Social Economics in Uncertain Times: — Relocation
Part Four — What do you do when moving? How do we relocate in a pandemic? This series analyzes the behavior changes that our Uncertain Times have brought to our lives.
“I’m moving to Baltimore tomorrow,” James lamented. “I’m starting my new job and they are helping me relocate…it’s going to be weird.”
Relocation has always been a pain. Whether it’s for school, work, or personal reasons, no one likes moving because it requires a lot of planning. One has to find a place, pack, schedule movers or move oneself, and make sure everything gets where they need to go. In a pandemic, house hunting has gone virtual and all logistics have to be managed socially distant. How does one move hands off? How can one ensure all their boxes and furniture arrive at the right place and time?
1) Finding a Place via FaceTime
Apartment hunting is one of the biggest challenges in NYC. Some say that you have to view at least 30 apartments in-person before you find an apartment. You have to get the right feel of a place — ensure that the lighting is good, there are no rodents, or your apartment is not next to the elevator. The intangibles of apartment viewing are just as important as the tangibles. Then, you submit an application and hope you get it before someone else beats you to the application.
In a pandemic, apartment viewing carries a risk because one may have to interact with people living in the space. Now, landlords and renters share apartment viewings over FaceTime to try to provide a real-time experience of the space. An apartment viewer can get a better view of the space than from 360 views or flat images on a website, but a FaceTime view is different from an in-person viewing of an apartment. Some things such as intangibles and neighbors can’t be transmitted through FaceTime.
2) Socially Distant Moving
As movers are essential businesses, moving companies enacted policies to ensure safety and comfort customers. Many movers now are required to wear masks, gloves, and notify customers when they are going to be in the spaces. However, an element of moving is that one can be as involved, or as little involved in the moving process. You can choose to stay in your apartment and watch your movers. Alternately, you can wait outside until the movers have all your belongings in the truck. Either ways, you try to get out of the movers’ way.
Moving by yourself puts you in charge of your belongings and getting them somewhere. Instead of waiting on movers, worrying that fragile items might break, or anxiety over social distancing policies, you can choose to do-it-yourself. By renting a U-Haul truck, loading up your belongings where you know you can find them, driving them to your destination, and unpacking, you have agency in each step of the moving process. Additionally, when it comes time to pay, you only pay set costs that you have calculated (boxes, U-Haul Rental).
3) Furniture and Deliveries
Moving with furniture is cumbersome, so it’s common to toss or sell furniture before moves. At a new home, people now digitally purchase furniture to fill their spaces. In July 2020, Wayfair reported a 84% increase in revenue compared to the last year. Following Wayfair, IKEA also started to refocus on digital, letting customers play with 3D home design, providing curbside pickup, and rethinking the concept of a physical store.
Wayfair has a partnership with Handy which gives you assembly or installation services from a vetted professional. In response to the pandemic, Wayfair released guidelines of how to interact with your Service Pro — to leave your door unlocked, wear a face mask, and sanitize for a contactless installation. When the Service Pro was finished with your installation, they would text you to let you know that the job was complete. These guidelines seemed to take in consideration respect for both parties — the Service Pro and the customer.
Although moving is a huge pain regardless of pandemic, companies are thinking creatively to adapt to customers’ needs. Different policies have been enacted to address priorities. These priorities include safety, comfort, and convenience; pick 2.
Liked my post? It’s a preview of my new book called Social Economics in Uncertain Times: How to Make Work and Life Decisions in the New Normal. Social Economics will be available on Amazon in September 2020. Pre-Order now on Amazon! And follow me on Twitter @ameli_sans.
