How to Befriend Your New Neighbors During the Holidays:

Moving is difficult no matter when you choose to relocate, but it’s made even harder during the winter months for an assortment of reasons. The slick and stormy weather makes carrying heavy boxes more dangerous, and the cold tends to keep people indoors – meaning you might not meet your neighbors until the Springtime thaw.
However, if you want to celebrate the holiday season by making friends with the residents in your area, you can employ a few of these great tricks to break the ice.

Don’t be shy. Say hi!

The great thing about trying to befriend your neighbors is that you’re very likely to run into them. The yuletide season is a busy one, and the odds are good that you’ll bump into a neighbor or two while walking the dog or returning from shopping. When this happens, make sure you say hello. Introduce yourself and tell them you’re new to the area. Ask them for some local recommendations, like what cafe serves the best coffee or where the best brunch place is. Your neighbors will be thrilled to share their area expertise, and you’ll come away one acquaintance richer.

Bribe them with food

Of course, waiting to encounter your neighbors leaves a lot up to chance. You can skip the waiting part and just go knock on their doors and introduce yourself – but it helps if you have something to give them when you stop by. Bake some festive cookies or a delicious casserole and bring it to give away when you make your introductions. Your neighbors will enjoy the goodies, and you’ll get the opportunity to socialize with them. Bonus points if you give them a dish that needs to be returned to you!

Host a small holiday get-together

Now’s the time to seal this friendship deal. Once you’ve chatted up your neighbors a few times, you should be ready to up the ante and invite them over to your place for coffee, tea, or other beverages. This is a great chance to be hospitable, get to know them better, and demonstrate your eagerness to be a part of the community

How to Safely Store or Move a Piano | Caring For Your Piano:

When you own a piano, moving takes a bit more planning. Should you hire a professional, or do it yourself? Here, Helendale, CA teacher Sylvia S. shares what to keep in mind to make sure your instrument stays safe and sound…

Many years ago, when my family relocated, the expertise for moving our household grand piano was delegated to professional furniture movers. Three piano legs and the pedals console were removed and wrapped in blankets. The moving parts for the body, including the music stand, the keyboard cover, and the hinged top of the grand piano were secured. All this was wrapped in thick blankets and put into a piano case.

We thought all was well, until the piano arrived in our new home… with a huge bolt driven through the piano case. When the case was opened, we discovered the bolt was driven through both the piano and the soundboard. If you have ever considered hiring professionals for your piano moving, this is probably your worst nightmare.

How to Safely Move Your Piano

For cross-town relocations, a professional piano mover is usually your best bet for a grand piano. In long-distance relocations, it’s best to have a professional who deals exclusively with pianos to disassemble your piano and pack it carefully before involving furniture movers. Some piano companies will also move the piano for you. This may mean that two separate companies are involved in packing, and it’s a good idea to check the paperwork to be sure who will be responsible for delivering the piano in the same condition it left.

Although upright pianos have fewer moving parts than grands, and don’t require disassembly, it’s still a good idea to find a piano mover. Many pianos are much heavier than they appear and, if you’re a do-it-yourselfer, you may appreciate having help loading it into a rental truck.

Considerations for Storing Your Piano

If you need to store your piano during your move, there are extra things to consider. Since many important parts of the piano are made of wood, which is subject to expansion, the temperature extremes can ruin the instrument. Store your piano in a conditioned space, away from damp places. Don’t even think about putting your piano into a metal storage shed! It may be better to sell a piano in excellent condition, and just put that money away tobuy another piano in the future.

Before your piano comes out of storage, think about where you will want to practice and play music. Look at the windows, walls, doors, and floor. Despite having insulation, an exterior wall is not the best choice for a piano. Look for an interior wall, with conditioned rooms on both sides. And, although it’s nice to have light from a window, take care that the piano will be protected from excessive heat, drafts, and rain.

