What is it like to move with Santa Fe Relocation Services? Our editor shares her experience with the global mover in Singapore
There’s never really a good time to move. Between work, family, and other fixed schedules, carving out the time to purge unwanted things, pack, set up a budget, shop for new furniture, and make sure that the new place is livable before the boxes arrive is like, well, moving mountains. We couldn’t do it alone, my partner and I, but enlisting the help of friends and family was out of the question either (guilt).
So, the most sensible thing to do is to get professional help, and it turned out to be the best decision, ever. I’ve heard many great things about Santa Fe Relocation Services, and after poking my nose around their very comprehensive website, I made contact. By then, it was less than a month to the big day (I know, I procrastinated) and I was worried that it would be too short a notice (the horror). Thankfully it wasn’t, and Santa Fe arranged for a home visit the following week.
This was the beginning of the most amazing moving experience we’ve had. Nathalie, our assigned consultant, dropped by at the agreed timing for a pre-move survey. She did a thorough examination of all of our things, noted important information and our requests (we wanted to pack some items on our own), explained the moving process (permits would be handled by them), advised on insurance coverage, and promised to send us a detailed quotation in 24 hours. Half an hour later, she was out the door. We signed off on the quotation, which included handyman and repair services for both residences on the same day.
Fast-forward to moving day. A team of strapping men arrived at our door ahead of time and proceeded to work. Fragile items were wrapped in foam paper, clothes were packed in hanging boxes to minimise wrinkles, and furniture were dismantled and covered in blankets for transportation. Even though we had a seemingly endless amount of things to move – there were over 100 boxes not including furniture – everything was loaded onto the truck and ready to go at 1pm. We were on schedule as per to Nathalie’s prediction, despite the fact that our driver had to maneuver the massive truck many times to allow for cars to move in and out of the narrow street. What’s heartwarming, too, were the movers’ happy moods and respectful attitudes – these guys didn’t mind the sweating, heavy-lifting, and our little demands one bit.
Once the truck is filled with all of our things, the moving team took an hour break for lunch. They arrived at our new place in a little over an hour, and began unloading. Each item was labelled with my name and a serial number, and I was given a ‘bingo sheet’ to cross out as the boxes came through the door to make sure nothing was missed out. Craig Isherwood, our project manager, popped in to check on the move with a bottle a wine as a gift – another sweet gesture that made this move a lot more bearable. Meanwhile, furniture was unwrapped and set up where we wanted, and some boxes were unpacked to fill up storage spaces. We wanted to do the rest of the unpacking on our own, so Santa Fe’s moving team left us at around 5pm with the existing packing debris (most of which are reused again), and arranged to pick up the remaining empty cartons at our convenience. Never mind that the new place looked like a warzone – that’s to be expected – but at least the bed was ready for our first night.
With storage all set up and boxes labelled clearly, unpacking and organising was faster and easier that we thought. This gave us more time to head out and shop for household essentials. We had moved on a Wednesday, and by the time weekend rolled around, we had a home and our sanity intact. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from this move, it’s never to try to do it without professional help. Thank you, Santa Fe.
Relocating to or out of Singapore? Read more about Santa Fe’s international moving services here.
For more information on Santa Fe Relocation Services, visit their website. Alternatively, call 6398 8588, or email [email protected].
This article is sponsored by Santa Fe Relocation Services.