Sad About Moving? Here's Why Your Move's a GOOD THING

Friday, June 06, 2008 -By Barbara Brady
Special to Relocation.com


In the best case scenario, living someplace new can open your mind and world, elicit new confidence, humor and a sense of adventure, and make you feel freer and more alive.
In the worst case, relocation can be a good learning experience...
But whether moving someplace new is your decision or not, it IS your decision how you embrace it and make it be whatever you choose.
Do you have mixed feelings about moving to a new place? If so, here are 12 key gifts of relocating that can help you re-frame your move into a positive experience:

1. Reinventing yourself. If you live in the town where you grew up, your childhood friends and family will see you the same way at age 35 as they did at 15. The theme "I know who you are" is played out. When relocating, Bashful Bruce can now become Bruce the Bold. Serious Sara can be Silly Sara.
2. Letting go of old patterns. When you move to a new place, you can break bad habits more easily because you are forced to think and live in fresh and new ways.
3. Making wonderful new friends. The more places you live and travel, the more friends you can have spread around the country or world, which broadens your perspective. What a gift! Retirees I know spend three months a year with various friends in Florida, New York and Paris.
4. Keeping your brain fresh. Let's face it, when you know a place inside out, your brain can go on auto pilot. In a new place your brain is called upon to learn and be resourceful.
5. Experiencing a new culture. Whether you're thinking of moving from Southern California to the GeorgiaMountains, or from New England to Amsterdam, you will experience norms and values that may be radically different from yours, and expand your mind.
6. Trying new things. When I lived in Switzerland for five months in college I got to practice French, travel around Europe by train, and eat caramel yogurt; in Japan I learned how to make sushi and sing Karaoke; in San Francisco, I rode on cable cars, motorcycles, and learned yoga and massage.

7. Experiencing different aspects of yourself. In Southern California my laughing, playful side came out; in Switzerland I was a risk-taker and gained confidence after traveling alone; in Asheville, North Carolina, where I live now, I feel deeply connected and expressive.
8. Getting clear on what's important in your life -- and what's not. From Switzerland I learned that "meals should be an experience." In San Francisco, "community is important." And in Japan, "Having a car is not that important."
9. Finding a better fit. After I realized I was an intuitive feeler who was living in the more sensing, thinking city of Boston, I moved to San Francisco where I met people who were more like me. If you have kids, moving from the more urban city to a smaller town might be a better fit.

10. Getting humbled and appreciating more. – What are you taking for granted where you're currently living? After Japan, I really appreciated Western style toilets, non-smoking restaurants, and being able to find good wine easily.
11. Becoming more like ‘water' – adaptable, flexible and tolerant. This lowers stress for you and the people around you, and adds more peace in the world. Your children can become more "ambassador-like" citizens.
12. You can always leave! You have nothing to lose. But if you don't go, you may always wonder, "What if?"
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
-- Mark Twain

Check it out...

We added some snazzy little linkable buttons to the bottom of our homepage at www.keepmovingtx.com. What does this mean, you might ask? Well, I'll tell  you what this means! This means you can, at any time you so please, visit our website and click one of our fancy little buttons at the bottom, and automatically be directed to a website to write a review about your experience with us!

That's right, you heard me! We made it super easy and accessible so you can tell the world how awesome your move went. This is truly important to us because we work so very hard to be one of a kind when it comes to the moving industry. We want all of our customers, and future customers, to see that we actually, TRULY, care about our customers!

Would you be a peach and write us something sweet? :) And remember, if you need an extra $50 to put towards your new spring wardrobe, college book fund, or night on the infamous 6th Street...refer your friends and family to us and we will help sponsor your spending habits!

Thanks for being such dedicated, and loyal, customers and blog-readers. The fact that you have made it to this sentance shows me that you really do love us. :) Here's a picture to cheer you up just because you're awesome!

(Please ignore the spelling error on the word "you're". We are not responsible for such error, as this image was found on google)

Review of the Day!

It's about that time again to post our review of the day!! We get a lot of great reviews from our customers, but this one stuck to me like glue and I just had to share. Pay attention; imporant information follows!

"I just wanted to say that we were completely satisfied with the service we received from your guys. Eric and Chris were polite, professional, and went above and beyond what we expected. They handled every item as if it were their own. If I had the money, I would pay them to come unload our truck in New Orleans! They were done in almost exactly the amount of time quoted (2 hours), and had the trailer loaded so neatly it looked like it took 8 hours. Your guys are amazing, and well worth every penny spent. Thanks so much." - K. deLeon


Well, there you have it folks! We are so proud to hear such wonderful things about our movers and our customer's experiences. And just so everyone knows, this is the first move that our newest member of the Keep Moving family, Mandi, booked! (She's pretty awesome, herself!)

Now there is just one question you may want to ask yourself: have you booked your move with Keep Moving yet? If not, you  may want to go ahead and secure the date for your awesome moving experience. Not only do we offer a superior quality professional moving service, but our movers sing and dance, too!

Austin Named Among the Top 10 Cities for College Grads!

