I have an outlet in my room that's in an inconvenient spot, and I need it closer to the bed to charge my phone and lamp. Can I move it myself or is it dangerous? The wire runs along the wall in a conduit.
Better not risk it and call an electrician - even if the wire in the conduit looks harmless, moving the outlet yourself is dangerous: you could damage the cable insulation, get electrocuted, or cause a short circuit. If quotes are expensive, ask the technician to at least check where the wire runs and what's inside the conduit before you start cutting or drilling anything. A temporary solution is an extension cord with the length you need - it'll be cheaper and safer.
An extension cord or a portable power strip - that's your safe bet 😊 Find a good extension cord with decent insulation, tape the wire along the baseboard or behind the bed so you don't trip over it, and you're all set - the outlet is right where you need it. If you later decide you really do want to move the actual outlet, then yeah, you'll need an electrician, because you have to properly cut the power at the breaker panel, know the wire gauge, and follow a bunch of other rules. But a temporary fix with an extension cord you can do in two minutes with zero risk 👍
You shouldn't move an outlet yourself - it's not only dangerous (electric shock, short circuit), but it often violates building codes if you're in a multi-story apartment.
We had a similar situation at our cottage with a bed in the corner: I initially wanted to redo it too, but then I just bought a quality grounded extension cord and secured the cable along the baseboard - it looks neat and doesn't get in the way. The main thing is to get an extension cord from a reputable manufacturer with good insulation, not some cheap knockoff with sketchy wiring.
If the wire is already in a conduit, you'll have to move the outlet along with it, which means you'll need to disassemble part of the conduit, find the connections somewhere, and check the insulation condition. It's not exactly impossible, but if you don't know exactly where the cable runs and how it's secured in there, you can easily damage it. Then you're looking at a non-working outlet, risk of a short circuit, and potentially danger for everyone in the house.
The easiest thing is just to grab a long grounded extension cord and run it carefully along the baseboard or behind furniture. When you're picking an extension cord, make sure it has decent, thick insulation and not too many adapters on one outlet - they overheat. Secure the cord so you won't trip over it and nothing presses down on it.
We lived at our dacha for a long time with one outlet in an awkward spot, so I know how inconvenient that is. But you should only move it if you're confident in your abilities or can call someone who's done this before. Otherwise, saving money on an electrician will end up costing you more.
A wire in a conduit is a whole different story, because you'd have to move the outlet together with it, which means taking apart the tube, finding the connections, checking the condition of the cable inside. We had exactly this situation at our dacha, and when we tried to figure out how it all worked, it turned out the wire was stuck to the tube in places and we couldn't tell what condition the insulation was in. In the end we called an electrician - turned out there were old connections without proper protection. If you don't want to deal with that hassle, just get a quality grounded extension cord, run it along the baseboard or secure it with clips - it's way simpler and safer than messing around with the conduit.
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