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Moving to the Upper East Side: Everything You Need To Know

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When people dream about moving to New York City, most of them imagine themselves walking down the streets of the Upper East Side. Unfortunately, Upper East Side is not for everyone. It is one of NYC’s upscale neighborhoods that only a few can afford. However, moving to Upper East Side, despite the high costs, is definitely worth it. And in the following article, Roadway Moving will show you how to organize the whole process, find the best moving help NYC has, and what you can expect afterward.

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Upper East Side is one of the best places to live in New York City

Upper East Side is definitely one of the best neighborhoods in New York City. It is known for its stunning architecture, upscale boutiques, world-class restaurants, great schools, and its proximity to Central Park. However, being one of the best Manhattan neighborhoods for families with kids, most people consider it boring. At least compared to other parts of the city. Of course, there are a lot of things that you can do to have without leaving the Upper East Side. But do not expect to party until the morning here. If that is what you are looking for, maybe, moving to Upper East Side is not the best choice for you after all.

mom holding a child while moving to Upper East Side
Upper East Side is a great place for families

Have fun by visiting some of the best museums in the world

Upper East Side is best known for its museums. It has one of the highest concentrations of museums in the country. The Met, Guggenheim, Frick, The Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, Mount Vernon Hotel Museum, Jewish Museum, Neue Gallerie, Sotheby’s, and others are all here in UES. So you will definitely have a lot of things to do and see when you get bored.

You will have a wide selection of the finest NYC restaurants at your disposal

Another thing that Upper East Side is known for is the restaurants. Some of the best restaurants in New York City are located in this part of Manhattan. Of course, besides high-end restaurants, you will also have an opportunity to enjoy quality ethnic cuisines that can be found here in great numbers. On the other hand, this part of the city holds to its tradition, so, here, you won’t find some of the new trendy restaurants that are following the newest trends. If that is what you like, you will probably enjoy it more in some other parts of the city.

Like to go shopping? You will certainly enjoy it after moving to Upper East Side

If shopping is your favorite pastime, you will certainly enjoy it after moving to Upper East Side. 2nd avenue, 3rd avenue, 5th avenue, Madison avenue, 69th, and 70th street have some of the best shops in town. There you will find Hayward House, Aquazzurra Boutique, Fivestory, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, as well as many food stores like Citarella, Fairway, Agata & Valentina, or Whole Foods. If you head down south, you will also find Costco, Marshall’s, Target, Burlington Coat Factory, and many others.

moving to Upper East Side
Upper East Side has many great places to shop

Relocating to Upper East Side with kids? You will have access to some of the best schools in the city

A high-class neighborhood like Upper East Side should have access to high-class education. And if you are moving with children, you will have some of the best public and private schools at your disposal. Dalton School, Loyola School, The Caedmon School, Lycee Francais de New York, Hunter College High School, or The Hewitt School are some of the best private schools near the Upper East Side. If you are looking for public schools, check out The Anderson School, 30th Avenue the School (G. & T. Citywide), or maybe Success Academy Charter School – Cobble Hill and Middle School. You definitely have a wide array of options for your kids in this part of Manhattan.

Upper East Side is one of the safest parts of New York

For a long time, New York City was known as a dangerous place. In the last couple of decades, that image has changed dramatically. Unfortunately, the recent crime surge in NYC is making everyone worried – everyone except the residents of the Upper East Side. This neighborhood is one of the safest in the city. Assault, murder, rape, and robbery rates are a few times lower than the national average. And the same goes for burglaries, theft, and motor vehicle thefts. So if you are planning to relocate here with your family, or you simply want to live in a safe neighborhood where you do not have to look over your shoulder every few seconds, this is definitely one of the best and safest places to be right now.

Even though it is considered costly, Upper East Side actually offers the best bang for your buck in New York City

We’ve gone through many aspects of living on the Upper East Side. Still, the biggest problem and one of the biggest obstacles that you can run into when planning to relocate here is housing costs. New York City in general is known for high living costs. And that is especially noticeable when we look at the Upper East Side in particular. If we look at June 2022, home prices here rose by more than 9% compared to last year. Currently, the median home value on Upper East Side is $1,5 M. Per square foot it is around $1,400.

mover pushing boxes on Manhattan
Living on Upper East Side has many benefits

Unfortunately, rent prices also increased dramatically since last year. Right now, the median rent for a 1-bedroom apartment on Upper East Side is around $4,190, which is a 36% increase compared to 2021. The average rent for a studio apartment also increased over the last year, fortunately, only by 4%, and, now, it is around $2,640. If you are looking to rent a 2-bedroom apartment on Upper East Side, you will probably have to pay around $6,150 – 8% more than in 2021. High home prices are something that UES is known for. However, it is considered that this part of Manhattan offers the biggest bang for your buck. Of course, this part of town also offers more affordable housing options as well. So make sure that you do your research before you jump on the first opportunity that you find.

