Merging Into Life: Moving Out for the First Time

[00:00:14]
Amanda Greene: I know. Do you remember our first place?

[00:00:16]
Friend: I do. We had so many paper plates and I brought the weirdest stuff from my college dorm room like that floor lamp that has all the different color arms coming off of it.

[00:00:28]
Amanda Greene: With different color light bulbs. Do you remember that?

[00:00:31]
Friend: I like to think we’ve developed better taste since then. And I wonder what your niece will end up doing.

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Amanda Greene: She’s probably going to end up fighting with her roommate about whose turn it is to do the dishes or why there’s clumps of toothpaste in the sink, and they’ll probably end up eating way too much takeout like pizza every night.

[00:00:48]
Friend: I mean, some things never change. I still order pizza on the daily.

[00:00:55]
Amanda Greene: Welcome to Merging Into Life where we navigate life’s milestones one episode at a time. Brought to you by AAA Northeast. I’m your host, Amanda Greene.

Today, we’re going to talk about moving out for the first time. It’s funny, moving into my college dorm was one thing, but my first place was totally different. Me and my roommate were exclusively responsible for everything. All of a sudden we had to cook, clean, decorate and pay our own bills. It was a huge learning curve, but it was also exciting and was an important step on the way to being a fully formed adult. Learn by doing, right? And there was so much freedom. But as we all know, with the freedom of adulthood comes the massive responsibilities.

So let’s go over how to move out. We’ll share tips for packing, including a moving out checklist, and how to make the place our own once we move in. We’ll be speaking with Rob Shetler, a veteran in the moving business.
But first…

[00:01:53]
Jami Supsic: So I’m Jami Supsic, the home and style director at HGTV Magazine. And that means I really find the house tours that we feature in every issue and produce the photoshoots and styling for those house tours. And then I also practice interior decorating.

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Amanda Greene: Beautiful. Well then you sound like the perfect person to talk to about moving out for the first time and curating your own personal style. But first, do you remember your first apartment? What that like?

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Jami Supsic: My first post-college apartment will always have a special place in my heart. I moved out to LA from the East Coast with two of my best girlfriends from college, and we rented this two bedroom apartment that we converted to a four bedroom with plywood. And I look back when I was thinking about this interview, I’m like, “Wow, we just nailed plywood to the wall to separate rooms, and we never asked the landlord.” I would never recommend that now, but it was a great space and it was a really fun time. But even then we did take care to decorate it.

[00:02:53]
Amanda Greene: Just to be on the safe side, I want to add that at no point should you do anything to your rental without checking with your landlord first, painting, drilling holes, anything that might be an issue should be approved. And if you’re thinking of nailing plywood up to act as walls, just don’t. But back to decorations.

When thinking about planning your space, the space that you’re going to live in, and you finally have this freedom and independence and you’re moving out of your parents’ house, how can people start planning how they want to set up their space?

[00:03:29]
Jami Supsic: I think that when you’re thinking about this first space that you’re moving into, your first adult place, you kind of want to think about what is your style. What I find is a really good trick for people to get inspired and to see what they like is to do fun stuff like browsing through magazines or online and just start pulling things that you react to and don’t think anything other than that. Just pull a bunch of stuff that inspires you. And then once you’ve kind of got a good stack of that, go through and see what the common theme is. And there will be a common theme.

You might be like, “Wow, every single bedroom I pinned is pink.” And then you’ll start to realize, “Oh, maybe I really like these pink bedrooms.” Or you’ll start to see, “Everything I’ve pulled has a sectional in it. Maybe I want to make sure that wherever I’m moving has room for a sectional.”

But then also you should think about how you want to live, right? This is very exciting. This is your first place. Do you picture having friends over for gaming night? Do you want to have a Halloween party every year? Thinking about how you want to live there and then what that means in terms of execution. If you want to have dinner parties all the time, how are you going to fit a dining table in this space that you’re getting?

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Amanda Greene: Speaking of fitting things, I don’t know if it’s my imagination or what, but doesn’t it seem like things like couches and just furniture in general are bigger than doorway space is providing these days? Is that a thing?

[00:04:52]
Jami Supsic: Yes. Oh gosh, especially living in New York City, this is a nightmare scenario. You have to measure and measure twice because you have to think about, “Is this going to fit through your doorway?” If you’re moving into an apartment, is it going to fit in the elevator? And if you don’t have an elevator, is it going to fit in the stairwell? And that’s really tricky. I mean, even for me, and I’ve been doing this for a long time, there have been things that don’t fit. So you do want to take that time to measure and make sure whatever you’re bringing with you fits through the door. In New York City, we have companies that specialize in cutting your sofa, but that’s not cheap and I don’t recommend that.

