The Ultimate Guide for Moving Into a High-Rise Apartment in Chicago

July 24, 2017

As we discussed last week, moving in your 30s can be considerably more daunting than moving in your 20s, namely because many find themselves moving into their first home or an upscale condo or high-rise apartment as they move up the financial ladder. But while living on the twentieth or thirtieth floor of a downtown high-rise apartment building can certainly bring with it a great view, there are also considerable challenges to be expected when moving into an apartment at that height.

Below we lay out a few of the tips we’ve picked up over the years helping countless young professionals move into their dream Chicago high-rise apartment.

Moving Into a High-Rise Apartment in Chicago

1. Cut Down on the Clutter

This may seem like an obvious tip, but you’d be surprised by the number of first-time high-rise apartment owners or renters that try to bring seemingly every item they’ve accrued over the years all the way up. As we’ve outlined before in terms of instances in which you might want to consider a professional storage option, when moving into a high-rise apartment, take a long, hard look at your belongings and try to cut down on at least a third of them if possible.

For instance, unless you practice daily, do you really want to try moving that piano up twenty flights of stairs?  After all, high-rise apartments with big windows and grand views often look best with a spare layout so unless you have thousands of books that you simply must live with, start removing the clutter from your life.

2. Invest in a Moving Cart and More

Regardless of whether you’ve hired professional movers or you’re going to do the move on your own or with help from friends, renting a luggage or moving cart that can carry a considerable amount at a single time will help expedite the move. While most high-rise apartment building have freight elevators, you still will need to get your belongings in the elevator and up into your apartment. That’s where a cart with wheels comes in hands, making the move far easier.

3. Save the Elevator

One nice thing about moving into a high-rise apartment is that your new building likely has very helpful doormen and a fright elevator that can take a large amount of items up at once. However, in a building with two hundred to upwards of a thousand people, you can bet that others will be hoping to use the freight elevator, especially on weekends. That said, most buildings will allow tenants to reserve a freight elevator for one to a few hours at a time, which should be more than enough if you follow our last and most crucial step.

And about those doormen? Try and strike up a conversation and become friendly with them as they’ll be more inclined to offer advice from the countless moves they’ve helped in some way or another.

4. Hire Professional Movers

Now we get that it might not be a big surprise for us to recommend this step, let’s just think about what could happen if you attempt to move into a high-rise apartment by yourself or with friends. Firstly, if you have any art or valuables to move, do you have a friend who is experienced in handling such items during a move into a high-rise apartment? Because we have a whole team of professional movers who successfully complete such moves several times a month, at the minimum. Secondly, if you can only get the elevator for an hour at a time, do you have enough friends to ensure you get everything moved in within sixty minutes or less?

And don’t get us wrong: some people do have friends who can handle moving into a high-rise apartment. But if you don’t and you’ve already invested a considerable amount in your new apartment, seriously consider hiring professional movers as not only will you be buying peace of mind, you’ll ensure that your move goes as efficiently as possible.