Movin' right along...update

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Well, having come to the decision that I definitely didn't want to continue with the same insurance carrier after the fiasco with my current insurer over the bathroom and hallway flood last month, I spent some time on the 'net and the phone this afternoon and evening getting quotes for auto insurance and renter's insurance for my new home.

Took a lot of research and a lot of time on the phone, but managed to set up a bundled renter's/auto policy with a major company that will keep me (in good hands) for about 10 dollars a month more than I was paying for auto alone up here, with better coverage, and an interesting deal where for each year you have no auto claims, they knock a hundred bucks off your deductible.

The policy includes roadside assistance at a higher level than AAA, 30 days of rental car coverage per incident, and various discounts for safety features on the car, my age, clean driving record, clean criminal record (what is up with THAT?), and good credit.

Renter's insurance is for replacement cost, not depreciated value, which is really nice and something I couldn't get with an agency up here.

So, I take possession of the apartment on 7/15, but will switch the insurance over on 7/8 which is when the promotion they are running for early sign up ends. They will handle telling my current insurance company where they can stick their policies, and save me the grief.

I have spent today going through cabinets and the like, and love it or lump it, I've been learning to text, since it seems no one I am dealing with wants to TALK on the bloody phone.

The new owners of my home are especially bad for texting as opposed to talking, especially the kid who will actually be living in my home, who not only texts me continuously, but insists on sending me msgs in
"textlish" as opposed to plain English, which I then have to muddle through.

It's much like trying to translate vanity plates except I'm not trying to do it at 65mph. He gets his texts back in plain English. I'm quick to ,learn new languages, and as someone who worked for the military and various branches of government for several years, I pick up acronyms pretty quickly, but when you add that to typing with my thumbs on a keyboard I can't SEE, fuggedaboudit.

I also found out that I do not have to make deposits to the utility companies to have service transferred to may name, which was a bit of a concern as I have no prior history with these companies, unless they can go back better than 30 years, in which case I did have a few late payments.

The complex has a special deal with TimeWarner cable, which I'll look into if they offer TV I actually want to watch, and if their internet service is worthwhile. The internet is RoadRunner, which I haven't heard great things about.

My other alternative is AT&T, fiber DSL, which I also haven't heard good things about, and I refuse to pay Verizon's prices for a 4G hotspot, especially as I have to cough up a substantial chunk of change to purchase the hardware in that case as opposed to leasing a modem and router.

Just to show my priorities are truly in the right place, I have figured out what bedding set I want to get, and have made arrangements to order it on a schedule that will have it delivered to the new apartment a couple of days after I take possession. Expensive household version of hotel bedding I've slept on and loved.

I may wind up with some 2nd hand furnishings, but by Bast, my back will be happy.
 

Tanya M

Living with an attitude of gratitude
Staff member
Oh the joys of insurance shopping! Glad you found a new carrier with a better policy.

As for the texting, I think some of the younger generation will be inept at spelling and communication skills.
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
You are moving right along! Your organization impresses me. I once moved while still literally packing my belongings. That was in the days pre-Jabber, and I'm still annoyed that one of my bags (yes, bags, not boxes) of clothing apparently got tossed as trash. Which is what happens when you use bags.

The policy includes roadside assistance at a higher level than AAA, 30 days of rental car coverage per incident, and various discounts for safety features on the car, my age, clean driving record, clean criminal record (what is up with THAT?), and good credit.

The criminal record thing is weird, but the credit thing got me back in the day. When I was with ex...well, it wasn't good and I let the insurance lapse. When I kicked him to the curb and went to get a policy, I had to exclude him off of it, even though we weren't together, because he didn't have a license. I had so many companies turn me down, not only because of that but because my credit was in the toilet. I said to one, "If I don't pay, you don't insure, so there's no liability on your part. So exactly what do you think I'm going to do? Steal it or set it on fire for the insurance? You won't do more than pay the loan off, I wouldn't get any money from it and I wouldn't have a car! In what world does that make sense?"

Logic did not impress them.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Lil, I think both the credit check and the criminal background check relate (in the case of ins companies) to how likely you are to commit fraud.

Credit checks are nothing new. Background checks are and I'm not sure how I feel about it, though I'm not sure if there's another way for an auto insurance carrier to find out if a potential client has had a DUI or the like.

One would hope that the only info that makes a difference is that which pertains directly to ones ability to pay on a policty and to the risk the insurance company assumes by insuring a person.

Though, I'm probably the wrong person to ask about that as I still have trouble with ALL felons being disenfranchised for life by most states
 

recoveringenabler

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I am also impressed with your organization! You must be relieved to have gotten this far in the process, you've anticipated and handled all the major 'bumps' on the highway........it's looking like you should have smooth sailing from now until 7/15 when you move in. When do you actually leave your present home? It doesn't appear as if you'll be staying with your friends all that long now. You've really done an excellent job of handling all the details and getting all the necessary things done! Good job!
 

Scent of Cedar *

Well-Known Member
Took a lot of research and a lot of time on the phone, but managed to set up a bundled renter's/auto policy with a major company that will keep me (in good hands) for about 10 dollars a month more than I was paying for auto alone up here, with better coverage, and an interesting deal where for each year you have no auto claims, they knock a hundred bucks off your deductible.

