Finding a new place to stay during the pandemic

It was on a Friday evening, and I was about to finish an email to a potential partner for my blog when I received that call. I was tired. I just finished working a bit earlier. The new potential partnership was getting me enthusiastic. Lots of ideas and possibilities were flowing through my writing.

I answered the phone. It was the owner of the apartment I lived in: “Hey! Listen, we have a difficult family situation. I am so sorry, but we will need the apartment to be free as soon as possible. We have to accommodate our relatives. Unfortunately, they were forced to move out of the city because of the epidemic.”

The Coronavirus epidemic started to get serious in Romania at the beginning of March. That week, I was just beginning to work from home. I thought that at least I still have my job and a source of income. After I received that call and listened to Andrei’s story, I completely understood his situation and why he chose to tell me to move out. Even so, it was a challenging time to start looking for a place to stay and move.

Making a plan has more benefits than you might think

I couldn’t finish my email after that phone call. All my ideas seemed to vanish. I stared out the window, thinking: “How in the world am I going to do this now and not get infected?”

Then I realized that I was panicking, and nothing constructive could come out of it. So I decided to sleep on it and to see how I’m going to feel about it the next morning.

One of the precious things I learned in my sales career was how to cope with pressure. Because you see, I am not that person who performs well under pressure or in a stressful environment. I like to do things at my own pace. So, to be able to be successful as a salesperson, you have to face limited periods of time with a significant amount of pressure.

So I woke up the next morning and decided to apply one of the strategies I use at work to be able to perform under pressure: make a plan and then stick to it, no matter the ups and downs of your emotional state.

Setting up expectations, but not only for yourself.

After writing down my plan, I thought of all possible risks. I decided to search for a residential moving service company in Bucharest. At the same time, I called Andrei, told him that I would do my best to move in a reasonable amount of time, preferably as fast as possible. Nevertheless, he should also take into account the possibility that I may not succeed. That is, if all economic activity would stop, I might not find a place, and the moving companies may freeze their business until things get back to normal.

Setting the right expectations is another ability I learned as a sales professional. You consider the facts and think about possible outcomes. Then you communicate with your partners or customers if there is one worst-case scenario out there. It might be something out of your control. The only fact that you thought about them and put that into perspective will also help them at least think of a possible solution. It shows respect, and the probability that the relationship degrades into a conflict decreases.

To my luck, I found an apartment fast. It was also in the same neighborhood, I liked the owner, and she liked my dog and me as well. I was happy with this.

Finding the right residential moving service company

Then the only challenges I had left was to find a residential moving service company and to stay healthy in the process. I found several providers, requested an offer from 3 of them, and then waited. The choice was natural with Moving Box, as they were the only ones who communicated well, called back every time they could not answer in the first place, and send me their offer on email. Of course, these are not 100% indicators that things will go well, but there is a higher chance that they do when you see clear signs of accountability on the other side.

In my case, things indeed went well, so I decided to add a short review about them on my blog. In case you ever consider moving in or out of Bucharest, you can call these guys and be sure you will receive a fair price and excellent service. What you see is indeed what you will get—no surprises on the way.

There are the reasons why I would choose their services again if needed, and why I also recommend them to you:

We agreed on a day and hour to move everything in one transport – and it was respected, even if it was on a Saturday and things were pretty hectic in the city.
They handled all my stuff with care. The guys brought everything to the new apartment without any damage. I also had an armchair that I couldn’t disassemble. They used blankets when transporting it for protection, even though I already packed it in bubble wrap.
Reasonable price
The elevator broke down ?. They had to carry everything down the stairs from the 7th floor. No additional cost was requested other than what we agreed in the first place.
The two persons who came were wearing protective masks and gloves. They were also polite and arranged everything in place in the new apartment.

Moving Box: What other services do they offer?

Packing services – If you ask me now, I think the next time I will also buy this service. There was an incredible amount of time and effort needed to pack everything into boxes, every evening, after work. Also, I believe it contributed to aggravating my already herniated disk condition in the spine. On the one hand, it was an excellent decision to decrease the costs, but on the other hand, I was exhausted after two weeks with almost no free time.
International moving services
Moving services for companies
Installation for fairs and exhibitions
Storage services – If you don’t have your own storage space available, you can rent one from them.
Additional services like cleaning or maintenance personnel (plumbers, electricians, etc.)

So I managed to move to my new apartment with the help of Moving Box. What I miss the most is the fantastic view of the sunset. But hopefully, we will start traveling again soon, and I will be able to enjoy many sunsets outside, in nature. ?

What I learned from this experience:

I have little attachment to objects or places I live in, and it is a good thing. Transforming a house into a home is possible anywhere if you bring your heart with you on the way and allow yourself to easily detach from the old (habits, places, things).
When you find yourself in a negative situation, ask: “How do I solve this?” rather than: “Why is it happening to me?”. It is far more productive.
Make a plan before you act. Write it down. It helps you stick with it, even if you get emotional along the way.
Seek to reach your goal, but pay attention also to the people around you. Look for those you have chemistry with, even for the small things. If you think the long term, it will always be simpler to communicate and get along with people you like and like you back. In my case, while looking for a new apartment, I refused to hide the fact that I owned a dog, to the annoyance of the real estate agents. ? I wanted to move into an apartment and have a pleasant, good relationship with the owner, even if that meant spending more time searching. So I met Alexandra, who is also a dog lover, and we had chemistry right from the first few sentences.

I hope that sharing my experience can help you put things into perspective, even if it is a bit different than the usual adventures you find here on the blog.

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