Autumn Years Spring 2024

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

What’s Up with Apps By Luke Yeagley W hether it is downsizing from a large family home once the kids have left, moving to a better climate or find ing a home appropriate for aging in place, many seniors opt to find a new place to live. As spring rolls in and summer is on its way, you or someone you know may start considering moving for any or none of the above reasons. Either way, even the thought can be daunting though, hopefully, exciting. Here are some apps that can make moving seem less daunting. The apps will stay away from finding new property but rather focus on selling your current property, moving and packing your belongings and updating all of the pesky services like utilities, mailing addresses, internet, etc. There is even some help in finding a reasonably priced extra pair of hands for assembling furniture and other tasks.

ANGI

Angi (formerly known as Angie’s list) is the app on this list dedicated to finding quality home improvement services. When selling a home, there may be some work that needs to be done to increase its value and prime it for sale. Some tasks like yard work or pressure washing can be done by anyone from a local neighbor hood teenager to a professional company. Other tasks like carpet cleaning, plumbing and other services that require entry into the home necessitate a bit more care in finding the right people for the job. Angi is pretty simple in that it allows service providers to post their services, so that people who need those services can find them, read the reviews and post reviews after the work is complete. The interface first asks you what type of labor or project you need help with, then provides links to get quotes from different providers. Angi also has its own brand of service providers for common services like plumbing that on average have many positive reviews but also can be more pricey.

UHAUL

UHaul makes it easy to find many different size trailers or trucks, for one-way or round trip moving. Uhaul has 23,000 locations across the country so odds are there is a truck available for you. Besides the actual moving trucks, UHaul locations offer many moving-related services like boxes, tape and storage containers. When you book a truck or other moving services, the UHaul app will refer moving services that it has vetted in the area to help with loading and/or unloading the truck. Usually these services are by the hour, and you can shop around for different prices and reviews relating to the quality of the services offered.

62 AUTUMN YEARS I SPRING 2024