Monday

It's amazing how quickly you can dismantle your life if you really set your mind to it: we move on Sunday.

I've moved a lot in my life,  and I'm pretty good at adapting--though I've never had to adapt in full view of two young children.  When I first moved to New York City, for example, I spent hours wandering around the city and memorizing subway maps--even for lines I'd never need to ride--just to orient myself.  I wonder how I'll do all that (well, minus the subways) while entertaining the children.

The issue I'm having the hardest time wrapping my mind around is this: our new town does not have municipal garbage pick up so we have to either hire our own carting company (which sounds expensive) or bring our trash to the dump ourselves.  What's next?  Pumping and carrying our water from a well?

Our current apartment is not yet on the market.  Conventional wisdom dictates that New York is a ghost town until after Labor Day and some of the improvements we need to make--painting, sprucing up our one and only bathroom--are best done when the apartment is vacant.   The realtors we've met with have had vastly different opinions about what the apartment is worth.  Seriously vast.  Grand Canyon vast. 

So yes, all is boring and yet completely overwhelming.  

Comments

[Jennifer]

You have to take your garbage to the dump? Really? On the upside, probably a great field trip for the kids!

[Caroline]

Paying a garbage company is not unusual. Where I live, there is not garbage pick-up in the county, but the county has contracted with a garbage company for the "exclusive" :) right to pick up the garbage in the county. Here (Southeast) it was not expensive.

[Sam]

I'd ask your new neighbors what they do with their trash.

[thalia]

Ha. When I came to sell my mini-house (1200sqft) in a very trendy part of london in 2003, I was given several quotes by estate agents. They varied from £500,000 to £840,000. hahahah. Actually there was only one above £700,000, and he was a bit surprised we didn't go with him.

HOpe yours sells fast.

[Melissa]

Well, call me ignorant, naive or provincial but the garbage thing would flummox and annoy me. Isn't that what your taxes are for? Yet another reason I was so, so, so, so happy to leave the East Coast. Forever, God willing.

[Christine]

I had to pay for garbage and recycling pickup in the midwest, and it wasn't very expensive. Of course, that was 9 years ago and gas was...ahem...cheaper.

I'd tell you to enjoy the move, but I hate the physical act of moving. Enjoy the excitement of a new place, though!

[midlife mommy]

I hear you -- paying for garbage pick up stinks. The town that we live in requires it, and still, we pay sky high property taxes. Fortunately, it's not all that expensive; it's just annoying. And it gets really annoying when we have to pay $10 per item for bulk trash. Sigh.

[SarcastiCarrie]

In Ohio, I hired a company to pick up my garbage. The weirdest part was that there would be garbage out at the curb every day because everyone had a different company and a different day. Five years ago, I paid $17/month. It's probably about $25/month now.

Outside of Chicago, my town picks up the garbage, but I get a combined water/sewer/garbage/recycling bill every month. For all of that stuff it's about $55/month. I have no idea what the breakdown is for each part. The trash pick up does include bulk items (1/week) at no additional charge and they will take your sticks and branches and turn them into mulch for the town parks.

[KD]

Paying for garbage pickup is a perfectly reasonable choice. It reduces what your municipal taxes would otherwise be, and it encourages you to reduce how much crap you throw away. We buy trash tags to stick on our bags/bins of garbage, and the local trash company hauls it all away. Taking your stuff to the dump is generally cheaper, but we are willing to pay a few bucks for 30 gallons of trash to be hauled away for us.

[KD]

Paying for garbage pickup is a perfectly reasonable choice. It reduces what your municipal taxes would otherwise be, and it encourages you to reduce how much crap you throw away. We buy trash tags to stick on our bags/bins of garbage, and the local trash company hauls it all away. Taking your stuff to the dump is generally cheaper, but we are willing to pay a few bucks for 30 gallons of trash to be hauled away for us.

[Kate]

The problem with wandering around now is the price of gas. Getting yourself oriented with the kids in the backseat...personally if I was willing to listen to Laurie Berkner or TMBG or whatever they want, sometimes a nice car trip is the only peace I get in a day :-)

Btw, I had a great day outside, incl. kids of course, up near where you're going to be (probably 15 min away from your new place, max). Will send details.

[Katherine]

Check zillow.com for your property's value. I've found their #s to be pretty accurate, and I live in the NYC area (Hoboken).