Most people who call us about a senior move are not the person moving. They are a son or daughter, usually working out how to help without taking over. Big Apple Moving has been moving New Yorkers since 1979, and a good part of that work is moving people out of homes they have lived in for decades — into a smaller apartment, closer to family, or into assisted living.
What Makes a Senior Move Different
Physically, a senior move is a normal move. What changes is the pace and the number of decisions.
Almost all of the difficulty sits before move day, and almost none of it is lifting.
What Does a Senior Move Cost in NYC?
Our rates are the same for a senior move as for any other local move. They are published in full on the hourly movers page.
| Home size | Typical crew | Typical hours | Estimated total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 2 movers | 3 – 5 hours | $400 – $700 |
| 1 bedroom | 2–3 movers | 4 – 6 hours | $600 – $1,100 |
| 2 bedrooms | 3 movers | 6 – 8 hours | $1,000 – $1,800 |
| 3 bedrooms | 3–4 movers | 7 – 9 hours | $1,700 – $2,800 |
There is no minimum number of hours. Market-rate estimates for a local move within the five boroughs, not guaranteed quotes.
Where the bigger number usually comes from. Across the market, a local senior move runs $500 to $3,500 for the move itself. Families who also use a senior move manager typically spend $2,500 to $9,000 all in. That gap is not the moving — it is the sorting, the floor plan, the estate sale and the setting-up. Worth knowing before anyone is surprised by it.
The cheapest thing you can do is decide early. Every hour spent deciding on move day is billed at the crew rate. Sorting done in the three weeks beforehand costs nothing.
What Is a Senior Move Manager, and Do You Need One?
A senior move manager is a different professional from a moving company, and the distinction is worth understanding before you hire either.
What a Senior Move Manager Does
Plans the transition. Sorting and downsizing decisions, a floor plan for the new apartment, arranging an estate sale or donations, and setting the new home up so it is liveable on day one. There is a certification for it — NASMM’s Senior Move Manager-Certified — which requires coursework and a minimum of forty completed senior moves.
What a Moving Company Does
Packs, protects, carries, transports, reassembles. We handle the physical move and everything that goes with it: materials, disassembly, protection of floors and doorways, certificates of insurance for the building, and storage if the dates do not line up.
When You Need Both
If the decisions are the hard part rather than the lifting, a move manager earns their fee. If the family has already decided what goes and what stays, a moving company on its own is usually enough. They are not alternatives — most families who use both use them for different weeks.
Moving a Parent to Assisted Living
The most common senior move we run, and the one with the most constraints that have nothing to do with moving.
How We Handle a Senior Move
The same crews and the same equipment as any other move, with more of the work done before the day.
Everything below is part of the hourly rate rather than an add-on.
A Survey Before a Number
In person or by video. On a senior move the inventory is usually smaller than the home suggests, and it is better to establish that early.
Packing, if You Want It
We can pack everything, only the fragile items, or nothing at all. Partial packing — the kitchen and the breakables — is what most families choose.
Disassembly and Reassembly
Beds, wardrobes and tables come apart at one end and go back together at the other. The bed is made up before we leave if you want it to be.
Certificates of Insurance
For the building at either end, at no charge, usually the same business day you send us the requirements.
Storage Between Dates
Move-out and move-in rarely land on the same day. We store in between so the load is not sitting on a truck overnight.
One Point of Contact
The same coordinator throughout, and a direct number for the crew lead on the day. On a move where several family members are involved, one number matters more than usual.
What Actually Makes These Moves Go Well
The moves that go well are the ones where the person moving made the decisions. Not the family, and not on the day. Where someone else sorted the house to save time, we have almost always ended up moving things back, or moving them twice.
Start six weeks out if you can. Work one room at a time. Photograph anything going to family so the decision does not have to be made in a hallway.
And let the person moving keep more than seems sensible. A box of things nobody else understands the value of is a small price next to arriving somewhere that does not feel like theirs.
Senior Moving in NYC — Frequently Asked Questions
Costs, move managers, assisted living and downsizing.
