With our last move, the neighbors came over as the moving truck pulled away and invited us over for a dinner of smoked turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and salad. It was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for us--it was so nice to get out of the box filled house and be someplace that was calm and organized, eating good food.

We knew when this happened that we were in a great neighborhood...and we are. Tremendous neighbors make a huge difference to the overall quality of life.

Our last month (just a month ago tomorrow!), we had a cookout with out friends who helped us move all day. Previous to this last move, all of our other moves were pizza for lunch and then by dinner, we either just went to bed early exhausted, or went out to eat because we were so sick of looking at boxes!

My first dinner is typically Chinese or Thai carryout, depending on what's available within walking distance from my house, and beer - all shared with friends who helped me move. :-)

Takeout pizza! Who has the time or energy for much else?

Chinese food - they deliver, and it means you get to see an empty fridge containing only Chinese leftovers. I know I'm tired of unboxing, but that is one the most satisfying unboxings I know of.

I usually make batches of soup, lasagna, and/or chili the month before the move and freeze them in individual portions. It keeps us fed with very little effort in the hectic days before and after the move.

Definitely pizza... though once I ended up making "teapot-spaghetti" because our gas hadn't been turned on yet (electric teapot spaghetti noodles= suprisingly good noodles). I still laugh about that one.

I've definitely gone the pizza and Chinese food route, but sometimes it's a relief to get out of your new place and briefly ignore all the unpacking and organizing. Go get some dinner and drinks with friends. Come back to the work the next day when you're refreshed.

Completely, wonderfully, guilt-free take out, delivery, or restaurant!

Our Realtor was awesome and brought us a casserole, a deli tray, and a fridge full of food to keep us and our helpers fed and happy. We didn't have to go to the store for about a week after we moved in and it was wonderful.

Delivery! Who has the energy to cook, much less food in the fridge or the pots and plates and utensils and cutlery unpacked?!?!

Pizza! No utensils required and box serves as table on the floor. We never go to a restaurant because who wants to sit next to sweaty, exhausted people wearing their "moving" clothes?!

When my brother moved into his first house last month, I was put to work on was assembling their Weber kettle. Dinner that night for the moving crew was hotdogs, burgers, veggie burgers, beer (lots) a little tequila and some Doritos. Not bad for a first night - and no cleanup :)

My boyfriend and his roommate moved into their new condo yesterday. While they unpacked and moved heavy stuff, I cleaned up the kitchen enough to cook them a nice homemade meal. I made bruschetta with toasted Italian wheat bread, Zucchini Parmesan, and a sweet grape salad for dessert. It all took me under an hour, and they were SO grateful for a warm, homemade meal. They said if I hadn't been there, they inevitably would have been eating Mexican food out of a Styrofoam container. It was healthy and delish. :) Congrats on your new place, and the healthy move-in meal! I posted photos of the new place and food on my blog http://missamyscerra.blogspot.com :)

It was a cheesy, yummy, pepperoni laden Domino's pizza. We were way too exhausted to cook... not to mention we had no food yet! :)

Our family moved a LOT while I was growing up, and we had a tradition --every first meal at a new house was McDonald's and Oreos on the floor. Not the healthiest, but always comforting and easy!

I never want to dirty up the kitchen til everything is in its place, so I always eat at a restaurant while settling in. When getting situated it can be a tad overwhelming, so a nice dinner out helps to clear the mind.

the last time I moved EVERYTHING was unpacked the same day I moved thanks to some pricey movers and excellent family/friends. I had no excuse not to cook except that I thought ordering pizza and just sitting and laughing with my friends would be more fun than cooking :)

On my last move in December we left everything and walked to a favorite restaurant which was now within walking distance.

Of course I ended up being allergic to something in the food and spent the rest of the night in the emergency room pumped full of benadryle... but the idea was a good one!

Take-out is the easiest option - anything that doesn't require unpacking. We've done pizza and KFC, as well as eating out at restaurants. I don't want to do any work in the kitchen after moving all day!

The afternoon of our move, friends brought over some take out from our favorite cheap-eats restaurant--supplemented by dessert and Italian soda from our new neighbros. It was a very welcoming, happy housewarming meal.

