A senior move manager plans and manages the transition. A moving company packs, protects, and physically moves your belongings. Most families moving a parent need the second; many benefit from both.
We've been helping Connecticut families move since 2011, and a big share of our calls come from adult children planning a move for Mom or Dad. One question comes up again and again: "Do we need a senior move manager, or do we just need movers?" It's a fair question. The two roles overlap, the titles sound similar, and nobody wants to pay twice for the same work.
In this guide, we'll break down exactly who does what, where the lines blur, and how to decide what your family actually needs. If you're already weighing options, our senior moving services page shows how we handle these moves start to finish.
What does a senior move manager do?
A senior move manager is a project manager for later-life moves. According to the National Association of Senior & Specialty Move Managers (NASMM), the profession helps older adults and their families downsize, relocate, or simplify their homes. Some deliver hands-on services themselves; others work mainly in an oversight role.
Typical senior move manager tasks include:
- Building the move plan and timeline, often working backward from an assisted living or retirement community move-in date
- Sorting and downsizing: helping decide what to keep, gift to family, sell, donate, or discard
- Floor planning: measuring furniture against the new apartment so only what fits makes the trip
- Arranging estate sales, consignment, donation pickups, and cleanouts
- Hiring and overseeing vendors, including the moving company, cleaners, and handymen
- Emotional support: keeping a parent involved and calm through a stressful life change
What most senior move managers don't do is drive the truck. As Care.com puts it, they generally "don't actually pack up and move items themselves." NASMM notes that some, but not all, are also movers; the rest partner with a reputable local moving company. That's where we come in.
If downsizing is the biggest hurdle, our guide to downsizing for retirement from a house to an apartment in CT and our room-by-room decluttering guide are good places to start.
What do professional movers do?
We're the people who physically get everything from the old home to the new one, safely and on schedule. For senior moves, that work is more than lifting boxes. Here's what our crews handle:
- Packing and protection: our Princess Packing™ team packs fragile items, china, photos, and heirlooms with specialty wrap and custom padding. See our full packing services for what's included.
- Furniture handling: disassembly, reassembly, and floor protection on moving day
- Specialty items: antiques, grandfather clocks, and pianos go on piano boards or into crates through our specialty moving and piano moving services
- Facility coordination: booking elevators, loading docks, and move-in windows with assisted living and retirement communities
- Placement and setup: putting furniture exactly where your parent wants it, making the bed, and unpacking so the new space feels like home on day one
- Storage: holding items for family members, or bridging a gap between closing dates, in our climate-controlled storage in Enfield
For families who want the most hands-on help, our white glove moving service covers the extra care many senior moves call for.
One thing to know: licensing matters. A mover handles everything your parent owns, so verify credentials before you book. We're licensed and insured (USDOT 2307446, MC-990616, CT Permit C-1768). Our post on how to verify your mover's license in Connecticut shows you how to check any company.
Senior move manager vs. movers: side by side
- Overall move plan and timeline: A senior move manager builds this as a core service. We plan moving day itself and coordinate the schedule.
- Deciding what to keep, sell, or donate: A senior move manager helps make these decisions. We move what you choose.
- Floor plan for the new home: A senior move manager usually prepares one. We place furniture where you direct.
- Estate sale, consignment, cleanout: A senior move manager arranges these vendors. We don't offer junk removal, but we can recommend local services.
- Packing fragile items and heirlooms: Some senior move managers pack; many hire it out. We handle it through Princess Packing™.
- Loading, transport, unloading: A senior move manager rarely does this and typically hires a mover. For us, it's the core service.
- Elevator, dock, and move-in coordination: A senior move manager often handles this. We coordinate directly with the facility.
- Unpacking and room setup: A senior move manager often helps. We do this as part of the move.
- Storage: Senior move managers don't provide it. We offer climate-controlled storage.
- How they charge: A senior move manager bills hourly or a package price (NASMM), roughly $50 to $150 per hour depending on market (Care.com). We work from a written estimate; local senior moves in Hartford County typically run about $800 to $2,500.
For a deeper look at how mover pricing works, see how much movers cost in Connecticut and how to read a moving estimate.
Do you need a senior move manager, movers, or both?
In our experience, the deciding factor is how much sorting and decision-making the move involves. Here's how we'd think about it.
Movers alone are usually enough when...
- Your parent has already decided what's coming along
- A family member is nearby and can coordinate the timeline
- The move is local, for example from a house in West Hartford to a condo in Simsbury
- You mostly need packing, careful handling, and setup on the other end
A senior move manager adds real value when...
- There are 30 or 40 years of belongings to sort through
- Adult children live out of state and can't be on site
- An estate sale, consignment, or full cleanout is needed after the move
- Your parent is anxious and benefits from one steady point of contact
You'll likely want both when...
- Downsizing from a family home into assisted living, where space is tight and the move-in date is fixed
- Settling an estate while relocating a surviving parent. Our guides to storage during probate and what to do with furniture when liquidating an estate cover this in more detail.
When families hire both, the handoff is simple. The move manager decides what goes and where it lands; we pack it, protect it, move it, and set it up. We regularly work alongside move managers and assisted living staff, and we're happy to coordinate directly with yours.
How we help seniors and their families move
We're a family-owned company based in Enfield, and senior moves are some of the most meaningful work we do. Every senior move follows the same five steps:
- Free in-home estimate: we walk through the home with your parent (and you, in person or by phone) and give a written estimate.
- Planning: we coordinate dates, elevator reservations, and loading access with the new community, and with your move manager if you have one.
- Packing: our Princess Packing™ crew wraps and labels everything, with extra care for heirlooms.
- Moving day: floors protected, furniture handled carefully, nothing rushed.
- Unpacking and setup: furniture placed exactly where your parent wants it, beds made, essentials unpacked.
We serve families across Hartford County and Western Massachusetts, including Enfield, Glastonbury, Avon, Wethersfield, and Hartford. See all our service areas. If your parent is relocating closer to family in another state, our long distance moving team handles that too.
Don't just take our word for it: read what families say in our reviews (4.9 stars from 220+ Google reviews), or learn more about us.
Ready to talk it through? Request your free estimate or call us 24/7 at 1-888-553-4503. Whether you're working with a senior move manager or doing it on your own, we'll make moving day the easy part.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a senior move manager the same as a moving company?
No. A senior move manager plans the move, helps with downsizing decisions, and coordinates vendors. A moving company packs, transports, and sets up belongings. Some move managers also own trucks, but most partner with a licensed local mover.
Can movers help with downsizing?
We can make downsizing easier by packing only what's going, placing items into storage for family members to pick up later, and setting up the new home. The decisions about what to keep are best made by your family, or with a senior move manager's help.
How much does a senior move cost in Connecticut?
For local senior moves in Hartford County, our estimates typically run about $800 to $2,500, depending on home size, packing needs, and access. A senior move manager is a separate cost, usually billed hourly or as a package. Our moving cost guide explains what drives the price.
How far ahead should we book movers for an assisted living move?
As soon as you have a move-in date. Assisted living communities often set specific move-in windows and elevator times, and our calendar fills up fast during peak season. Our guide to the best time to move in Connecticut covers timing in detail.
What questions should we ask before hiring either one?
Ask about licensing, insurance, experience with senior moves, and how they charge. For movers, start with our list of 8 questions to ask a moving company before you book.