At 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, the clocks in New York fall back one hour. The same Sunday, the Marathon closes streets in all five boroughs, so the city is busy before anyone lifts a box. Our fall moving calendar has the details on that day.
After that, moving in NYC in November looks like any other month on paper. Same buildings, same elevators, same five flights of stairs. Three things around the move do change: the light goes early, the heat comes on, and the cold starts to matter for a few things you own. None of them is a reason to skip moving in NYC in November. They are reasons to do a few small jobs differently.
The light: sunset goes from 4:53 to 4:31 p.m.
Sunset in New York City is at 4:53 p.m. on November 1 and slides to 4:31 p.m. by November 30. Most of a city move happens indoors, in lit lobbies, hallways and elevators. Daylight matters most for the jobs you do yourself, before and after the crew.
Walk the new apartment the day you get the keys. Do it in daylight and photograph every wall, floor, window and radiator. Natural light shows scuffs and stains that a ceiling bulb hides, and those photos are what protect your deposit a year from now.
Shoot the old apartment the same way once it is empty. Turn on every light, go room by room, and get the floors and the inside of the oven and fridge.
Pack a light box. Plenty of NYC apartments, prewar ones especially, have no ceiling fixture in the living room or bedroom, just a switched outlet. The last tenant usually takes the lamps and sometimes the bulbs. One box covers it: a floor lamp or two table lamps, spare bulbs, a power strip and your phone chargers. Label it on every side and carry it with you, or point it out to the crew so it does not end up at the back of the truck.
Heat season: what your new landlord owes you
New York City’s heat season runs from October 1 to May 31. When it is below 55 degrees outside, your landlord has to keep the apartment at 68 degrees or warmer between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Overnight, the minimum is 62 degrees no matter what the weather is doing. Hot water has to be 120 degrees all year.
So when you walk the new place, turn on the heat and the hot water. Put a hand on every radiator. A cold radiator in the bedroom is a quick fix on a weekday afternoon and a long first night on a Sunday.
If the heat is not working when you move in, tell the super or the management company first. If nothing happens, call 311. The city takes heat complaints seriously.
One more radiator tip for planning the layout: leave a few inches between a radiator and a dresser, bookcase or mattress. The heat gets into the room instead of into the back of your furniture.
The cold: what to protect when moving in NYC in November
Houseplants. We move plants, and plenty of movers will not. Most tropical houseplants can be damaged once it drops below about 50 degrees, and even a short walk from the door to the truck can mark the leaves. November nights in New York regularly go below that. Water your plants a few days before the move, not the morning of. Wrap each one in paper or a plant sleeve with the top closed. Keep the ones you care about most in your own car or cab.
Electronics. TVs, laptops, consoles and speakers come off a cold truck into a warm apartment, and that is when condensation forms inside them. Let them sit unplugged for an hour or so until they feel like room temperature, then power them on. Laptop makers give the same advice. Good news on the biggest one: we box and handle TVs up to 65 inches at no charge.
Wet floors. November brings rain, and rain brings wet lobbies and hallways. In most NYC buildings, protecting the floors is the building’s job, so ask management whether they put down boards or runners on move days. If they do not, we can do it, starting at $150. Our guide to what movers charge extra for covers the rest of the add-ons.
The November dates that slow a move
When you are moving in NYC in November, the dates matter as much as the weather. Beyond November 1, the days to plan around are Veterans Day on Wednesday, November 11, and Thanksgiving week, with the parade on Thursday, November 26. NYC DOT has also named three gridlock alert days, when it expects the worst traffic of the month: Wednesday, November 18, Thursday, November 19, and Tuesday, November 24. If your date is flexible, keep a move that crosses Manhattan off those three days. Alternate side parking is suspended on November 3, 11 and 26. The full list, with the clear weekdays between them, is in our fall moving calendar.
Your first night checklist for moving in NYC in November
The crew leaves and the radiators are clanking for the first time. Before you start unpacking, run through this list:
- Light box open, lamps plugged in, bulbs in.
- Heat on in every room and hot water running in the kitchen and bathroom.
- Bed assembled and made. Sheets and a blanket packed in your carry bag, not in box 37.
- Plants unwrapped, out of the boxes, and away from the radiator and drafty windows.
- Electronics warmed up before you plug them in.
- Phone and laptop chargers in your bag, not on the truck.
- A photo of the super’s number and the management company’s email, in case the heat or hot water is not working.
Do those seven things and the rest can wait until the morning, when you have daylight again.
Is November a good month for moving in NYC?
For most people, yes. The weather is still workable, the summer rush is long gone and the holidays have not started yet. The trade-offs are shorter days and the first cold snaps, and both are easy to plan around with the steps above. If you have a choice between moving in NYC in November and moving in a January snowstorm, take November.
Get a quote for moving in NYC in November
The fastest way to price a move is a photo or a link. Send us the listing, a few photos of the rooms, or a link to the big pieces, and we can usually give you a flat rate the same day. Send it to info@magicalmovingnyc.com or use our free quote form. If you are comparing us with another mover, send their written quote too and we will go through it line by line.
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