Friday, September 30, 2016

How to Move in Together After Marriage:



Although you’re still in the happy daze of your honeymoon, reality is about to pop your love bubble.  When you arrive home, you’re finally moving in together and merging your households for the first time.  Since you’ve never lived together before, you’re in for the first challenge of married life which involves compromising as a couple.  Rearranging your living arrangements is just the first in a series of lifestyle changes you will experience, so in order to survive with your relationship happily intact, heed these helpful hints about how to move in together after marriage.

Where Will You Live?

Now that you’re back from nuptial celebrations you must decide where to live.  If you both came from your parents’ homes or resided with roommates, embarking on house hunting seems intimidating but fun to do.  By purchasing or renting your own home together, you’ll pool your resources and opt for the best place.  If one or both of you owns or rents your own place already, decide which residence works for you as a couple or if you must find a new one.  This involves more compromise and negotiating property sales on top of moving.

Moving Things Along

Once you’ve agreed where to live, decide how to transport your furniture and other possessions.  Should you hire a moving company or persuade your family and friends to moonlight as movers? Before you move, though, sort through what you own separately and consolidate those belongings as best as you can.  Some things can go to storage; others may be donated or trashed.  Don’t feel shy if you both despise a hideous wedding gift you received – send a lovely thank-you note and pass it on.

Two Becomes One

Even though you already sorted through your belongings, now that you’ve moved in there’s bound to be doubles and unnecessary items.  As a team, declutter again and decide what stays, what goes and which pieces go where in your new home.  This will be somewhat challenging if one of you is moving in to your spouse’s previously established residence and must make more room.  Houzz recommends taking photos and measurements before moving in to gauge what will fit and what must go to storage , into an attic or closet or given away.  Be sensitive when viewing your partner’s odd collections or family heirlooms that you dislike, says Houzz, and compromise on whether to display them or not.  Remember to work together on meshing your styles together or choosing a décor that makes you both happy.

Time to Talk

If you cannot discuss important issues like finances, splitting up chores, desired level of household maintenance, privacy concerns, personal idiosyncrasies and daily habits, your marriage will not start out strong and result in future controversies.  Disclosing your personal preferences regarding the aforementioned topics will set the tone for the success of your partnership and lead the way to working out solutions to supposedly impossible conundrums.

Expect Adjustments

Getting married and moving in together are very stressful life events even if you’re ecstatic for both to happen.  Realize there will be an adjustment period — which Bold Sky points out is the most fragile time in your relationship — before life settles into a hopefully happy pattern.  Give yourself time to grow and acclimate to each other, recognizing that you each need your space but also time to appreciate each other.  Once you realize these things and learn to speak your mind but remain respectful and loving, you’re ready to enjoy married life like you should.
If you are a first time home buyer or newlywed visit our site to receive $100* off your next move.  But we also know that many first time home buyers are often merging belongings, meaning that their moves often include extra stops (additional apartments, storage units, etc that need to be moved) – so we are also extending 1 free additional stop for all first time home buyers.  

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Guide To Moving To Another State:


Guide to moving to a new state

Has the time come for you to move to another state? If so, you are expected to have a rather busy schedule in the following months or maybe even weeks of preparation. Do you think you’re up to the relocation challenges as things stand right now?

Regardless of whether you believe the upcoming change is a good idea or not, the mere fact that you’ve made up your mind to leave the borders of your current state means that you must be really interested in learning the required steps to moving to a new state.

As you might already know, planning, organizing and executing a successful out of state move is anything but a joke. In fact, it’s proven that the preparation stage is the key to the preservation of your budget, prized possessions, and of course – your nervous system as well.

The following tips for moving to another state will surely make both your preparation and execution stages much more manageable from start to finish.

Reasons to move to another state

Your reasons to move to a new state can range from being

strictly personal (moving closer to your family, moving in together with your loved one, running away from bad memories or lingering bad luck, enjoying your Golden years),
largely economical (moving to another state for a better job, moving to a cheaper city, downsizing for reducing maintenance costs),
strictly professional (moving up the corporate ladder or pursuing a new career altogether),
purely circumstantial (moving to an area with a more favorable climate, moving to a better neighborhood or school district), or
maybe even a complicated mix of the above influential factors that will be pushing you hard towards Moving day.
No matter the true reason or reasons for wanting to move to another state, it’s the preparation stage ahead of you that will determine whether you end the moving journey with a smile on your face or a splitting headache.  In fact, it’s the things you do before moving to a new state that will make all the difference in your long distance relocation.

Make sure you follow the brief moving to a new state checklist below to get yourself ready for one of life’s most stressful and nerve-wracking events.

Things to do before moving to another state

It’s fairly important to keep in mind that the moment you begin your moving preparations is the exact moment you should have a clear idea of how to organize your time effectively so that not a single day is lost. As it turns out, sometimes hours alone can prove to be vital while preparing to move to another state, so get down to work right away.

