove while my husband walked by the car holding the mattress. It was tons of work, with lots of trips. Totally worth it!
I just moved in my building from a 1 br on the third floor to a 2 br on the fourth floor on the other side. My building is an old pre-war walk up and I got movers because I have lots of furniture and stuff and not a lot of patience for moving it up and down stairs (which I've done before, too many times to count).
Least stressful move I've ever had, I've gotta say. And I think I'll be staying in my neighborhood (maybe even my apt!) until I leave NYC.
I suspect this is more common than people think but people still gave me weird looks when I told them I was moving to a different floor. I don't know what was so weird about it-different apartments have different views, prices, etc.
I once moved two buildings over, which was a few hundred feet (small buildings, this was West L.A.) My address changed by one number. The move was a relatively easy parade back and forth in the alley.
Another time, living with roommates, we moved to a new building around the block. My favorite memory of that event was our putting a very heavy sleeper sofa, sans mattress and cushions, on a skateboard and 'riding' it over to the new place.
Very timely - I just moved in to a dump in a great neighborhood last week. Am already scouting the nabe for another (nicer) place in 357 days!
My favorite memory of my intra-neighborhood move in Carroll Gardens was carrying my wee guppy in his bowl 2 blocks to the new place. It was a sloooooow walk to avoid unnecessary water sloshing, and at one point I was crossing the an intersection where there was a police car waiting at the red light watching me and they got on their loud speaker and broadcast "slow and steady...." while I crossed the street. :)
I did an intra-neighborhood move about two and a half years ago. I live in the Mount Vernon neighborhood in Baltimore which is just gorgeous. I went from one studio apartment to another, and I moved a little farther away from work (yep, I live and work in the same neighborhood!) but my newer apartment has tons of features I didn't have before for the same exact price. Stuff like central heat/air, hardwood floors, a fireplace, and more windows/light, plus an awesome paint job and a friendly landlord sealed the deal.
I spent about two and a half weeks moving stuff myself, in backpacks, and carrying what I could. It was just a 4 block walk so I carried stuff like my lightweight Ikea coffee table and kitchen chairs myself. I got a few laughs and comments from passerby's but whatever.
I lived in a house that used to be an old fraternity and it's broken up into 6 apartments. I used to live on the bottom floor for 2 years but decided to move upstairs to the ground level floor and I'm going on two years there now. I just love the house- it's old so it has a lot of character and it's a great location- right off of campus.
LOL, Alexuma! You see alotta strange things in this town, but walking a guppy... :-D
It's really interesting. Now I realize that this is my 3rd apartment (with my hubby) in Brooklyn Heights. I also did the Intra-neighborhood move several times in Park Slope when I was single.
If you're living on Pacific Street in Cobble Hill, you must check out Nastasi-Vail Design, my favorite resource for home goods in Cobble Hill! They find the most beautiful things for the home and price them reasonably.
Seems like fate that I stumbled upon this post. I am completely smitten with a house FSBO just three blocks from our home -- it is an MCM house designed by the founder of the Dept. of Architecture of the local university. We adore our neighborhood, but I've never been crazy about our house. It seems insane to uproot the family for what is essentially a change of style, but I cannot stop thinking about it. If we don't do it, will I always regret it? If we do, will my family resent me for putting them through such stress?
When I commented earlier, I totally forgot about the most intra-neighborhood move I've ever made. My first post-college apartment was on one side of a duplex, and after a year, my roommate and I moved to the other (larger) side. There was a connecting door, so we didn't even have to go outside to move.
@midmodmom63, That wouldn't be uprooting your family. Uprooting is leaving friends, schools, and jobs to go out of state. Investigate the house, evaluate your financial status, and confirm whether the expenses involved would make sense. There may not be such a buyers' market for a long time, so it may be a smart move. You may enjoy Remodel or Move: Make the Right Decision, by Dan Fritschen, which I liked enough to keep after reading.
Hate to be pedantic, but the move shown on the map is not possible, as Congress Street runs one way eastbound.
P. S. Families usually find a reason to be stressed and resentful regardless, so that shouldn't be a deal-breaker. My primary concern would be the money angle.
I just did this this weekend! Finally left the big 60s high-rise I'd been living in since I was a college student, and am now in a former vestry five blocks away. The building I was moving out of only gives you a single 3-hour window to use the freight elevator for move-out, so we had to hire a couple guys to make sure we'd be done in time. We discovered you can book movers for small jobs directly through U-Haul, which saved us a ton of cash (they loaded/unloaded, we drove the truck ourselves).
One of the best things about moving intra-neighborhood, though, was being able to call our favorite sushi place for delivery after we were done!
Alexuma: that was the best laugh of the day. Thanks for that.
Did this once in Astoria. We were young and stupid and thought, hey, only 5 blocks, so great, we don't need to rent a moving truck, and we barely even have to pack! So instead we took 2.4 million trips with a couple granny carts over days and days... TOTALLY SUCKED. Really wished we had boxed everything and rented a truck.
I have done three moves in Park Slope, each one block from my old apt. For the last move I used a hatchback to move my bed-hardest to move were my stereo, TV, and LP's. Since these were the old days before CD's were affordable I had over 500 records. Still do as a matter of fact.
Unfortunately I am leaving the Slope so it's gonna be movers this time.
Thank you Miami's Elaine for your advice! I'll look for that book. And though no amount of remodeling will make my house look like a Mid-Century Modern one, I'm sure a certain amount of effort will help me love my own house more. With interest rates so low, it's a great time to buy, but it is still risky financially pull this off right now. And I'm the only one in the family who likes the other house more. :O(
I moved 2 streets from where I used to live, and now I have a great park view, nice landlady (no more agent!!), very cute and cozy apartment.
(ok the building manger is a bit creepy but that's the only con)
We moved about three blocks away from our old house. It was a rental, and since my husband grew up here and we loved the town, we knew we wanted to stay in our neighborhood. For three years we kept our eyes open for houses going on the market, as well as saved up money and readied our credit. Last summer we got an unexpected call about a house for sale that wasn't even listed yet. One look and we fell in love. And here we are 10 months later, happy and shaking our heads at our luck. We have new neighbors, but are close enough to the old ones to see them all the time. Everything is familiar yet new. It's great!
And as for the move, we rented a truck and did 95% of our stuff that way. But we did wheel our 1935 Magic Chef 1000 stove (named "Mildred" by its previous owner) from one house to the other. My husband and brother-in-law pushed it along the sidewalks as it rode on a dolly. They got some curious looks, but it was the easiest way to move it.