Pianos in basements and garages may seem like a good idea to parents who are tired of hearing their kids practice. However, consider whether this is a good choice for an investment that can range in value from a few hundred dollars for a used spinet to hundreds of thousands of dollars for a new top-of-the-line grand piano. Consider placing a rug under the piano, particularly if the piano will be on a cold surface like tile, and definitely avoid putting your piano on a bare concrete floor.

Getting Back to Playing

Now that you know where your piano will be placed, it’s time to call in the piano moving professionals! Grand pianos will need to be reassembled, and your piano will need to be tuned; pianos can’t be expected to hold their pitch during relocation. It’s a nice idea to pencil in an annual appointment with a good piano tuner to keep things sounding good.

So, now that you know about storing and moving pianos, what happened to that piano I mentioned in the beginning of the article? Well, fortunately my great-grandfather was a piano tuner, and my dad was pretty handy with tools. My dad took a good look at the crack left in the soundboard by the bolt, bought several bottles of wood glue, and borrowed an amazingly huge wood clamp and a book from the library about piano rebuilding.

Watching as my dad glued the piano together and tightened the clamp, our family prayed for the resurrection of our beloved grand piano. The piano stayed clamped together for about a week while we refinished the exposed, cosmetic woodwork to a painted, antiqued look. My dad took apart and reassembled that piano piece by piece, learning how a grand piano is put together and tuned. Finally, in a suspenseful moment which seemed like an eternity, with our family as his audience, he carefully unscrewed the clamp. It held!

Although this is very unlikely to happen to you, it’s an example a worst-case scenario during piano moving. Don’t worry too much — make sure you hire a professional piano mover, and good luck with your piano adventures!

Moving to San Jose:

Moving Advice

With 945,000 residents and a metro population of almost 2 million, San  Jose is a great city to live in that offers a diversity of culture, arts and careers. If you’re not sure what to expect when moving to San Jose, the following insider tips will help.

The best time of year to move into San Jose is…anytime! The climate here is temperate year round and you won’t encounter any inclement weather conditions more severe than rain. Weather hindering move-day safety shouldn’t be a concern, but keep in mind that heaviest rainfall occurs between November and April.

You can trace the prosperity of San Jose by measuring its traffic congestion. Historically, freeway traffic has eased as unemployment rates have risen. Lately, those moving to San Jose have found increased job opportunities but increased daily commute times.

Expect significant traffic delays if you’re moving to San Jose during the week and find yourself on the freeway in the morning (between 6-9 a.m.) or the afternoon (between 3-7 p.m.).

Get Organized

Check out our downloadable planners and checklists.

MOVING-OUT-FOR-THE-FIRST-TIME CHECKLIST

LAST-MINUTE MOVING CHECKLIST

MOVE PLANNER

CROSS-COUNTRY MOVING EBOOK

SEE MORE

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Neighborhoods

The city of San Jose is just under 180 square miles, a figure that’s dwarfed by the size of its surrounding metro area, which racks up an impressive 8,800 square miles. Still, there is plenty of room within those comparatively small 180 square miles of “San Jose Proper” for numerous neighborhoods and suburban areas. The following are some of the San Jose area’s most prominent and noteworthy neighborhoods.

• Downtown San Jose
• Japantown
• Rose Garden
• Winchester
• Almaden Valley

FULL NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT

Cost of Living

The cost of living in San Jose is far and above the average found in many other places throughout the country, but don’t let that discourage you from moving here. The fact is, you stand to make a much higher salary by moving to San Jose than you would by living elsewhere. Here’s how the cost of living in San Jose breaks down.

IN-DEPTH REPORT

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Getting Around

After moving to San Jose, take advantage of the city’s developing public transportation system. Although the transportation network in the San Jose area isn’t quite as extensive as what you’ll find further north in San Francisco, getting in and out of the downtown area, to and from Norm Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport, and other points of interest can be easily accomplished by bus or light rail. Better yet, both systems are bicycle-friendly and allow riders to bring their bikes on board. Refer to the links below for more information, including maps, schedules and rates for all bus and light rail routes.