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Amanda Greene: Wow. Okay. So really important. Before you even move into your space, you need to plan for it. So we need to measure two or three times and then check those measurements too.

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Jami Supsic: Grab some graph paper and draw a floor plan. And it’s kind of fun. Something that I still do to this day even with floor plans, I’ll actually outline things on the floor to see how they’ll fit. Get your tape measure, get your painter’s tape and just tape the floor and see how it fits in the room. If you have dreams of a king bed, don’t buy the king bed without making sure it’s going to fit in your bedroom. And the same thing goes for a sofa. You don’t want a living room that just has a giant sofa and nothing else in it.

[00:06:10]
Amanda Greene: Jami is great at helping us decide how to make our first place nice and we’re going to come back to her, but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves first. We have to get there. Moving is notoriously stressful. Packing up and transporting everything you own in a short period of time is not easy, but it can and is done all the time by Rob Shetler of Shetler Moving & Storage.

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Rob Shetler: My family, we’ve been in the moving business for 125 years. We’re one of the founding agents of Atlas Van Lines, and I run our operation in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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Amanda Greene: What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever moved?

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Rob Shetler: The needle on top of the Empire State Building. We moved all that up to New York.

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Amanda Greene: Claim to fame.

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Rob Shetler: I mean, it’s not just household goods. We move anything and everything.

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Amanda Greene: I feel like this is next-level adulting, the act of moving without bribing your friends with pizza to help you. Like, actually hiring a company to help you do it. But regardless, moving is stressful. And if you hire a company, how do you choose who to go with?

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Rob Shetler: Well, if they’re worried about choosing a mover, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is a good place for a person to start to make sure that the company they’re talking to is a licensed company. They have a Department of Transportation number, they actually have an address. One of the things that Van Lines fights all the time are rogue movers. Small moving companies can be licensed properly insured, and they do a fantastic job. It’s the guys that are out there that don’t have a license, don’t have DOT numbers, just fly-by-night companies.

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Amanda Greene: What’s the worst thing that could happen?

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Rob Shetler: Worst case scenario, they never see their household goods again. It’s always good to get three estimates. If you get three estimates and they’re all fairly close, then all of a sudden one of them’s half the price, it’s something to reconsider there I think.

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Amanda Greene: Something to keep in mind is that what movers will cost you has a lot to do with weight. And there are other factors like is there elevator access or stair access? Can a large truck park outside your house or is it limited access? And a small truck has to shuttle your stuff out of the neighborhood. Then there is distance and the cost of gas. All in, Rob says a small one bedroom move could be as little as about a thousand dollars, but an entire house could cost easily $15, 000 to move. So decluttering is important and economical, but don’t wait to do it until the last minute. I remember the last time that I moved, I actually watched videos to get an idea of the better way to pack our stuff because I’m wrapping things in towels and I mean, it was just kind of crazy. Do you find that people underestimate how much stuff they have or how much time they should give themselves?

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Rob Shetler: We run into it on a daily basis where customers say they’re going to pack themselves and the driver gets out there and half the house is not packed up. They get to a point where they’re just overwhelmed and they’re exhausted and then we have to come in and finish the packing. Packing takes time. For a moving company to pack, we’re a lot faster at it, so we’re going into a closet or anything. We’re packing everything up into wardrobe boxes, whatever it may be. If a customer’s packing themselves, they’re slowly going through and everything, which I think is a good idea to pare things down, but it takes a lot longer for them to pack than it does for us to pack.

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Amanda Greene: There’s more emotion attached to the stuff.

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Rob Shetler: Absolutely. It’ll start reminiscing and they say, “Oh, look at this.” So it happens almost every move.

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Amanda Greene: Talking packing, are there any items that you would suggest someone take themselves and move personally, even if they’re using a moving company? Any specific items that you might say you might want to hang onto that and move that yourself?

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Rob Shetler: Yeah. We give customers a moving out checklist that helps them prepare for the move, but also lists out things that we want them to take. We want customers to take documents they need to get their hands onto: birth certificates, passports, insurance, stocks. They’re heading to the closing of a house. They need to have all their closing documents. If it’s inside the truck, it’s not going to be an easy thing to find. Medicines, jewelry, money, high-value items like that we want them to take. If they have small children and there’s a blanket or toy or whatever, they better set that aside. So we always direct people to set certain things aside, designate a closet or portion of the house where they can put everything that they’re going to take with them in the car or on flight, and then that’s off limits to us, and then we come in and pack everything else up.

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Amanda Greene: We found books were the biggest pain point during the moving process. Do you have any hot tips on how to move books, how to store them? They’re so heavy.

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Rob Shetler: Well, we don’t want books packed in a box any larger than a one and a half cubic foot box or in an office, you see the box for paper.

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Amanda Greene: Yeah.

