There are a billion and one good reasons why people flock to San Francisco on a daily basis. It could be for a job, school, significant other, or even just the culture. Regardless, I hear numerous San Franciscans say the same thing… there’s no city quite like it.
“The two things I love most about this city are the food and people. Seriously, SF will ruin you on food if you move there. Since there are so many choices, mediocre places don’t survive – even GOOD places have a hard time staying open sometimes. The result is that a 3-star on yelp in SF is equivalent to a 4 or 4.5 in most other places. The people are great too. Wacky, weird, normal – all walks of life, so many situations. It really opens your eyes to the diversity in the world. Only in a big city like SF, will you talk to a pilot, an engineer, a tattoo artist and a disabled vet, all in the same night, at the same bar,” said Nathan Maffeo.
He and his wife Tara decided to pack up their things and move from San Diego to San Francisco simply because they needed the change.
“I moved from San Diego, where I had lived most of my life. I felt like I had been there for too long and needed to take some time and explore another city. My brother lived in SF and I had known several friends who lived (or still did live) here,” Nathan said.
And from it, came all sorts of exciting things.
“The culture is amazing. I loved how there was always something going on! Restaurants need reservations at 7pm on a Tuesday. Every weekend there is some sort of festival. And, being walking distance to an opera, city hall, ballet made “cultured” activities so much easier,” he said, “That’s not to say I was only surprised by good things. Before moving to SF I had never seen a hooker on a corner, or a junkie shooting up. You get all sorts of new experiences in the city.”
They live on the 16th floor of an amazing apartment. Cringing at the thought of their moving day, I had to ask how they did it. They excitedly explained to me the idea of hybrid moving. And, what I learned was an undeniably-smart idea.
So what exactly is it?
Hybrid moving combines the best of DIY and full-service moving. It aims to take advantage of the ease that comes with someone else doing the heavy-lifting, while sticking with the frugal sensibility of going the DIY route.
The breakdown of how it works goes like this: you rent the truck or shipping container yourself. You search for labor-specific movers online, book the number of helpers you need, and for the hours and dates that you need them. And, the savings you achieve are tremendous.
(source: http://moving101.hireahelper.com)
“Hybrid moving was WAY easier than any other moving experience I had. I just supervised and they did everything.”
Which sounds nice, considering you’ll probably want to take a break after you navigate the streets in your moving truck.
Plus, hybrid moving sounds pretty darn efficient.
“The people we hired were professional and quick. They also did an amazing job packing the truck– it was full to the brim! If it had been the wife and I, then I think we would have had to do TWO trips,” he added.
It’s an interesting concept catching on, and I only just learned about it. (Because moving is what my clients do at the end of every transaction.) If you’re curious about hybrid moving too, you can check out the official Moving 101 guide to Hybrid Moves for a complete overview of the process and average pricing. Then, go try the site Nathan and Tara used to find move help, HireAHelper.com’s San Francisco movers resource, where you can compare different companies by cost and customer reviews.
As always, I provide all of the information on theFrontSteps.com to you dear readers because I want you to be informed about all aspects of buying, selling, and moving to and from San Francisco. When it comes time for you to move, please consider me your first point of contact before you’re packing boxes. I am here to help you buy that dream home and sell the one you have…and find a good mover. :-)
Get outside and play!
(feature image source: Richard Heyes)