• Valley Transit Authority (VTA)
• Caltrain

Relocation Resources

Qualified job seekers will discover that moving to San Jose will put them in contention for some of the top paying jobs in the country. And even if you aren’t able to command a six-figure salary, there are plenty of entry-level jobs in San Jose to start your career off right. The primary component of the job market in San Jose is owned by the large number of high-tech computer, microprocessor and engineering companies.

Media Outlets

When moving to San Jose, you can discover the city with the help of the following local newspapers and TV stations. They’ll lead you in the right direction for the city’s numerous points of interest and events, while simultaneously keeping you abreast of local breaking news.

San Jose Mercury News
With a weekly circulation of 530,000 and a Sunday edition circulation over 600,000, theSan Jose Mercury News is the second most widely read newspaper in California. A winner of numerous awards including two Pulitzer Prizes, the Mercury News offers local and world news coverage, including politics, business, sports, job listings, arts and entertainment.

Metro Silicon Valley
A free weekly city guide, Metro Silicon Valley(more widely known as simply “Metro”) launched in 1985 and has been one of the premiere sources of information on the local culture and entertainment scene ever since. With a circulation over 70,000, Metro is distributed not only throughout San Jose, but also to surrounding cities encompassing the greater metro region.

You Just Moved. Now What?

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The hardest part is over. You've packed up your entire house and had it delivered to your new place. But after the moving truck leaves and the dust settles, you’re left with an unfinished home-and a LOT of boxes. So what do you do first?

1.  You want your new place to be safe and secure—start with the locks. If the previous residents or owners did not change the locks, make sure to do this first. And if the garage has a code, don’t forget to reset that, too! You can rest easier knowing that no one has the keys to your new place except you.

2.  Next, tackle the most important boxes first. Unpacking every room of your house will take a huge amount of your time, so make sure that you start with the most important rooms first—namely, the kitchen, bathroom(s) and the bedroom essentials. That way, you have everything you absolutely need ready to go while you take time to unpack everything else.

3.  Once you have those set up, make sure that you have all of your utilities in place. Test out your internet, electric, heat, etc. to make sure that everything is ready to go.

4.  Don’t forget to register your vehicle(s) if you've moved states, provinces or countries! Taking care of this ASAP will help you avoid hassles later down the road.

5.  Enjoy your new home!

For all of your relocation needs, call the premiere household moving company in Seattle—Pacific Movers! We can help you with every step of the moving process to make it quick and stress-free. Give us a call to get started or fill out our easy online form for your FREE quote!

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How to Prepare for Moving to University:

Starting university is a new adventure that will bring you lots of new experiences, fun, great times and of course – a learning opportunity that can help you improve your knowledge and look for a job later in life. It is the transition between being a pupil and becoming an adult. Universities have their relocation policies which you should observe. The information about it is uploaded on the university’s website so review it as you get your acceptance confirmation. This will give you enough time to prepare. In the meantime, when it comes to the question of how to move to a university, here are some tips and suggestions that can make this exciting experience less difficult for you and everyone around you, and better organized. Especially if this is your first time moving out, it would be understandable if you feel a bit nervous as well, but it is OK, take a look at our tips!



Prepare for the Move

There is a list of things that are essential for your move and we will discuss them bellow. Of course, if you miss or forget something, you can always get it after you move there! To begin with, have in mind that you will have at your disposal only a small room and there won’t be much space. So, only take items that you are sure will be useful and will come handy. Otherwise – you better leave it behind. Of course, make sure you are aware of what the university dorm has in the first place, and consider what else you will need to bring or buy after your arrive there.

