Cambridge, MA Movers

Getting a legal spot for the truck

Cambridge requires a moving van permit and posted temporary no-parking signs, both arranged through the city's Traffic, Parking & Transportation department. Apply early. The streets around Harvard, Central and Inman Squares have very little open curb, and the end of the month is when everyone else is applying too.

Before you file, send us the address. We'll look at which side of the street works, whether there's a hydrant or a driveway in the way, and how far the carry would be from each option. More main streets now have separated bike lanes, and a truck can't park across them, so on a busy road the better spot may be around the corner on a side street.

Condo conversions and narrow back stairs

Much of the Cambridge housing is old two- and three-family houses split into condos, plus brick apartment buildings from the early 1900s. Mid-Cambridge, Cambridgeport and North Cambridge are full of them. The front staircase might be fine. The back one, which the condo association sometimes prefers you use, is often steep with a turn halfway up.

Tell us which stairs we're allowed to use and what floor you're on. Long sofas and wide dressers are what get stuck, not boxes. If something is likely to be close, we'll take the legs or feet off, wrap it and try the turn before anyone commits to forcing it. Basic disassembly and reassembly is included, so that doesn't add a line to the bill.

Near Kendall Square and in East Cambridge there are also newer elevator buildings. Those are usually easier on the crew but stricter on timing, so send us the loading dock hours and the elevator reservation.

Rain is the other Cambridge variable. When the truck has to sit around the corner, a long carry in wet weather means more wrapping. We cover upholstered pieces in blankets before they leave the building, and we keep boxes off wet sidewalks by staging them in the hall instead of on the curb. If your boxes are the thin grocery-store kind, double-tape the bottoms; a soggy box gives out halfway down a porch stair.

School calendars, lease dates and what we charge

Late August and September 1 are the busiest days of the year here, because apartment leases turn over across the city while students come back to Harvard and MIT. Late May and early June bring a second, smaller wave as people move out at the end of the school year. If your date lands in either window, book early and get the permit application in first.

A studio near Porter Square with an easy front stair might only need two of us. A third-floor two-bedroom in Cambridgeport usually goes faster with three. Moving blankets, pads, dollies, straps and tools are included, and you get a written estimate before moving day based on your inventory and the access at both ends.