If you get stuck Moving on September 1st in Boston, Do Yourself a Favor and Grab your New Keys ASAP!
Everyone knows moving on September 1st in Boston can be a hassle. There are over 150,000 college students in the Boston area. So it’s no wonder that most landlords schedule leases to expire in accordance with the student calendar.
For this reason, we always recommend choosing a moving date as far away from September 1st as possible. (You can read our guide to picking the cheapest moving dates here.)
Of course, in a city like Boston, having the entire population move on the same day poses some problems. (It’s very difficult to secure a moving truck, for example, regardless of whether or not you have a reservation.)
In Boston’s student neighborhood of Allston, you can count on the entire neighborhood relocating on September 1st. By DoorFrame at English Wikipedia (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Think about it. Chances are the new tenants of the place you’re leaving have the same schedule for their lease. The outgoing tenants of your new place probably do, too.
Will you be out before your old apartment’s new tenants arrive? Will you have to pay your movers to wait around while the tenants of your new place move out?
Well, the easiest answer, as you might expect, is pretty simple: ask!
If you’re moving at the end of August, hopefully your landlord is more accommodating than Pip’s. By John McLenan [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss (but more important!)
So you’re lease is up September 1st. You’re hiring movers but you know that September 1st is the single most expensive day on the moving calendar. Step one to avoiding the hassle of what the kids call “Allston Christmas” is talking to your new landlord.
Can you move in a day or two early? Even by moving on August 30th instead of September 1st, you might save yourself a few hundred dollars. Such is the demand for movers on 9/1. Sometimes the old tenants are like you — they want to move as quickly as possible, and will vacate the unit early.
If that doesn’t work, try asking your current landlord when exactly you need to be out of your new place. Sometimes (rarely, but sometimes), the new tenants aren’t arriving until later in the month. Or they don’t exist yet because the landlord hasn’t rented out the place yet. Or a contractor is coming to do work for a few weeks. In any case, try squeezing an extra few days out of your lease, and move on the 2nd or 3rd. You’ll save a lot of money on moving costs if you do.
Of course, it’s not always possible to make such arrangements. But it never hurts to ask.
Have you asked your landlord about moving early? Did your landlord deny your request? If you can’t avoid moving on September 1st in Boston, why not use Boston’s Best Movers? Fill out our easy form and get a quote today! (But remember to turn off auto-fill if you’re using Chrome as browser.)
