Moving to a new environment is a way of life for many people. Whether domestic or international, whether for career reasons or personal, relocating to another part of the world is very often a highly stressful situation. But when one calls on a third party for assistance to make the transition a little smoother, it is always a win-win for everyone involved.
In late July, I received a call from a client in Monaco, the tiny country at the edge of France in Western Europe. She said she stumbled upon my company via a search on Google. With a hint of desperation in her voice, the client, a former college professor, explained that she intended to relocate to the Boston area by early August, because she and her husband were going through a divorce and she wanted to get her teenage son settled and acclimated to a new school soon.
Realizing the tight timeframe we were working from, the client asked me to assist in the search for a furnished, short-term (one month long) lease on an apartment in Brookline that was also pet-friendly, as she would be arriving in the States with two cats as well. She chose the town of Brookline for its good high school and close proximity to the city of Boston. She said she also liked Wellesley and Weston for their good schools, but she was dismayed that both towns were too far from Boston and too costly to live in.
The client provided a monthly rental budget that she could work with to help narrow down the apartment search. She would email in a few days a list of items to buy for her and the cats prior to her arrival. As soon as she moves into the country, she said she plans to buy a car.
Immediately after we finished the phone conversation and for the next eight days, I jumped right into a full-on search for short-term apartments and accommodations in and around Brookline that met the client’s budget requirements and other criteria. A local top-producing realtor was also called in to assist. The client was also conducting her own apartment searches from Monaco and would frequently email a few good but way-out-of-her-budget choices in neighboring towns.
By day two, it became clear that locating a one-month lease in a sought-after location such as Brookline was going to be hard, and the realtor agreed. But all hope was not lost. While the realtor continued to conduct her own search in Brookline, the client and I decided to expand our home search to other towns and other types of accommodations.
After a few days of more home searches, I stumbled upon a room at a hotel chain in Brookline and all seemed promising; the hotel had room availability, was very close to public transportation and was a few miles from the high school. However, after speaking with a staff member at the hotel and relaying the information to the client, it became clear that all would not work out: a month’s stay would be a few thousand dollars more than her budget would allow and a costly pet fee for each cat was also required.
Eventually, the client agreed on a furnished apartment at the Extended Stay America location in Westborough, a bit further out than Brookline. The plan was to live there for a few weeks, then locate and move into a Brookline apartment for a year’s lease before the school year starts. At the client’s request, I also booked a shuttle van that would pick up the client and her family on the day of their arrival at Logan International airport. Finally, the client emailed a list of items she needed me to purchase: cat food, a litter box, cat litter, cat bowls, an electric water fountain for her cats, and groceries for her family. She said her cats are particular about the water fountain and they only drink out of the fountain “if the water is flowing.” She said if I were able to purchase one almost exactly like the one in their Monaco home, the kind where water cascades down the edge, the better.
On the day of the client’s flight into Boston, on a balmy but beautiful August day, I traveled to a local Stop & Shop supermarket and purchased a big jug of orange juice (with pulp), Skippy peanut butter, strawberry jam, a loaf of bread, a pack of OREO cookies, a big container of Maxwell House ground coffee, sugar, a gallon of milk, a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, and some crunchy apples and fresh bananas. Following this, I headed out to the Petco pet retailer and purchased a big bag of cat food (“any brand food for indoor, sterilized cats”), a box of cat litter, the litter box, the electric water fountain, and two food bowls. After all purchases were made, I headed out to Westborough via Route 9 to the client’s new apartment to make delivery. The cats’ feeding station was placed right next to the kitchen and the water fountain was hooked up and turned on and placed inside the bathroom as the client requested. Client’s groceries were placed on the kitchen counter and the cat food and litter were stored inside a lower cabinet. Before I left the client’s new temporary home, I made a final check of the entire apartment and left a floral arrangement for the family’s enjoyment.
What a pleasure it was to assist the client and her family in this relocation!
Images credit: Susan Ho
Connect With Me!