Let's all get up and move to a 'hood that was so hip before your mother was born

May 8, 2005 10:37 AM

I'm moving to Manhattan's East Village from Brooklyn (Prospect Heights) in a few weeks, and I'm wondering how I should go about hiring a "man with a van." Also: Speakers!

I know there are tons of men--many with vans--but I'm wondering what options I should consider. I only, really, have a bed, some boxes, and two small, extremely light (less than 30 pound) shelving units to move. The boxes are small enough that I could take them on the train, so those aren't really an issue.

Further, nothing I have is breakable, so I could really go for the cheapest, most maverick moving service there is. That said, I'm wondering about how much it'll cost me to move. If it's a decent sized van, or even a truck, I don't see why it should take more than one trip. For what it's worth, my current building has an elevator, but the new one does not. Both units are on the third floor. I don't have a NYS driver's license so renting a truck myself isn't really an option, I don't think... Though if it was, how much would it cost? Is there any rental place cheaper than UHaul?

Also, since it's a tiny little room I want to make the most of it by filling it with beautiful noise. Any recommendation for a wall mounted surround sound system with tiny speakers, preferably one under $500 that can be connected to a TV, DVD player, iBook, et cetera? Thanks.

posted by incomple to Home & Garden (11 answers total)

craig's list is pretty good for finding that. Usu. college kids making a little extra cash, answering their cell phones, so you can really make pretty last minute arrangements.
posted by mdn at 11:04 AM on May 8, 2005

Yeah Craigslist is what you need.

I do love my Altec FX6021 speakers. The image shows the speakers on wee stands but you can mount them on the wall too.
posted by dublinemma at 11:36 AM on May 8, 2005

I've been hitting up craigslist for a while, I was just really looking for personal recommendations. I think it's going to be my best bet, unless I can find a friend willing to drive a rented truck for five miles.

I love my Altec Lansing speakers, dublinemma, so it's good to know that their quality isn't just a fluke. I'll investigate further but those sound lovely. Thanks.
posted by incomple at 11:58 AM on May 8, 2005

rabbit: 718 852 2352
i used them one month ago, they were great!
posted by edlundart at 2:00 PM on May 8, 2005

also, bring a friend to watch the truck or help carry stuff.
posted by amberglow at 2:13 PM on May 8, 2005

Awesome, I'm emailing Rabbit now for an informal ballpark quote. What did it cost you?
posted by incomple at 3:43 PM on May 8, 2005

Sorry, I didn't have too much time before, I'll elaborate on Rabbit. We hired a truck and three guys, but they do small to big(ish) moves, and you get to choose 1, 2 or 3 guys and a van or a truck. I'd choose 2 guys and a van for your load I guess. The woman who answers the phone was pretty helpful in working out what we needed. In fact, I first had scheduled 2 guys and a truck, but when they were running late for my move (understandable, as their team does two moves per day... the guy who had the morning move had not packed his shit in advance), she suggested to "upgrade" to three guys. She said it would be faster and would probably end up being cheaper for me. She was right, and the end price for our move was $260 or something -- but our move was about a 40 minute drive, and you're paying per hour. A shorter move with less stuff should be cheaper. I think their rates were something like $70 per hour for 3 guys and a truck. Maybe $60 or $50 per hour for a van with one or two guys, I think. And they'll get everything in one trip.

I hate dealing with any kind of service type company, they always disappoint -- but the Rabbit guys were amazing. The speed at which they wooshed all of our stuff out of the old apartment and up to this new one was truly... like a crazy kung-fu-movie or something. And yet, they took good care of it all, taped it securely and wrapped stuff in blankets, etc. I got the Rabbit recommendation from an old ask.mefi-thread which also lead to other recommendations on apartmenttherapy.

They took cash only, so be prepared for that if you decide to go with them.
posted by edlundart at 4:32 PM on May 8, 2005

(I sound like I get paid by them or something, but I was just so surprised to be really happy with the service of a company for once. The guys were super-nice and polite too. Obviously, it's possible I just got lucky...)
posted by edlundart at 4:36 PM on May 8, 2005

If you want surround sound for your new room, you might want to take a look at these.
posted by kickingtheground at 8:12 PM on May 8, 2005

That's excellent, edlundart. That sounds like it might be just what I need, and hopefully they'll get back to me soon. Thanks for your detailed response.

kickingtheground, this is possibly the coolest speaker set-up I've ever seen. I love it.
posted by incomple at 10:55 PM on May 8, 2005

Citimove rates NYC moving companies (featured in May 12, 2005 NYT article "Checking Out That Man With a Van").
posted by mlis at 2:57 PM on May 14, 2005