Farewell Philly Fiasco

As the title of this blog suggests, moving out of Philly was not as smooth sailing as I would have liked. Complete with my sub-leaser falling through, three parking tickets, craigslist scams, unobservant semi-truck drivers, and faulty U-Haul equipment that resulted in all of my stuff being soaked by the end of the trip, moving out became me stressing out.

Needless to say, I am glad to be out of Philadelphia.

The day before the sublease agreement was to be sign, I was notified by my landlord after he ran a credit check on the girl moving in, that she was not moving to save money, as she had told me. She was being evicted for not paying rent. After having a serious conversation with her about this new information, I decided not to allow her to sublease the apartment. I felt as though if she had been honest from the beginning with me, I might have cut her a break. And so I am continuing the search for someone to sublease my apartment.

This same day I found that I parked my car in a bus lane for two days which resulted in three parking violations... Twice in the mornings, and once in the evening. This totaled to be $143. After all is said and done, I have paid the City of Philadelphia approximately $500 in parking fees. I believe I have paid me dues... NOW LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!

So after I move my stuff to the basement where it is easier to load into the UHaul and car once Gary arrives, I continue the sub-leaser search. I receive this message from a Natalie Adams that needs a place ASAP. Awesome. She's from Alaska, 27 years old, a nurse because her mama used to be one, a few years ago, she lost both of her parents, and in her next email she would send a picture of herself. Sounds good. So, I continue searching. The next day I get an email from Jessica who needs my apartment ASAP. Awesome. She's from Guam, 28 years old, a nurse because her mama used to be one, a few years ago, she lost both of her parents, and in her next email she would send a picture of herself.... Wait a second... So, after my De Javu episode, I realized that this was a scam. After a bit of digging, I found out that these people "pay" the deposit with a forged cashier's check. Then "realize" they have paid you too much, and ask you to send them a check back to make up the difference. After you send your personal check, their check bounces. You lose, and they are gone. Fortunately, I came in contact with both "Natalie" and "Jessica" pulling the same story, and I was able to confront them right away. I forwarded their emails to the other and said I needed $1500 down and a credit check before I signed anything with them and that I suspected a scam. Neither replied to my email.

The Friday morning of the big move, Fan and Larry came over to help Gary and I load the U Haul. This helped us tremendously. Since I had moved most of my stuff to the basement and with the extra hands, we were able to load everything in less than an hour!

Almost immediately after getting on the interstate, a semi-truck cuts us off without signaling and brakes right in front of us. Gary barely had enough time to stop. It was a frightening moment as we came to a stop and I thought we might never get out of this city. Thankfully, we didn't hit the truck, and my little Neon was able to pull more than her weight all the way home. 20 mpg. Not bad at all.

That is all I can write for now. I will finish the journey's tale another time.

Just so you know, I'm back in MN safe and sound. So, in reality, leaving Philly was a success simply because, I'm no longer in Philly.