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A Letter from Our Editor
Sharon Sultan Cutler

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I have been going through a stressful time for the past six weeks. It’s called “moving” – and the result often is physical and emotional exhaustion; a major financial expense; and confused, strained relationships with spouses, children, parents, neighbors, and the long line of supermarket shoppers in front of you who don’t really care that you have 25 more things to do before midnight!

I believe that adds up to 5 residences in the last few years. Once, we were pretty good at living in just one location for 25 years. That was Baldwin Harbor in Long Island. It was a good place to raise kids – and then let them grow up so you could become “empty nesters.” You often discover you own too much home (unused extra bedrooms, bathrooms, kids’ playrooms, etc). Another observation is that you just might realize that you are among the oldest people in the neighborhood. Everyone else has gone south or west.

Florida seemed an appetizing and tropical destination in 2000 – so we became two of 1,148 people residing in an “active adult community.” But, like many other baby boomers, we learned Florida wasn’t the easiest location to find work and earn lots of money. And, because Florida is often very, very hot, we decided to freeze in Chicago during the winter months, and enjoy Lake Michigan and our beaches in the spring and the summer.

Before I share our experiences our first month in Chicago, I will tip you off to a few “realities” about moving, movers, packing, unpacking, discarding and donating to charities, and eventual exhaustion, like I said before!

· Approximately 19% of the U.S. population moves every year

· The Better Business Bureau received nearly 10,000 complaints against moving companies in 2006

· The initial stage (“the move”) requires: patience; resilience; kindness to others who you may really want to scream at; selective and objective decision-making (the act of discarding your frumpy size 6 dresses when you’ve doubled that number to size 12); and dealing with additional mental and physical stimulation. There’s more, but I cannot remember because I am still too tired. This is the time that you’re trying to pack 25 years of furniture, your son’s first t-shirt, “tchotchkes”, memorabilia, old and new hobbies, photos of people you may or may not know, household necessities (including cleaning items and toilet paper), and moving boxes for clothes, books, paintings…and everything else.

· Decide who will be designated packers in your family or circle of friends. You may decide to pack on your own, use the moving company packers or in our case, we hired Senior Move Managers. “A Move Made Easy,” a Broward-County based senior move management specialist, was the right name for the right packers. Sharon Cofar’s crew of delightful, experienced packers ended up staying for 5 days prior to the move, and I was exhausted just watching them.

· You must become a “Moving Information Specialist.” This is a designation I just created – but there are so many things to research. Here are just a few: evaluate different moving companies; comparison shopping of services you decide to use them for; referrals and critiques from your neighbors; telephoning references the moving company should supply you with regarding the care and treatment of your possessions; the estimated date of arrival to your new location; licensing information; mover’s liabilities, warranties and insurance; background-checking with the Better Business Bureau, the government’s Department of Transportation and the American Moving and Storage Association. Check into interstate moving requirements your mover must be in compliance with.

· Get written cost estimates from movers who actually send an experienced moving specialist to your home to see how much “stuff” is being moved, and estimate weight of your possessions to determine price, how many movers are needed and size of moving van space. They will also see how easy it will be to move your furniture into the truck as well as discuss the physical lay-out of your new home or apartment.

· Learn from others’ mistakes. I called several “brokers” who gave me the total sum of my move based on cubic feet or weight they magically determined just speaking to me on the telephone. I was extremely excited by the low estimates until I learned a little about moving brokers and moving scams.

These figures were total figments of the brokers’ creative imagination and did not reflect the actual movers’ estimates. All they wanted to know is how many bedroom sets, televisions, couches, chairs, tables, etc. would be moved. I didn’t realize that brokers work for themselves or a broker’s company rather than the moving company who will do the actual move. Their estimates aren’t binding so the price probably will be much more when the moving company arrives at your doorstep. And once a mover has your possessions in the moving truck, you just may have to pay a sizable sum of money just to get from here to there.

We ended up doing all the right things (for us), hiring a reputable moving firm. Our driver got the flu before he left, so our “stuff” was delayed in arriving. We had the nicest experiences with the new moving crew, who handled everything (including me) with TLC.

So now, for about a month (but who’s counting?) we live in Chicago. We are now mid-westerners although we sound like New Yorkers. Steve and I are still unpacking – choosing where to put what on a temporary basis.

Personally, I’m still trying to establish my new roots here. Chicago will be a great change for us as it offers an abundance of cultural activities, great restaurants, wonderful old bungalow homes as well as 2- 3 – and 4- flat homes, many “rehabbed” homes and changing neighborhoods, diversity of people from different countries (and cultures, religions, languages, foods, clothing styles, etc).

Chicago will be very different than my other lives in New York and Florida. We do not have the abundance of good friends and acquaintances we had before. As a matter of fact, as of mid-April, I have met only two people – who happen to be our second-floor tenants in the 2-flat. I also have smiled at several people on our street.

I always have said that “change is good, if it is a good change.” I know in my heart that, despite the complexities and complications of the actual move, we will meet a few million more strangers, some of whom will end up being our new Chicago friends.

It took 1,345.5 miles as well as 19 hours plus 54 minutes to get from Delray Beach to our quaint Avenue in Chicago. Maybe one day soon we will be able to recognize where downtown is, how to get there and which bus to take. Life – and moving – is just another life experience.

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Contact Sharon Sultan Cutler Via e-Mail