Create a moving calendar


Setting a moving budget is one of your top priorities when moving to another state.
As you must be aware by now, time is a constant by which we set our daily schedules and plan our days ahead. Nevertheless, once you begin work on the required tasks, you will soon understand that time is also relative to the observer – in other words, you may feel as if time had quickened its pace towards the deadline and the only way you can break free from that stress-inducing feeling is to make each hour count.

Do just that by creating a moving and packing timeline which will detail every single job you are expected and encouraged to complete before your state to state movers arrive at your door. It takes only 3 easy steps to prepare your moving planner:

First, write down all the tasks that you know you will have to deal with soon without worrying about their specific order. Check out our week-by-week moving timeline checklist for some good ideas and tips.
Then, leave only the tasks that are relevant in your relocation case and that will help you save valuable time. This is known as personalization and the moving calendar you’re creating won’t really be yours until you do it.
Finally, prioritize the move related jobs according to their importance and make sure the top-priority ones are completed first. This way, you should be covered whatever happens during the moving preparation.
Set a moving budget

When moving to a new state, it’s always a great idea to keep your expenditure in check throughout the process of moving from one home into another. And this is why you need a moving budget that actually works as it will help you monitor your move-related expenses. So, if a task requires more money for its completion, you should know right away and take the necessary steps to remedy the situation.

And since moving to another state is not the right time or the proper place to try to move on your own (long distance moves always prove more cost-effective when handled by a professional moving company), your moving budget should definitely take into account the accurate moving estimate you have received from your mover, including the corresponding additional services and the extra charges and fees. In short, the moving company expenses should be what your budget is all about.

Get rid of unwanted items

Here’s the deal – moving to another state is all about cutting down your costs as far as they can go. The move distance and the shipment weight are the two main factors that you can’t just ignore – on the contrary, you need to understand how they both influence the moving price so that you can save money in the end.

The move distance remains unchanged at all times so you need to focus on lowering the total weight of your shipment, and that you can easily do by reducing the number of items you plan to take with you. Inventory your entire home, take notice of each and every possession in the place where you live, including the ones you have forgotten about, and start making some tough decisions.

The underlying principle here is to get rid of anything you haven’t used in a while (12 months is a good reference point) and do not plan to use in the foreseeable future. Remember, less weight means reduction of the cost of moving to a new state. But that’s not all! Of all the things to do before moving to a new state, selling some of your items to strengthen your stretched-out budget is another viable option to consider. After all, organizing a moving sale before your interstate move can prove to be profitable for you.

Pack whatever you can by yourself


Organize a yard sale to get rid of no longer wanted stuff and earn some needed dollar bills.
You may already be familiar with numerous tips for moving to a new state. And as long as those pieces of advice are good, some will eventually save you time while others will save you money. Either way, be ready to accept proven tips by experienced experts to make things way easier on yourself and your budget as well.

Speaking of good advice on moving to a new state, it’s time to seriously consider packing whatever household items you can by yourself and resort to professional packers only for the goods that require special packing and handling techniques – for example, a piano, a pool table, or a valuable piece of antique furniture.

Here are the 7 basic rules of self-packing:

Rule # 1: Avoid the common packing mistakes at all costs;
Initiate the packing process as soon as possible as underestimation of the time required to sort out, prepare and box your stuff will only lead to bigger problems;
Start packing from the hardest rooms to pack up, usually the storage areas such as basements, attics, garages, and so on;
Make sure you have the necessary packing supplies before you begin preparing your items for transportation to prevent unpleasant and time-wasting interruptions;
Pack up the rooms you use least frequently first and then move on to the areas you occupy on daily basis to avoid cluttering up your packing stations;
Ask reliable friends to give you a hand as packing is, without a doubt, the most time consuming task in your moving calendar;
And finally, do not turn your back on safety! Safety when moving to another state is paramount so the last thing you want is to risk the well-being of your possessions and your property. When things get really tough, don’t hesitate to get in touch with professional packers and movers.
State to state movers: the key to success

Is moving to a new state hard? Yes, in most cases it is. Not surprisingly, one of the toughest aspects of moving long distance to another state is the number of important decisions you will have to tackle in the very beginning of your preparation period. The pressure is really on as you can’t let any bad decisions hamper the success of your mission, can you?

The most critical thing to decide will seem to be whether or not you should hire a state to state moving company to handle the tasks you can’t really do on your own – protecting valuable items through special packing techniques, moving heavy household items such as electric appliances or pieces of furniture, loading all your stuff into the moving vehicle in such a way as to save moving day time and storage space. Your main concern will be, of course, the price of the professional moving service. In fact, it’s fair to say that it’s the cost of moving to another state that will predetermine your actions.