Wow. Good for you. I don't do the insurance, D H does. So it all seems like a mystery to me, how to know how much we need and etc.

It's much like trying to translate vanity plates except I'm not trying to do it at 65mph. He gets his texts back in plain English. I'm quick to ,learn new languages, and as someone who worked for the military and various branches of government for several years, I pick up acronyms pretty quickly, but when you add that to typing with my thumbs on a keyboard I can't SEE, fuggedaboudit.

Ha! I love this.

True. That is how I felt last summer, when the only internet I had was on our phone.

Thumb posting.

I like it.

4G hotspot,

We did 4G Hotspot through MetroPC last summer. We kept adding more room to it ~ sort of like the concept of adding, and paying for, more minutes. It never did work well enough for us. This summer, we are back to locally provided internet.

Your carrier may be different, or your usage may be different than ours was.

MetroPC is $40 monthly (including tax and etc). For the Hotspot activation, we paid an extra $5. Then, kept adding until the cost was $55 or $60. Which would still be an incredible savings. But once we used the initial minutes, though we still had access, it was incredibly slow.

Nonetheless Going, as long as you are checking such things out, that might be something to consider.

Just to show my priorities are truly in the right place, I have figured out what bedding set I want to get, and have made arrangements to order it on a schedule that will have it delivered to the new apartment a couple of days after I take possession. Expensive household version of hotel bedding I've slept on and loved.

Enquiring minds would like to know. I have option paralysis over the whole issue of bedding.

They say it isn't necessarily thread count. It should be Egyptian cotton.

?

I need to replace sheets, too. My plan is to go to Sam's, buy the stupid sheets, and hope for the best.

I may wind up with some 2nd hand furnishings, but by Bast, my back will be happy.

We furnished the second house with auction and consignment. It was time consuming, for sure, but everything came together beautifully.

We didn't know, when we first moved there, whether we would be staying, or not. We had arrived with nothing. Not so much as a fork. (This was one of those times D H says we need to call: an adventure.)

You know, when you go somewhere and you don't have any stuff.

Grrr....

You are taking care of yourself so well, Going. That's great. I wish you a smooth and easy transition.

How are Cat 1 and Cat 2 taking things?

Cedar
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Cat 1, aka Squeaky, other than repeatedly attempting to get herself packed and make the move via Bekins Moving and Storage, is handling things quite well.

Thomas is a nervous wreck. I am beginning to suspect he lost his "good" home when his original owners were forced to move, (and didn't care enough to) and didn't fined a place that allowed cats.

So far, we're getting a lot of wandering around mrowling, but he can be consoled and reassured out of it. If he gets really bad, he'll go back on tranqs until we're settled.

I'm not really that organized...if you could only see the scraps of paper everything is written down on. Said scraps of paper are organized to the point of being stuffed in the same drawer. Closest thing I've come to real organization is having all the dates and numbers in "sticky notes" on my laptop, and numbers and addresses in my phone.

There will still be a lot of "last minute panic", and I am especially not looking forward to the time period between the AM of the 10th, and the AM of the 12th, and the 10th is when the movers come, I camp out here with the cats (the place is selling partially furnished), load up the car the night of the 11th, Dump the litter pans, bag them up, crate up the cats, turn over the keys and title, run the check to the bank, and hit the road.

Somewhere in there on the 10th, I'll have to pick up cat litter and a bag of food, if I don't have sufficient left over to carry me for a few days once I get to Milwaukee.

I'll be living on carry-out/fast food, which means my guts will be in a uproar by the time I leave.

On the 11th, I have to stop at the Post Office and have my mail forwarded to my BFF's where I'll be staying until the apt opens up and I get enough stuff moved in to move myself and the furkids in.

I just spoke to the property manager at the complex who had originally said they'd have the apt ready to show by the first week of July, though he is hoping it will be ready to move into by the 15rh of July.

They took down a bunch of posters in the bedroom that my BFFs had commented on when they viewed the flat, and discovered that they were covering a large number of holes in the drywall, so what was supposed to be a "prime and paint" job instead turned into some pretty extensive patching.

They do have an identical unit on the 1st floor that differs only in having a balcony instead of a patio, that will be open in June, that they can show me.

I'll drive out to take a look at that one to get an idea of window heights/locations, register locatsions, etc, so I can start ordering furniture.

Cedar, when I say bedding in that context, I mean a "mattress set", sorry about that. For sheets and the like, I got with "must be over 400 thread count" and that's about it. For some reason, I kill fitted sheets, and I get my toenails done regularly, by a podiatrist, no less!

I usually get my sheets on sale at Kohl's or ShopKo up here, likely to be Kohl's or Target "down South"

I also still have not found out for certain if I have to have my car emissions tested in order to transfer the registration, which the state of WI, gives me a whole ten days to do once I officially change residences, same with driver's license.

Luckily, they will now accept a lease as sole proof of address. Used to be they also wanted a piece of "official" mail such as a utility bill.

So, now...I'm not "organized" at all. This is nothing more than a frantic attempt to stave off a complete panic attack.
 
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