Agreed in full.
If I were your friend, I would gladly help you. (I know what it is like to have a bad leg and the frustration it can cause.)
However, if I was the movee, I would hire movers and ask one or two of my closest friends to help out with the unpacking.
You will be surprised how awesome it is to move with movers.
As a Brit, late 20’s, I’d still be asking friends for a hand. It just depends on your group of friends- we’re all in a similar situation moneywise, and asking for a hand is totally normal, for all sorts of things. Maybe you can’t help them move, unless your ankle totally recovers, but I’m sure can do something else useful for them. You know your mates better than us, I’m sure.
Thanks all for your advice. Much appreciated.
In answer to the common question, at 30 I seem to be over the age limit identified in this thread where it’s still okay to inconvenience friends.
That being said, like a few other responders in this thread, I’m in one of those social circles where we all seem to help each other move. None of us make particularly much money and the help from friends is always appreciated.
Still, I’ve called the movers. With the busted ankle, I know that I would feel awkward all day watching my friends do my work, and also as one poster pointed out, I won’t be able to reciprocate in the near future.
Another vote for hire movers. Because you’ll be paying someone to do the work for you, you’ll be less likely to try to jump in, try to help and bust your ankle.
Just get everything packed and labeled beforehand, as noted upthread.
Wow, I didn’t know so many people feel that way. I must have better friends than most I guess. We’re always helping each other move.
A little bit of heavy lifting, time with friends and a free dinner is actually pretty fun.
In your case though, I’d probably get the mover since your ankle is busted.
I’m not arguing for professional movers because of good friends or bad friends. I’m arguing for professional movers because they’re better at the job. They can move stuff more quickly and safely than can the average amateur. In particular, if you have anything valuable or heavy, they will really make a difference.
As someone who just did a move, I say hire movers.
I did. I had a two bedroom apt and not too much furniture. I moved a lot of the piddly-stuff myself (like boxes of books and little odds and ends). What was left wasn’t a lot, but it was all heavy. And not only heavy, but awkward and complicated. Pro’s know how to take down a door so they can pull out a couch. They know how to take down a bed and put it back together so that the headboard doesn’t wobble. In summary, they just know stuff that your friends may not know. Or may not feel like dealing with. (Like performing calculus to figure out what angle to rotate your mattress when navigating around a corner :)).
Also if you’ve got stairs? That just makes moving even more hellish. Pizza and beer won’t make it less of a hell. It’s not going to be a party. It’s going to be a lot of sweaty, dirty work, and you will be wracked with guilt just standing there, not helping (I felt guilty watching the movers and I was paying them!)
I hired Starving Students. The three guys put in 2.5 hours of work, and I had to pay just a little over $300, plus tip. I’m as frugal as you can get, but I didn’t feel the least put out by that amount of money for the work they did.
The good thing is that moving is such a hard task that there are plenty of opportunities for friends to step in. If you’ve accumulated a lot of stuff that can be sold in a yard sale or something, you can have a friend(s) help you with this. Packing up and putting away…both “friend” activities. Cleaning can also be a “friend” job, though I guess a sore ankle may not make this an impossible to do by yourself.
It’s not just the work, it’s the time: college and right after college, people tend to be time-rich and money-poor. Spending a Saturday helping people move is no big deal because you would have spent the day with them anyway. As people start to accumulate families and kids, giving up a Saturday becomes a much bigger favor because people need that time to run errands, see their kids, clean house, etc.
Also, people become less physically fit while at the same time people are getting more (and heavier) stuff. Moving someone’s house can take up not only the whole day, but leave you aching and sore for a couple days after–and after the first time you really throw out your back, you become really hesitant to risk it again.
Glad I’m not the only one either. I don’t see why age has anything to do with it. Of course moving isn’t the most entertaining thing to do on a Saturday but I’ll help a friend with that if they ask.
The caveat I have is that I make sure they understand I am there to help them move, not to pack and move. Don’t be a lazy ass.
Also, when you’re in college, you have lots of free time. Even when it seems like you’re busy studying and writing papers, it is often interspersed with breaks and play.
When you work a full-time job during the week, your weekends quickly become sacred. Every hour is to be treasured and respected. This is true whether you have kids or not.
I also cosign on the physicality aspect. I think it would be different if there were no stairs. But stairs make moving twice as hard. You’re not only having to carry heavy stuff down them, often backwards, blindly. But then you’ve got to go right back up afterwards. It just sucks.
You still qualify for a free move by your friends. Especially if you’re willing to to reciprocate for them.
IMHO pros are needed for family households. I’m not moving three bedrooms full of furniture, a formal dining set, and a complete den. That’s for pros. A one bedroom apartment?? Hell yeah I’ll help you.
A one-bedroom apartment is not a pinch to move.
You can fit two couches, coffee and end tables, an entertainment center, bookcase, a king-size mattress/boxsprings/headboard, full-length dresser and mirror, and lots of books and cookware in a one bedroom apt. There’s also clothes and linen, lamps, electronics and appliances (microwave and toaster ovens), house plants, oriental rugs, and pictures. And then there’s always some heavy-ass sculpture, giant teddy bear, or inflatable sex toy that cannot be given away.
A one-bedroom apartment can be everything from a 350 hot box to a 800 sq foot warehouse loft.