Average salaries on the Upper East Side by industries

High living costs are something that wouldn’t be bearable if there weren’t for the greasy paychecks residents of this part of town receive every month. Of course, how big your paycheck will depend on the industry you are working in. So let’s take a look at the average salaries on Upper East Side depending on the industry:

  • Architecture, Engineering – $175,000
  • Legal – $113,000
  • Management – $107,000
  • Health – $96,500
  • Business, Financial – $93,000
  • Sales – $88,000
  • Education – $71,000
  • Science – $63,500
  • Cleaning and Maintenance – $63,000
  • Transportation – $62,000
  • Food Prep, Serving – $34,500

Your relocation to Upper East Side should start with a proper plan

Now that you know all about living on Upper East Side, let’s take a look at how to actually move there. Of course, whenever you are moving, regardless of the location and whether you are moving on your own or with the help of professional Manhattan residential movers, you need to make a plan. Relocation is a complicated process with many obstacles and if you do not have a checklist to remind you, you are bound to forget about something. And, when you forget to do something during a move, it will reflect on the overall costs of the process. So make a plan to make your move smoother and cheaper.

movers helping you move to Upper East Side
Plan you move thoroughly if you want to avoid trouble

Declutter before you start searching for Manhattan movers

Once you prepare a moving plan, you should start preparing your inventory for the move.  Of course in this stage of preparation, it is still early to start packing. We are thinking more about removing the junk and unnecessary items that are only increasing the cost of your moving process and making it more difficult than it should be. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to determine what items you need to get rid of before moving. So having a blueprint of your new home should help you quite a bit in this situation. Also, if you have items that you haven’t been using in the last 6 months or more, get rid of them. If you do this right, you will make your upcoming move to the Upper East Side simpler, and you can even add a few bucks to your moving budget as well.

Sell your stuff or put them in storage

Of course, for this, you will have to sell your items. And you can do that by organizing a garage or yard sale, selling them online, or to a used items retailer in your vicinity. Also, if you want, you can donate your excess items to charity. This is probably the quickest option to get rid of your junk. Because most charity organizations will come to your place to pick up the stuff. If you do not have time to deal with sales and donations, or you are simply not sure what to do with your excess items just yet, you can always call a junk removal service to help you. Or find some quality climate controlled storage NYC has to offer. There you can keep your items safe until you figure out what to do with them.

packing for the move
Carrying unnecessary items only complicates the process

Manhattan movers need to know how many items you have before they give you a moving estimate – so make an inventory list

Once you clean up your inventory, make a list of items that you plan to move to your new Upper East Side home. All the best local movers Manhattan has to offer will need a list of your items in order to give you a precise moving estimate. So if you want to do that online, instead of calling them to do an in-home estimate, you will need a precise list of your items. While you are making your inventory list, think about the help that you might want to hire as well. Some movers only provide labor-only services. So if you want some additional help like packing or furniture disassembling, you will need to pay for it separately.

Moving can be costly so make sure that you prepare a moving budget before you start the process

Now that you removed all unnecessary items, sold them, and you gave a good thought about the service you need, it is time to make a moving budget. Relocation rarely comes easy on the budget, regardless of your financial status. So make sure that you put everything on paper before you start searching for movers Upper East Side offers.

holding an envelope
Lower your moving costs by planning your budget in advance

Find a professional moving company to help you move to Upper East Side

Finally, once everything is complete, you can start searching for a moving company. Luckily, Manhattan has a good offer of quality movers that are specialized in handling local relocations on the Upper East Side. Our suggestion is to find a few moving companies that look promising and ask for their moving estimates online (if you prepared a moving inventory list). Then, simply compare their offers and services and pick the movers that fit your needs best.

If you can bear the high living costs, relocating to Upper East Side will be the best decision you made in your life

Those are the things that you need to know when moving to Upper East Side. As you can see, it is a great neighborhood with a lot of options and opportunities. The only obstacle that you will need to overcome, in fact, is the costly homes. If you manage to do that, you will surely enjoy living in one of the best neighborhoods New York City has to offer.

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