Here at Keep Moving we come across a number of great articles on a daily basis. Mostly informative and relative to the moving industry. We really love the ones that list Austin in the top 10's! We love Austin and brag about it every chace we get! Check out this neat bit of information that well make you say "Ah, I knew Austin was awesome."

 

The 10 Most Popular Cities for College Grads

Americans value mobility. But if you want to move up in the world, sometimes you have to move, literally. In a recession, that's a problem.



In 2010, migration within the United States slowed to its lowest rate in recorded history, according to new research from William Frey at the Brookings Institution. Among college graduates, the story is particularly striking. Here are the 10 most popular cities for college graduates since the recession:

Frey's analysis challenges the story of the 2010 Census, which is the Rise of the Sun Belt. In the last decade, 7.5 million people — more than the total population of Massachusetts and Vermont — moved to Texas and California, while Arizona and Nevada led the nation in pace of growth. Imagine a river flowing from the northeast to the southwest, and you've got a sense of America's general migration pattern.
That's changing, fast. At the height of the housing boom, the most popular destinations for college graduates were Phoenix, Seattle, Atlanta, Riverside (CA), and Charlotte. But when the bubble burst, Texas cities have zoomed up the list: Austin and Dallas were the most popular destinations for bachelor degree earners between 2007 and 2009.
[See America's Best Cities for Young Professionals]

"In 2005-2007, college-educated adults, like other segments of the population, were strongly attracted to "bubble" metro areas like Riverside, Phoenix and Las Vegas," Frey writes. After the burst, degree-earns are clustering in more "knowledge economy" metros, like Austin, Raleigh, Charlotte and Seattle.
According to Frey's figures, the five metro areas with the highest concentration of people with bachelors degrees are: Washington, D.C./Arlington (47%), San Francisco (43%), San Jose (43%), Boston (42%), and Raleigh (42%). The most popular destination in America, Austin (38%), is number six on that list. New York City (36%) is number ten.
When I asked Frey to call out some of the more surprising results of his analysis, he pointed out that interstate migration rates have generally fallen over the last few decades, but the recession accelerated the trend.
Why didn't the recession increase migration, sending families fleeing from weak states like Florida to stronger states like Texas? Frey answered: "The financial crisis meant families couldn't get a loan to get a house. They couldn't sell a house. They were frozen in place because of the housing market and the paucity of jobs."

[See American Cities That Are Running Out of People]
In his Brookings paper, Frey concluded by sounding the alarm on slow interstate migration:
The recent more tentative migration patterns of the younger and "best and brightest" segments of our population are holding back the free flow of human and social capital that has made our society more vital and dynamic than most of our developed country peers. This slowdown, in addition to the decline in immigration can be expected to pick up when the economy revives. But if it takes too long, we run the risk of creating a "lost generation" of young adults, the likes of which we have not seen for some time.

10. Tampa, FL
Percent with BA: 26
On the one hand, Tampa and St. Petersburg have every reason to be on this list, with beautiful weather, large universities, and hordes of young people. But consider the headwinds: the Tampa-St. Petersburg area has one of the worst housing markets in the country (Brookings puts it in the bottom quintile) and a relatively low share of bachelors degree earners.

9. Raleigh, NC
Percent with BA: 42
The Research Triangle of Duke, UNC and NC State make Raleigh an inevitable destination for young degree-earners on the move — especially if they're interested in medicine or looking to go back to graduate school. But Raleigh is more than a college town. It's also a blooming high tech center, with IBM among its highest employers.

8. Riverside, CA
Percent with BA: 19
Nice weather! But Riverside's inclusion in the top ten is somewhat an artifact of the housing bubble. Only 19 percent of its population holds a BA, by far the lowest on this list. Once the most popular destination for young people during the bubble, Riverside's attractiveness took a hit in the recession. Brookings recently called Riverside one of the worst performing metro areas in the country, based on growth, housing and employment. But still: nice weather!

7. Atlanta, GA
Percent with BA: 34
It's no surprise that only Deep South city on this list arguably has the region's best school: Emory University. Before being slammed by the recession, Atlanta was the 3rd most popular destination for both college grads and young people between the ages of 25 and 34. Today it ranks 7th among both groups.

6. Seattle, WA
Percent with BA: 37
Seattle has long been a magnet for young brainiacs looking to either start their own firm or work for a major corporation. As the headquarters for Amazon, Microsoft, it's a major draw for other companies in the Web-and computer-tech business. The city gets an additional boost from the temperate weather (for those who don't mind the misty rain) and a coffee culture that makes it something like a modern Vienna.

5. Houston, Texas
Percent with BA: 28
One of three Texas on this list, the largest city in the Lone Star State isn't just an oil town, anymore — but recovering oil prices aren't exactly hurting the economy, either. An expanded biotech sector and an aeronautical cluster draw brains and BAs from across the country — if they can stand the infamous humidity.

4. Portland, Ore.
Percent with BA: 34
What is it about Portland? Despite an unemployment rate over 10 percent, the city has drawn hoards of young, creative, educated graduates in the last few years. Frey chalks it up to a unique cult status. "If you're going to be underemployed somewhere," he said, "you might as well embrace the lifestyle." Here, here!

