5 Affordable Areas to Move in San Francisco

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Looking to Move to San Francisco?

San Francisco is known for its high rents.  The median rent for a single bedroom apartment is estimated to be over $3,600. If that figure makes your jaw drop, you should also consider that the median income in SF is higher than most areas. To find affordable housing, shop by neighborhood where the rent is lower, relative to the average salary in the Bay Area. Palo Alto movers can make the transition much easier. Here are five neighborhoods that you should check out.

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Keeping Your Belongings Safe While In Self Storage

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Keeping Your Belongings Safe While In Self Storage

One of the most convenient options available for Castro Valley moving and storage is temporarily placing household goods in self-storage units. This can be a very good solution when you’re in between homes, and need to move out of your current residence, but cannot yet move into the new one. It’s also a good way to handle things when you’re downsizing to a smaller place, and haven’t quite figured out what to do with everything. The fact that you have continuous access to your self-storage units and your furniture, as well as the affordability of storage, makes self-storage a very appealing option. But there’s just one catch – how do you keep all your goods safe while they’re being stored?

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Castro Valley is a Great Place to Live, Here’s Why.

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What Makes Castro Valley So Great?

Castro Valley has a small town feel, along with the natural beauty and outdoor lifestyle options of a foothill community. For those with sophisticated or adventurous tastes moving to Castro Valley, you can enjoy a variety of dining options and sample the local wineries. At the single-screen, 50’s era Chabot Theatre, complete with its vintage marquee, you can take in a modern movie in a nostalgic atmosphere. Beyond all these attributes, Castro Valley is close enough to the city for East Bay commuters who work in SF or Oakland, taking BART or traveling on 880, 580 and/or 92. With many highly rated schools in the area, Castro Valley is also a great place for kids and families. If you are looking into a new area to live, this just may be the time to get some moving quotes from a Castro Valley moving company!

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Here are some great reasons to downsize your home to save money

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Are you thinking about downsizing?

Some people, real estate professionals especially, encourage Bay Area residents to always be thinking bigger and better in their choice of homes. After all, isn’t “buy a big, nice house” one of the ingredients of the classic American dream? However, “saving money” and “planning ahead for the future” are also both virtues, especially if they can lead to someone pursuing a different track: downsizing their home. The concept can make a lot of sense, especially for those with high monthly payments, high utility costs and decent equity in their current home. Luckily, it’s a great time to sell your bigger home, so the next step is to look for something smaller that costs less money, and then hiring one of the Bay Area packing and moving companies to get you there.

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Why Hire Professional Packers for Your Move?

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Why Hire Professional Packers for Your Move?  

Moving to a new home can be an exciting experience. However, the actual process of moving can be challenging, particularly if you attempt to do everything without help. Fortunately, you can delegate some of the more tedious and difficult tasks, such as packing up and transporting your belongings. The following are some of the most compelling reasons to consider professional household packing for your Bay Area move.

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Tips for Graduates on Moving Out On Your Own After College

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Thinking about staying out on your own?

Congratulations on your graduation! Now you have to decide where to live after the college kicks you off campus. Sure, you could go back to mom and dad’s house, but who wants to give up your independence? If you want to live on your own, you’ll need to have a plan. You also need to be motivated and driven. There are many Bay Area packing and moving companies that can help you get into your first place, but you’re the one who has to make it happen.

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Moving with kids? Here are some tips for you

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Here are some ways to make moving easier on the kids

Before your major household relocation, during the process, and for a time after that, you can expect the lives of your whole family to be disrupted to some extent. You’ll probably also have chaotic conditions in the household until things settle down which can take a couple weeks. You might think that you can reduce the chaos by minimizing your kids’ involvement, but in many cases the opposite approach works out better. Try involving the whole family and making the most out of what can sometimes be a difficult process. Before you go for your Bay Area mover quotes, read the following tips to get your kids involved in the process. 

Prior to moving

Present the big move as a great adventure to your kids, and have a family conference to talk about what’s involved with it. You might even want to map out a plan detailing activities the week before the move, and especially on the day when everything happens. If it’s feasible, take a trip to the new residence, and have your kids pick out their bedrooms and start to think about how individual rooms will be used. Add the finishing touch to your planning meeting by telling them there will be a celebratory dinner at their favorite restaurant once the move has been completed. Then you are ready to get some Bay Area mover quotes

On moving day

Introduce your kids and your pets to the movers who will be handling all the necessary work. Involve your kids with the process in a manner that keeps them away from the traffic pattern being used by the movers themselves, but still allows them to feel they are part of it all. As an example, you might want to have them clean up a room after all the furniture has been vacated from it. If any of your kids have a special attachment to certain toys or objects, keep those handy throughout the day, so they can feel secure amidst all the uncertainty. If the move is a relatively long one, plan some activities for the time you’re on the road, such as reading, portable games, videos, etc.

When the move is finished

You probably won’t be able to accomplish all the unpacking in a single session, or even in a day, so why not break it up with explorations around the neighborhood? Your kids will love finding out where the playground is, where the neighborhood pizza shop is, and maybe where they can get a delicious ice cream cone. If you have the opportunity, introduce yourself and your kids to the neighbors, and you might get discover that your new neighbors have kids of similar ages.

In the days following your move, when the dust has begun to settle inside the home, take your kids for longer exploratory adventures, to find the local school, shopping malls, movie theaters, and everything else of interest to them. By involving your kids throughout the entire move process, you’ll not only have them buy into the new location and the new home, but you will have created a special family event that everyone will remember for years.

Moving and packing in the Bay Area

When you’re preparing for a big move with your family anywhere around the Bay Area region, the best company to work with is Movers N Shakers. We offer moving and packing services to the Bay Area. You can expect complete safety and careful handling of all your household goods, as well as the most professional and courteous attitude from our reliable and skilled movers. Contact us today for mover quotes in the Bay Area, and let’s get started on your big upcoming move.