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Rob Shetler: We don’t want books in a box any larger than that because to your point, they’re heavy. You put them in a box, that’s too heavy. It takes two people to carry a box and the box can’t hold that kind of weight. People get connected to their books and they don’t want to get rid of them. And I understand that. At the same time, when we move somebody, on an interstate move, it’s all based on weight. So if you have a lot of books, your weight jumps up considerably.

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Amanda Greene: Ooh, that’s a really good tip. You might save money by taking your books yourself or paring down the books before you even begin packing. That’s a really good tip. I’m so glad that you’re here and I can ask you this question because it’s something that’s come up a number of times for myself, for friends. Gratuities and tipping. Let’s say you had an amazing experience and you’re feeling really grateful for the service you had provided, and the movers are there and they’re getting ready to leave. Are we tipping? Is it a certain amount?

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Rob Shetler: It is not unusual for our drivers and our crews to get tips. $ 50, $ 20, $100. It just depends on the size and distance. Some of our customers, they buy them lunch every day. They’re in their homes for two to three days packing and loading, and then they get to destinations. So they spend several days with the crew, so they almost become friends with them. And I would say anywhere from $20 to $100 generally per person.

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Amanda Greene: So if you want to leave a tip, that’s a great guideline. Thanks so much for the information, Rob. Okay. We need to pack books in small boxes. Get organized well before you need to because it’s going to take you longer than you think. And always use a reputable company. All great advice.

So let’s just say your old place is packed up and empty. Everything is on its way. How do you prep your new home? Let’s check back in with Jami. What are some things that you should buy before you move in and maybe some other things that you should wait to buy until you’re more settled in and you are more familiar with your space?

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Jami Supsic: I think a great thing to buy before you move in are rugs because you don’t want all of your furniture to come in and then have to move it all out and put the rug down. And I know that maybe rugs sound fancy, but there’s so many great affordable options out there. They really make a space cozy. They really hide ugly floors and they block noise and help with your downstairs neighbors from complaining if you’re coming home at 1:00 a.m. in heels or having friends over. So that’s definitely something to think about.

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Amanda Greene: Okay, so a lot of apartments, as we mentioned, especially your first apartment, can be on the smaller side. Mine was a studio apartment in New York and it was tiny, literally one room. I mean, truly a true studio.

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Jami Supsic: There’s lots of hacks you can do to maximize smaller apartments. I think sofas with single cushions are much more practical than sofas with multiple cushions because you can pile more people on there or if you have an overnight guest, it’s much more comfortable for someone to sleep on a sofa that just has one cushion versus multiple. So look, you have an instant guest room right there. If you can’t fit a dining table, I suggest maximizing your coffee table, kind of getting the largest one that you can that will make sense in there. Getting something that you can have your dinner on every night, have game night, have friends over. I think beds with under storage are awesome, ones that come with drawers, those hold so much stuff. And then even just getting storage bins for under your bed. But if you can get a bed that has under storage, those are amazing in studio spaces or smaller spaces.

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Amanda Greene: Let’s talk color palettes because I want to say over maybe the last five years or so, gray has been everywhere and people are starting to want to incorporate more color back into their homes to reflect their personal style, their preferences. How do you decide on a color palette?

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Jami Supsic: Gray was everywhere. Gray and stark white were really the thing for a long time. People are embracing warmer tones like brown and beige again. I never thought we would see beige paint on walls, but a lot of paint brands have pre-existing palettes, so they’ll have multiple options if you go to a paint store and they’ll have five different curated palettes where you with five different colors that you could use throughout your space. Most of these paint companies have these amazing apps where you can upload an image of your room and then try out different colors, or you could say, “Oh, I have a blue rug and a yellow lamp.” And then they’ll suggest other colors that would go with that. So those resources are amazing. I highly suggest using them. And then when it comes to painting, if this is a rental, you do want to check with your landlord to make sure if that’s okay, and you’re probably going to have to paint it back when you leave.

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Amanda Greene: What’s another essential interior design consideration that you think every space needs?

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Jami Supsic: I think every space needs a mirror. You want a really big mirror if you can. You need great lighting. You can’t only rely on overhead lighting. You need lamps, especially in your bedroom, at least one lamp in the living room. It’s just cozier and nicer and you need good light bulbs. Under no circumstance should anybody ever buy cool white light bulbs.

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Amanda Greene: Okay.

[00:16:05]
Jami Supsic: They’re so harsh and they’re not going to make you look better. They’re not going to make this space look better. Always when you’re buying light bulbs, look for the ones that are the warm or soft in the description or amber.

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Amanda Greene: Okay, so you feel strongly about a warm light?

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Jami Supsic: Yes. And then I think, yeah, just personalize your space. Add some cute throw pillows. If you love plants, have some plants in there.