3. Phoenix, Ariz.
Percent with BA: 27
The sun is fun, but is it enough? Phoenix is a city that has, in the last few years, lived up to its namesake. The second-fastest growing metro in the 2000s (after Las Vegas) got rocked by the recession, and median home prices are down 43 percent from their peak in 2009. Phoenix has been on Brookings' list of 20 weakest city economies for more than a year.

2. Dallas, Texas
Percent with BA: 30
The second most popular city in the Texas is also the second most popular city in the country for college grads. Credit the ample housing, the legendary (if recently disappointing) sports franchises, and the legendary and non-disappointing tech and and transportation industries.

1. Austin, Texas
Percent with BA: 38
Austin is one of the most resilient cities in the U.S., buffeted by state government spending, a large public university and a thriving high-tech sector. It is also the most dynamic city in the United States, according to the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, a mecca for music lovers, and a cultural jewel of the South. It's got brains, it's got growth: Indeed, Austin could be America's hottest city at the moment.

(read straight from the source at http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/111837/the-10-most-popular-cities-for-college-grads )

Easy To Do Home Weatherization Tips

Climate Shock!! It is too cold outside for Texas!! Try these easy to do tips and save yourself from the cold and high electric bill.



First, test your home for air tightness. On a windy day, hold a lit incense stick next to your windows, doors, electrical boxes, plumbing fixtures, electrical outlets, ceiling fixtures, attic hatches, and other locations where there is a possible air path to the outside. If the smoke stream travels horizontally, you have located an air leak that may need caulking, sealing, or weatherstripping.

Caulk and weatherstrip doors and windows that leak air.

Caulk and seal air leaks where plumbing, ducting, or electrical wiring penetrates through exterior walls, floors, ceilings, and soffits over cabinets.

Install rubber gaskets behind outlet and switch plates on exterior walls.

Look for dirty spots in your insulation, which often indicate holes where air leaks into and out of your house. You can seal the holes by stapling sheets of plastic over the holes and caulking the edges of the plastic.

Install storm windows over single-pane windows or replace them with double-pane windows. Storm windows as much as double the R-value of single-pane windows and they can help reduce drafts, water condensation, and frost formation. As a less costly and less permanent alternative, you can use a heavy-duty, clear plastic sheet on a frame or tape clear plastic film to the inside of your window frames during the cold winter months. Remember, the plastic must be sealed tightly to the frame to help reduce infiltration.

When the fireplace is not in use, keep the flue damper tightly closed. A chimney is designed specifically for smoke to escape, so until you close it, warm air escapes—24 hours a day!

For new construction, reduce exterior wall leaks by either installing house wrap, taping the joints of exterior sheathing, or comprehensively caulking and sealing the exterior walls

Read more: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/weatherizationtips#ixzz1Aqt8kw6G

Letter From The "BOSS"

First off please allow me to wish each and everyone of you a very happy new year.

       This month I really want to take some time to educate the public about illegal movers in and around the Austin area. Recently, there have been an overwhelming number of issues that have been brought to our attention. There are quite a few moving companies in town operating illegally. Unfortunately there are so many, that TX DOT (Texas department of Transportation)is having a hard time enforcing all of them. Please do not allow something like this to happen to you, it can be very dangerous to you and your family. Think about it, essentially you are inviting complete strangers into your home to remove EVERYTHING you own from your premises. Is this something you would normally do with a complete stranger? HERE are some tips that hopefully you will consider before choosing a moving company. Most importantly here is a link to research companies TX DOT license Info CLICK HERE

Our main goal is to make sure you are making an informed decision when choosing your next moving company.

Thank you,

Derik Stotland,
General Manager 
512-828-4447

Review of the Day!

You probably already know how important consumer reviews actually are in choosing a service. You know if you have a bad experience,  you're going to tell everyone and their mama. What about when you have an awesome experience? Don't you want to share the awesomeness? Our customers do. In fact, here's my favorite review from Mr. Hollis!

"These guys are awesome! Right when they showed up to my apartment, they got right to work. The two moving associates were very polite and knew exactly what they were doing. I will definitely be using them again in the future! Oh yeah, one of the guys even "one manned" my three person leather couch...pretty awesome! I am 6' 3" and 230 and I had trouble moving it before even with a friend of mine. These guys are beasts!!! You won’t regret using them"

Thanks, Mr. Hollis. We love to hear such wonderful things. Just incase you aren't sure what "one-manning" a couch is, it's when a professional mover (don't try this at home, kids) picks up a sofa and and turns it upside-down over his head/shoulder and moves it alone. Pretty self-explanatory. Now, before I even look it up, I already know which beast this was. Eric. He's the newest addition to Keep Moving, but don't let that fool you into thinking he's the least-experienced. This guy has been there, done that and we are proud to have him on our team!

So, if you ever need your leather 3-seater sofa "one-manned", please call us and ask for Eric. :)


(PS: no furniture or property was damaged during the process of "one-manning" Mr. Hollis's sofa)