I just moved this weekend and--surprise!--our stove won't turn on! Luckily, we have almost every appliance known to man, so I've been improvising stove-less meals all week. Our first night I made slow-roasted salmon with ginger and scallions in the toaster oven, rice, and frozen broccoli. Last night I made basically the same meal but swapped out the salmon for flounder and added garlic and tomatoes, and made frozen peas instead of the broccoli.

To diverge from pizza and take out ...

Our first night at our new apartment, my boyfriend and I didn't have any power or gas, and didn't want to spend money on take out, so we made pasta aglio e olio on our little camping stove, stirring it with a buck knife. Shortly after we made it, we realized we hadn't brought over our plates or bowls yet, so we'd have to eat it out of the pot. Then we remembered we didn't have our silverware either. Thank goodness our water was on. Hand pasta is messy =)

We didn't realize until 11 PM that we were STARVING, so we went to the only place still open- Safeway- and grabbed pre-made 7 layer dip, chicken wings, and potato skins. Absurdly good, after 16 hours of moving into a third floor apartment, no elevator.

Fish and chips straight from the paper.

I am moving next friday and will be spending most of the week until then working in the new house. I haven't actually eaten out in a couple of weeks, I figure in the next week and a half there will be a lot of pizza and take-out (no place in my town delivers!)

The last time my husband and I moved we had several friends who helped! It was late in the evening when we got completely cleared out of the old house and into the new. I picked up KFC for everyone. I also had a friend who made lunch for the same crowd during the day. Obviously we only moved across town!

We pretty much only eat Macdonald's on the floor of a new apartment, it's sort of a tradition. When my parents used to help us move, we'd get pizza to feed everyone.

Our first dinner in our last apartment was after a 1300 mile move from San Diego to Seattle. I had gotten a cookbook as a going away gift, and we had one accessible pot and a wooden spoon. We ended up making an asian cashew chicken stir fry that turned out great!

pizza. or chinese. We're fancy like that.

Pizza.

We used the oven (test drive it basically) at the new house to cook it.

Pizza. We always buy lots of pizza to feed our friends who help us move. And we always manage to over-buy, so we're eating pizza for every meal for days.

Pizza... oh and beer...

Agree with the pizza! We just moved 30 miles outside of Philadelphia and had some family help us move in to our new place - a couple of pizza pies later, we were well-fed and ready for a nap :-) I'm impressed with anyone who cooks a meal their first night in a new home!

Always pizza and beer. Why? Because a promise of pizza and cold ones is generally the only way to get your guy friends to help you move things like monstrous sleeper sofas and still have them be your friends when the move is done. ;-)

The last move I made we ordered pizza after a long day of moving. The best part is that the pizza refueled my friends and I and within a few hours we had everything unpacked!

Thai take-out...but my wonderful new neighbour brought me a generous container of homemade curry the next night!

I'm good friends with our new upstairs neighbor, so she kindly cooked for my roommate and I the first night after we moved in.

My son just moved into his first apartment yesterday, 170 miles away from home, with three roommates (their college starts Monday), and he called me today to tell me they ate at Waffle House last night.

Chinese take out.

We had a friend give us two Tupperwares full of this saucy five-spice chicken he makes extremely well. The new place had a microwave, and we were able to locate our rice cooker and rice fairly easily - so that was dinner. (We couldn't find our flatware or dishes so we ate off the Tupperware lids with our fingers, but no biggie.) I've heard of taking food to new parents and the bereaved, but never to those in the midst of a move - it was REALLY appreciated, and I hope I can remember to do the same for others.

In the packing days leading up to the move we ate out, somewhat more fancily than we usually do (e.g. a nice sushi spot), so after a day of being beaten down we'd end on a pampered note. It was really nice, like we were dating.

Pizza or Thai. End of story. Unless someone else is cooking.

And beer. Lots and lots of cold, hoppy beer.

Pizza and beer. We've moved three times in the last two years and it's sort of a tradition now.
Plus the promise of the above helps get friends to help move the heavy things...