On the Move? New Memorial-Area Biz Helps with Relocation, Packing, Downsizing and More

On the Move? New Memorial-Area Biz Helps with Relocation, Packing, Downsizing and More

IT'S NO SECRET that the real estate industry is booming nationwide. Inventory is down, prices are up, and folks are on the move. Just last week, for example, closings on homes increased by 60 percent compared to the same timeframe last year, despite a dearth in available properties.


To meet the increased demand, a new biz has landed in the Memorial area, promising to make the process of transitioning between homes easier on everyone.

Gulf Coast Moves is an offshoot of the Connecticut-based Coastal Town Moves; owner Laurie Maggio moved from Wilton, Conn., in 2020, bringing her business with her to H-Town. Having herself relocated 10 times in the last 20 years, Maggio is something of an expert in the process.

Gulf Coast Moves specializes not only in packing and moving, but also home-staging, organization, rentals, renovations and, uniquely, downsizing. It's a member of the National Association of Senior Move Managers, catering to empty nesters and seniors looking to settle in to a new lifestyle. "Sorting through a lifetime of possessions is challenging and can be so emotional," says Maggio, a mom and a former NBA marketing manager.

In addition to general moving and organization services, the company can also help organize estate sales and consign big-ticket items, coordinate donations and trash pickup, and help figure out short- and long-term storage options. An initial consultation is free, and all clients receive a customized plan.

People + Places

Photo by Lynn Lane

HOUSTON GRAND OPERA’S second fall repertoire production is Gioachino Rossini’s Cinderella. The colorful, commedia dell'arte-inspired production opens Friday, Oct. 25, and stars Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard — a breathtaking brunette beauty, even when doused in soot — in bel canto role of Angelina, known to her mean step-sisters as “Cenerentola.”

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment

BRETT MILLER WAS just 10 years old when his parents took him to a screening of the 1925 silent film, The Phantom of the Opera, starring Lon Chaney as “The Phantom” of the Paris Opera House, with an accompanying soundtrack played live by an organist. The film contains one of the most famous “reveals” on celluloid (We won’t give it away!) and is all the more shocking when accompanied by live music played on the Phantom’s favorite instrument.

Keep Reading Show less