I have been moving since I was a baby. No, seriously, when I was one, my family brought me to Greece. My parents lived in Crete, Greece, before they moved to Tepelene, Albania in 1993 (I think), where I was born in 1994. Later, in 1995, they moved back to Greece, this time in the old city of Athens.
I have spent my entire life in this city (travelling doesn't count since I've payed taxes in Greece) and I love it. But that's next week's post. Here I'll focus on the things I've learned while moving a lot. Because since we came to Athens in 1995 (and I was still a cute baby then), I have lived in 8 different apartment/houses.
I could just sum it all up in this phrase: Moving is a torture. But let's break that down, shall we?
When you're a kid, if your family moves, you probably don't remember anything. Maybe you stayed at your aunt's and played with your cousin Eve (hi, Eve), and just waited to go home to watch the new episode of Maria La Del Bario (sol). And then you went home, tired and you went to bed and couldn't wait to tell your 6-year-old classmates you've got a new home, although you don't know why or how.
When you're older and you're consciously aware of everything, and you're alone in life, the burden falls on you. Okay, I don't mean ALONE alone. Friends and family have always helped me move, and more recently my partner. But here are some things to consider:
- Transferring furniture from one apartment to the next is costly. You'll have to dig deep into your pockets, because you have no choice. How else did you think you would bring the fridge with you?
- Furniture is heavy. You've payed for the truck already, so you don't want to pay for some dudes to fetch your furniture, too. So you call your friends and you carry everything using your weak arms.
- You'll need a car. The more you put inside the truck, the more you pay. So what my friends and I do is transfer them huge object with the truck and then pack the smaller stuff into boxes (which are given to us willingly at stores) and transfer the boxes with our cars. Too bad my car is (was) a two-seater.
- No two apartments are alike. This for me is the worst. I want my space to be simple and minimal and I own only what I can't live without. So the worst part for me is moving to a same-size apartment only to realize the furniture doesn't fit because the walls aren't of the same size.
- Installing hardware and assembling furniture is a huge deal. It's not once you have all the tools. But if you're just moving out of your parents' place, I doubt you have a drill.
I don't even mention the whole packing-unpacking process. And replanning your household from scratch - okay, maybe that one's fun.
Depending on your situation, many things can be fun. Assembling the furniture is one of my favorite things to do. And I love organizing and decorating, and creating small DIY projects. You just have to go through the difficult part of moving to enjoy the fun part of moving and finally, your new home.
Comments