Your state to state movers are on their way to your home – are you ready to meet them?
Here are a number of things to consider while you’re juggling the idea of whether hiring state to state movers is the preferred way to go here. To help you reach an informed decision, you must be perfectly aware that:

Moving locally or even into another home situated within the same town or city is very different than relocating hundreds or thousands of miles with no sufficient moving experience behind your back. The more the move distance is between the two homes, the greater the risk becomes for any courageous attempts at moving to a new state by yourself. Don’t forget that top state to state movers are adequately insured too.
The price of your interstate move can only be calculated with any degree of accuracy after a personal visit by a moving company representative. Too many factors are affecting the moving costs at the same time so you need an experienced expert to take a closer look at both your stuff for moving and your home to be able to give you an estimate you can trust.
The on-site estimation is the ideal time to discuss with the moving expert all the issues that may be troubling you and to inform him or her of any extra terms and conditions prior to moving day. Be as straightforward as you possibly can, for any important information you withhold on purpose will likely backfire on you later when the pros arrive for the serious business.
Are you running out of time? Professional movers tend to work fast without compromising moving day safety so they are your only option when the preparation window is too short for you anyway.
It’s normal to be nervous about moving to a new state – after all, this must be a big step for you. Add the accompanying stress, anxiety, fear, and sadness, and you will have an explosive cocktail of overwhelming feelings that won’t let you concentrate on the tasks at hand. So, leaving the worries of your long distance relocation is an excellent way to have some peace of mind and even turn your attention to saying goodbye to your good and loyal friends.
And now that you know why you should consider contacting a reputable out of state moving company, the next logical question is how to find the best state to state movers? The answer to that great question is not overly simple but you’re also fortunate enough to be just 31.5 steps away from locating the perfect moving partner for your upcoming cross country move.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Best Areas to Live in San Jose: 5 Up-and-Coming Neighborhoods to Buy into While Prices Are Still Low:

The city of San Jose has had something of a revival in recent years, as the Bay area has been booming due to the seemingly unstoppable success of the tech industry. Because of this, rents and median home prices have skyrocketed in San Francisco proper and have gone even higher in the Silicon Valley neighborhoods like Palo Alto, Mountainview and Cupertino. So in search of cheaper homes in the area, residents have flocked to a number of neighborhoods in San Jose in recent years, giving new life to the third and quietest of the Bay area communities. While neighborhoods like Silver Creek, The Rose Garden and the Alamaden Valley have always been some of the nicest areas to live in the city, a number of other neighborhoods are coming up in San Jose. Below are the five up and coming San Jose neighborhoods new residents should look to buy in for the best deals.

1. WILLOW GLEN

best areas to live in San Jose
Source:wikimedia.org
While Los Gatos is considered part of the Silicon Valley communities and is highly desired for it’s walkable downtown with plenty of restaurants, bars and coffee shops while still being nestled in nature, Willow Glen is just as charming and walkable and somewhat more affordable. It’s better than Los Gatos in many respects as well, due to the easy access it has to the Cal Train which will transport residents across the Bay Area without having to hop in a car. If you do have to drive, Willow Glen is also close to all the main highways that connect San Jose to Silicon Valley and San Francisco to the Northwest. There are excellent schools here and due to it’s growing popularity as the next ideal higher end neighborhood in San Jose, homes retain excellent resale value.

2. WEST SAN JOSE

Previously considered an inexpensive neighborhood that was on the distant outskirts of Silicon Valley and a buffer from the less then desirable downtown of San Jose, West San Jose has boomed in recent years, with home values rising eight to ten percent a year since the end of the recent great recession. The neighborhood is now an ideal location for those looking to commute to Silicon Valley and there has been a revival in culture to the area known as Santana Row, which has numerous excellent bars and restaurants. There is also easy access to the highways and very good schools in most parts of the neighborhood. With the simultaneous revival of San Jose’s downtown, West San Jose also has neighboring access to this excellent new entertainment district.

3. BERRYESSA

best areas to live in San Jose
Source:wikimedia.org
Located in Northeast San Jose, Berryessa has risen steadily in popularity over the past decade, going from an area that was a little gritty to a diverse neighborhood with numerous international eateries and grocers with a growing community of younger residents. The nearby hills are dotted with ranch style homes that are quintessential to the California residential lifestyle and there is easy access to mass transit systems heading into Oakland, perfect for people in the tech community outside of Silicon Valley, working for major companies like Cisco and Samsung.
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4. DOWNTOWN SAN JOSE

best areas to live in San Jose
Source:wikimedia.org
Previous gritty and somewhat bland, San Jose’s downtown has produced a certain cosmopolitan vibe by cleaning itself up and investing in culture. There are now numerous excellent bars and eateries throughout the downtown area and newly constructed lofts and condos that make downtown living in San Jose suddenly very desirable, especially for those 20-something’s whose careers are taking off, be it in the tech industry or elsewhere. There is access to all the Bay area mass transit systems and highways for commutes into work or the other metropolitan areas like Oakland or San Francisco. Of course, it’s better to stay local these days as the revived downtown and the nearby San Jose State University offer a fresh, young and hip vibe.

5. NORTH FIRST AND JAPAN TOWN

New developments have been springing up in this previously unpopular area of San Jose. It’s nearby numerous technology companies and has easy access to mass transit, the airport and the heart of downtown. With all the redevelopment money that has poured into San Jose in general over the past decade, the neighborhoods of Japan Town and North First have benefited mightily. Now there are quaint bungalows and mission style homes popping up, or being revived from disrepair they may have experienced in the past few decades. However, the secret is out on this small area so it’s home prices are likely to shoot skyward soon.