Whether you have a 5-bedroom house or a 1-bedroom apartment, moving sucks. I would say I have a particular aversion to moving, and yet I keep doing it. It started in college, that back and forth to Gambier, Ohio each year. It carried on in England when I arrived with just two duffel bags and moved from university accommodation to London and then back again. The tradition carried on when Andy and I got married. We just keep on moving. Across town, across country, across oceans – – we just can’t seem to stay put. You’d think we’d learn our lesson or find a place we like and stick with it, but the call of something different, something new is in our blood.
In fact we loved our last apartment and everything about it, but the truth is, Andy had grown tired of his commute to work – the same walk, the same subway, day after day. And we’d both grown very tired of the restaurants (or lack thereof) in our neck of the woods. After just 365 days, we were ready for a change.
I hate moving because of the disruption it causes in your life and the endlessness of it. There’s always that last forgotten drawer whose contents you dump into a hefty bag because you couldn’t possible deal with packing one more stupid thing. And aside from the physical act of moving , there’s all the phone calls you have to make to the cable and electric company, the bank, and the post office to change your address. It seems never-ending.
But despite all my griping to the contrary, I quite obviously love to move. There’s no other explanation for it. The freshness of a new house, that new-paint smell. A blank slate. Having given away boxes and bags of junk you’ve never even worn or used, I feel streamlined and light. Andy and I take a certain pride in the fact that (furniture aside) we can pretty much fit our life into eight or ten medium-sized boxes .If we put our minds to it, we could be out of our place in a day (obviously I’ve become something of an expert packer). That and I’ve learned a thing or two from watching my dad pack the trunk of a car enough times to know.
Our new place is lovely. It’s old, has high ceilings and all those period features I was craving in our previously soulless new-build apartment. It’s just a stone’s throw from the subway. The location is fantastic, the view from the bedroom is magnificent and Central Park is just one avenue away. One could say it’s perfect. Except for one fatal flaw. While the kitchen has full-sized appliances (and mercifully a dishwasher), it’s tiny. Very, very tiny. I’ll have to get creative with space if I’m going to be cooking in there!
I think you’re going to be just fine. The lack of space is going to inspire some great new tips and tricks for you to share with the rest of us. But I’ll be honest.. as we went back and forth across Central Park that day, I started to think about what it would be like for *us* to move. We have far more than 8 boxes of stuff plus furniture. I really can’t even stomach to think of it right now.
I feel ya on the moving thing!! in 4 years I have lived in 5 places and as much as it is exhausting, I love the change. Home, to college dorms, to off campus housing x2, to downtown SD, and now near the beach…It’s a love hate relationship that I totally understand!
I know! Even my hair dresser was commiserating with me 🙂 She also said: I love it, but I hate it!
This post is so timely as this morning, my husband pulled out of our driveway hauling a trailer load full of our belongings to move them 7 hours north, while the kids and I stay behind for 2 months until school ends. Sigh. This will be our 21st move in 19 years. And no, we are not in the military, the Witness Protection Program, or have Bedouin ancestry.
I really seriously completely hate moving. We figure we have this move to a rental, then a move into a house of our own left before we can permanently get rid of the boxes. Sigh again.
Oh wow, Missie! You’ve got me beat! 21 moves in 19 year? That’s crazy. You really cracked me up with saying your are not in the WPP or of Bedouin ancestry. LOL. I can honestly say I feel your pain! Stay sane, girl! Maybe make some cookies 🙂
I too, live a block from Central Park (we might be neighbors!)And have a very, very teeny tiny kitchen. I cannot tell you how much food has come out of that tiny kitchen! Most notably, hors d’oeuvres and buffet dinner for 40 people (obviously not hosted in my apt : ) ) The benefits of having a small kitchen: you are forced to clean up as you go along. The negatives: you are forced to clean up as you go along, so cooking a big meal takes much longer. In any event, I’m sure you’ll be fine! And I look forward to your posts from your teeny tiny NYC kitchen!
I moved into the home I’m in now after a divorce and planned for it to be a way station. An OK house til the kids and I could recover from a painful divorce and then decide what to do long term. That was 20 years ago!
That dark and dreary house had to have some paint, inside and out. Cabinets, shelves, brick, kitchen…everything needed a new look. The barren yard? Well, I figured maybe I should spruce it up a bit. And now here I am 20 years later, my kids now grown and the last one moved out and on her own 4 months ago. I think of moving to a smaller place but that dark dreary house is now a place I love and the garden I’ve labored in for 19 summers is my sanctuary.
But it’s the whole effort of moving that stops me from even thinking about it. 8-10 boxes? More like 8-10 rooms and imagining the effort is so huge I don’t. Must be fun to have that flexibility; enjoy it prior to kids. They and schools and friends seem to put an end to that being an adventure while bringing on a new and different one of stability and roots.
Maggy,
I love your prescription~cookies! I think that if more people ate cookies, the world would be a happier place.
OMG. I so remember what you are going through. Then my husband and I built a home. Stayed there 16 years. Then I bought my sparkling new townhome 10 years ago, after losing 250 lbs. (That would be my ex-husband!) I gave up an enormous kitchen. Trust me. Worth it! So now I have learned to make do with a kitchen that a non-cook builder designed. One of my friends took my coat closet and transformed it into a butler’s pantry. I have exactly everything I need. Pared down. Don’t ask about the garage, though.
Okay…somewhat unrelated to your current post..but I felt I had to write…just had the braised lamb shanks from Perfect One-Dish Dinners…and all I can say is….FANTASTIC!!! Heaven on a plate!!! This book is quickly becoming my go to book for 5 star recipes!! Thanks so much for the wonderful meals!!
Oh wow, RJ! Thanks for the wonderful compliment. Lamb shanks is honestly one of my favorites dishes of all time. But last night I made the “Shells and Cheese” from Perfect One-Dish Dinners. Everyone loved it! Such a simple, weeknight (or weekend night!) crowd pleaser!
I graduated KC ’85. Did you attend? Love your website/blog!