Prepare a suitcase with your clothes and shoes for the school year and put the rest in boxes. Make sure it is an appropriate size because you will need to find a place in your room to keep it until you need it again – it may be under the bed or behind the door. Items that are larger and/ or heavier and occupy lots of space, could be omitted from the packing and you could get them after you arrive at your new residence – pillows, sheets, pots & pans, etc., if the university doesn't give you those.

Different universities have different rules – there are dormitories where you will get a whole apartment for yourself with a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen; in other dorms you will have a room to yourself while the other premises will be shared, but you may have to get pots and pans. In still other universities rooms could be shared, and the kitchen is at the end of the hall for everyone there to use. Some universities offer a choice and you can select what level of privacy and convenience you wish to have, being alone in a room/ apartment being the most expensive option, while other universities, especially such with lower education costs, for example universities in Eastern Europe (which could mean only lower standard of life, not lower quality of education or dorms) just put you up in a double room. You may be alone only if you get lucky because there are less students than beds.

You will usually find in a dorm some basic furniture like a bed, a desk, a small wardrobe, shelves and a table. Some universities apply restrictions as to what you could not bring so acquaint yourself before the move. Other than that, you can consider taking the minimum from the list that follows and buy the other things you need after you arrive.





Different university have different dormitories. What does your new room have?
Moving to University Checklist

Now, here is your checklist for moving into university residence:

Mattress protector – x 1
Pillow – x 1 or 2, depending on your preferences
Pillow cases – x 2
Bottom sheets and covers – x 2
Blankets – x 2
Bath towels – x 2
Hand towels – x 2
Laundry basket
Drying rack (you can get one after you arrive, if it is not provided by the university or left behind in the apartment by a student who’s used the premise before you)
Toothbrush and toothpaste
Bathroom cosmetics by choice (shaver, shaving foam, shampoo, soap/ shower gel, hair conditioner, medicines, lens liquid cleaner, etc.)
Medical kit
Desk lamp
Alarm clock (unless you don’t have one on your phone)
Rubbish bin for your room
Items of sentimental value like photos in frames, lucky charms, etc.
Washing powder and softener
Electrical items (hairdryer, curling iron, etc.)
Clothes – check the climate of the area to decide what to bring; in some cases you may not need winter clothes, for example
Official clothes and shoes – even if you don’t plan to use those, have at least one pair of each, just in case
Gym and/ or swimwear
Backpack for going to university every day – it will be useful for you if you could find a water resistant bag that is strong enough to hold all you will need for your studies in class like textbooks and notebooks, a laptop, a water bottle, etc.
Laptop – usually universities have public computers but a laptop is convenient for working from your room like when you have to make presentations and write reports, also to keep in touch with friends and family
Chargers for your devices – laptop, phone, tablet, etc.
Printer – it will be very useful when you have to submit papers
Camera and batteries, if necessary
Iron
Torch
A4 file paper and/ or notebooks

Some dormitories have a common kitchen and you may have to also bring pots and pans, or buy them after the move.
Memory stick
Dictionaries, if you will be learning languages
Calculator – even if you won’t use it for your studies, it could certainly come handy for other estimations you may need to make
Personal ID and/ or driving license
Passport photos
Insurance papers
Bank account number
Documents required by university like those related to scholarship and dormitory
CV
Items you will need for your hobbies like a musical instrument or special equipment
Moving to University Extra Tips

Other than those things, here are some additional moving to university tips that will make your life easier.

If you have a health condition like epilepsy or other, you may decide to inform your flatmates and the other students in the corridor where you keep your med and what to do in case you need medical assistance.
Travel. Your parents can take you to university but if there is another student going to the same city, you can share a ride together. It will be more fun! Or you can ask someone to drive you there and you could cover the cost for petrol.
Get movers. If you've decided to move more things, and you need transportation, you can rent a van and drive it yourself, or ask movers to do it for you. Or you can find a friend, or a relative, who is willing to help. Making an inventory list with what to bring can help your move. Here is some useful information on how much movers charge.