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Amanda Greene: Furnishing a new apartment can be very expensive. So do you have any tips on how people can save money on things like furniture?

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Jami Supsic: Yeah, I think that there are so many used furniture sites now. Even in my first apartment, back in the day I was finding things online. Buying from your neighbors or from estate sales or yard sales is really a great option. So I suggest scouring these marketplace sites that have secondhand furniture. And don’t be afraid to bargain. Don’t be afraid to ask the origin, ask questions, but that’s a great option. And one tip I will say that I’ve noticed is if you buy something that is a name brand and then say years later you go to sell, it holds its value. It’s going to go more quickly on these resale sites. What I do is I screenshot everything I buy so that later if I have to sell it, I can say, “Look, here this is from this website. I spent $ 800 on it and now I’m selling it to you for five.”

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Amanda Greene: What about in the kitchen? There’s really not a ton you can do in the kitchen. Do you have any ideas about how to make the kitchen feel a little bit more like you?

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Jami Supsic: Well, I think there is actually a ton you can do in the kitchen. There’s actually amazing peel and stick floor tiles. I mean, they’re unbelievably good and beautiful, and you can replace a bad linoleum floor with something patterned and colorful. There’s also peel and stick backsplash tile. I know that sounds crazy, but it really does look good and it really is practical and wipeable. I just bought these round wood knobs. They were less than $2 each. I painted them a color and I put them on my cabinets and it’s really fun. And then certain things like a kitchen runner, like a 2 x 6 rug can disguise a floor, or little potted herbs, colorful canisters. The overhead lighting in your kitchen may be really bad.

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Amanda Greene: Your job sounds like a lot of fun. Thank you so much, Jami. This has been really good.

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Jami Supsic: Thank you. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

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Amanda Greene: Hey.

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Friend: Hey.

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Amanda Greene: Guess whose turn it is to be the contestant today, my former roommate?

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Friend: Oh, no. Okay.

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Amanda Greene: Okay. So number one, which season is considered moving season?

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Friend: A part of me wants to say the fall because there are so many students moving, but I think I’m going to go with summer.

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Amanda Greene: That was good thinking and smart. And it is summer, it’s peak season, and if you move over the summer, you need to keep in mind that moving companies might have higher prices, limited availability and much less flexibility probably for the exact reason you noted, which was school starting.

Number two, according to Steinway Moving & Storage, how many times does the average American move in their life?

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Friend: Ooh, I could be way off, but I’m going to say eight times.

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Amanda Greene: That sounds like what I would’ve guessed also, but it’s almost 12 – 11.7 times in their life. Between the ages of 18 and 45, the average American will move five or six times, and then once you reach the age of 45, you’re likely to move only two or three more times.

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Friend: I’m tired just thinking about that.

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Amanda Greene: How many moves are you up to?

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Friend: Five, I guess.

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Amanda Greene: So you’re pretty average.

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Friend: Nice.

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Amanda Greene: In that way only.

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Friend: Thank you. Thank you.

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Amanda Greene: Okay, number three. What do you think the top three reasons for moving are?

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Friend: Ooh. Anytime there’s a big life change so like new job or maybe if your parents and your kids move somewhere and you want to be closer to them, or a breakup, any kind of big life adjustment.

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Amanda Greene: The top reasons are a new job, a better neighborhood, a change in family size. And another fun fact, moving is considered one of the top three stressful things a person can do. I agree.

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Friend: Yeah, I would too.

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Amanda Greene: And how many bedrooms are you allowed to create yourself in a rental using plywood and nails? Trick question.

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Friend: : I don’t know. I’m going to go out on a limb and say, it’s a big fat zero.

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Amanda Greene: Right. None. Don’t do that. No one’s going to be happy about that.

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Friend: Thankfully, we never did that. We did some crazy stuff, but we never put up plywood.

[00:20:39]
Amanda Greene: I did sleep in my car once. There’s so much you can do to make your first place feel like a home, and it doesn’t have to break the bank or get you in trouble with the landlord. Start by figuring out what you like. Feel free to borrow other interior designers’ ideas. You don’t need everything on day one. Slowly build while you collect things you love, including secondhand furniture found online and in estate sales. And the most important tip of all, measure, measure, measure. Good luck watching your TV show from your gorgeous new couch that is jammed in the stairwell outside of your apartment.

You’ve been listening to Merging into Life where we navigate life’s milestones one episode at a time. Brought to you by AAA Northeast with assistance from Jar Audio. I’m your host, Amanda Greene. If you’re learning as much as I am, follow us wherever you get your podcasts and leave a review. We’d love to know what you think. Email us at podcast@aaanortheast.com. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are not necessarily the views of AAA Northeast, AAA, and or its affiliates.