Getting Settled in the 'Sota

Since all stories have a beginning, I thought it would be best to start with the story of how Flav and I ended up in Minnesota.  Approximately six months ago, my college friend Jill (who has spent the past few years openly campaigning for our return to MN) sent Flav information regarding a job opening in Minneapolis.  Long story short, the company thought Flavio was the best thing since sliced bread and this June, he moved to Minneapolis to start his new job.  In mid-August, after wrapping up odds and ends in my former job as an immigration lawyer/refugee program supervisor/general do-gooder, I was able to join Flavio in MN and begin my stint as a 50's housewife.**

Then - Immigration Lawyer
@ 2006 CIR Rally

Now - You get the gist.....

(**Disclosure - staying home to raise young children is just as hard as being a lawyer, so shout out to stay at home moms.  I have no kids, so I'm a 50's housewife in the sense that my only job is to keep the house clean and have dinner on the table at 6:00)

So now that you know the why and when of our move, let's move on to how we moved.  Keeping with the Sesame Street references, this move to the Twin Cities is brought to you by the letter X...as in Xcel Energy, Flavio's new employer.  Fortunately for us, Xcel was not only kind enough to give Flavio a job, but they also paid for some nice young men to pack our things, drive them to Minnesota, and deliver our belongings to our new apartment in Minneapolis.  Aren't they the best?

And while the packing and moving of our things went relatively smoothly, the real trouble began after we received "the boxes."

Help???!!!!!!!

Having experienced everything from a do-it-yourself U-haul move into 4th Floor Walk-Up to a full service move, I can say that the one universal truth about moving is that it will always suck...big time.  In a nutshell, for the first week after our move, I spent nearly every waking moment unpacking our things and attempting to make our 2BR rental a home.  Soon after beginning the unpacking process, I discovered a major pain in the behind that comes with a full service move: The Paper.  To use one of my dad's expressions, professional movers use enough wrapping paper to choke a horse.  By the end of Day 1 our apartment smelled like newspaper and looked like it belonged to one of those crazy people on Hoarders.

Hoarders - Minneapolis Edition

Fortunately, after a week+ of unpacking, we finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel and were able to expel the paper and boxes from our new apartment for good.  Currently, we are more or less settled into our new apartment (save for lack of art work on the walls) and, fingers crossed, the place may even be presentable enough for a Mid-October housewarming party. Needless to say, both Flav and I were grateful to have the move behind us and are considering staying in this apartment for the rest of our lives, just so that we never have to go through the unpleasant process of moving ever again.

So, how have past moves been for all of you??  Any tips on how to make moving less painful??? See you in the comments....