Moving to Raleigh, what moving company should I use? (Garner: truck rental, apartment)

[stanleyandjoan]

So there seem to be ALOT of people who have relocated. So I am hoping you have some suggestions on what type of movers or moving company we should use.

Moving a three bedroom home w/ den. Can you help with pros/cons, price, safety of our belongings? We have looked at renting a truck and hiring movers, PODS, moving companies but feel lost.

Moving from North Florida to Garner. Thanks!

[adlnc07]

There's a lot of good information on Moving: How to avoid Moving Company Scams. Unfortunately there are a lot of shady movers out there.. be careful!

[wheelsup]

I'm cheap so keep that in mind. Also I don't trust others and moving companies in particular, we had some bad experiences. I chose to DIY. Hired a few local guys to come load the U-Haul and hired some more to un-load it. Wife and I packed with boxes we had around from our last move. Saved a few thousand $$ as well.

[I<3DCF]

We moved from North Florida as well (Tallahassee). We used Atlas, who subs out their work to independent moving companies. They were pretty gruff, but that's not a bad thing in movers They damaged some things, but their customer services and claims services were impeccable and they reimbursed us for more than what the items were worth.

[amcjap]

We rented the largest U-Haul (for five rooms) then hired two men for four hours to load the truck (through the U-Haul website ) then another two men for fours hours to unload. It cost us less than $1,800 which is a lot better than the 5k - 7k that the moving companies were asking.

Loading took four hours because we loaded half the truck before they got there and the poor guys had to unload it and do it right. We did it all wrong. Unloading took two hours and all four men were great.

[stanleyandjoan]

Thanks for those that replied. For those of you who rented trucks yourselves (which I think is what we are leaning towards) how many days did you rent them for? For instance were you able to move over a 2-3 day period or is it better to keep the truck for a week so you don't have to rush?

[wheelsup]

Depending on the length of the move they give you ample time. For example you'd get more days of truck rental included for a move from California to Raleigh than from Washington DC to Raleigh. However I always felt it was more than enough time. Truck rental per day is added on at the end so if you go over, then you pay then.

My last move from Virginia Beach to Raleigh cost me $430 total including the truck rental, gas, and moving guys. I unloaded it myself, unloading is always easier. I suppose I could've spent another $200 to hire a couple guys for 2 hours but it wasn't necessary because we had some family over.

My move from New Mexico to Virgina cost $730 which was a FRACTION of the cost that full service companies wanted.

If you're doing it yourself I would advise having almost everything ready to be loaded when the guys come. They are extremely fast. I had the majority of my apartment loaded in 45 minutes. Also try to get the same size boxes so you can stack more efficiently.

What I like to do is section off a part of my house/apartment that fit the dimensions of the truck. Then put everything in it, mapping out how it will fit. If you have a garage than this is very easy. And always get a bigger truck than they call for. On my last two moves I was VERY close to not fitting everything. Oh and if you have a AAA card you get a pretty good discount with the move it yourself companies. I think U-Haul was like 15% off and free furniture pads and a dolly which is a good thing to have IMO.

[amcjap]

We had everything in boxes by the time we got the truck. It was picked up on Monday afternoon (rented, 50 blankets and bought plastic wrap at time of pick-up) movers came on Tuesday morning drove from NJ to NC on Tuesday afternoon and evening. Movers came Wednesday morning to unload and we dropped off the truck that afternoon.

[Randomdude]

Originally Posted by wheelsup

Depending on the length of the move they give you ample time. For example you'd get more days of truck rental included for a move from California to Raleigh than from Washington DC to Raleigh. However I always felt it was more than enough time. Truck rental per day is added on at the end so if you go over, then you pay then.

My last move from Virginia Beach to Raleigh cost me $430 total including the truck rental, gas, and moving guys. I unloaded it myself, unloading is always easier. I suppose I could've spent another $200 to hire a couple guys for 2 hours but it wasn't necessary because we had some family over.

My move from New Mexico to Virgina cost $730 which was a FRACTION of the cost that full service companies wanted.

If you're doing it yourself I would advise having almost everything ready to be loaded when the guys come. They are extremely fast. I had the majority of my apartment loaded in 45 minutes. Also try to get the same size boxes so you can stack more efficiently.

What I like to do is section off a part of my house/apartment that fit the dimensions of the truck. Then put everything in it, mapping out how it will fit. If you have a garage than this is very easy. And always get a bigger truck than they call for. On my last two moves I was VERY close to not fitting everything. Oh and if you have a AAA card you get a pretty good discount with the move it yourself companies. I think U-Haul was like 15% off and free furniture pads and a dolly which is a good thing to have IMO.

What do you do there in Raleigh? Im now considering Raleigh as a destination, and obviously will be moving from Norfolk. How would you compare the two areas?

[wheelsup]

I work for a commuter airline in Raleigh. I actually lived in Virginia Beach. I liked it, but we moved because of the cost of living. Now that home prices have come down significantly up there, if I were still there we probably would have stayed. Personally we both liked Hampton Roads better than Raleigh. Raleigh to me is bland, not much going on, etc. It's not the city it's hyped up to be IMO.