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Here's a little update on my progress. I am 90% sure I have a house rental in Greenville, SC. There were only a few photos on the realtor.com website for the home, but I looked at Zillow and found other homes in the neighborhood with the same floor plan and lots of photos.
Looks like getting Mom in the rental via our wheelchair ramp will not be any trouble. Management company was pleased with my credit score and bank account, but hesitant to sign a lease with the property "sight unseen." She said it has been a problem in the past. So I signed an addendum saying that I was aware that if I signed the lease it was legally binding and that I was offered a chance to see the property and declined. Then I called an old friend in Greenville and asked if he would represent me at the house tour, which basically means he has to show up and walk through. He has still not connected with the agent for the tour so I nudged him today.
I would still be doing the move in punch list personally after I got there. The home is only three years old. I am a fairly cautious person by nature, so I pulled the FEMA flood maps for the neighborhood, (it's near a river) and checked to see what the home selling situation looks like there. There are several foreclosures and a few regular sales, but nothing to indicate a mass exodus. I will have to provide a washer and dryer. Thats OK I can take it with me when I buy a home in a year. I will be sure to measure before I buy them.
I had a nice conversation with the special needs desk at United Airlines. She helped me figure out which types of planes fly into which airports, and what the best situation would be for traveling with a motorized wheelchair.
I talked to my State Farm Agent about my homeowners insurance on my present home which will be listed for sale, and there will be no special rider or increase in premium when my house is vacant. Some insurance companies will drop you.
I need to switch my mom's BCBSIL to Blue Cross in SC but there is guaranteed acceptance. Also have to switch the prescription drug coverage.
Got quotes from several POD type movers. RELOCUBES goes to greenville. They dump several cubes on your drive and you use as many as you need, they take the rest away no charge. The difference in cost for each additional cube after the first is reasonable. So from Chicago to Greenville door to door I was quoted $1312 for two 6x7x8 foot cubes, $1841 for 3 cubes, $2120 for four. At those prices I will bring along my new riding lawn mower (which is acceptable if drained of fluids) and some of the garden stuff I was going to leave behind.
So here's the plan: Local packing help, about $250 will stuff my junk in the cubes. Cube company will take the cubes and head for SC. I will pack nothing melty in there if I can help it. No climate controlled storage. I will leave right away in my car which will be stuffed with the dog the turtle and my valuable papers and anything else I treasure. Upon arrival I will have the cubes delivered and local moving help lug it all into the garage and the spare bedroom, and set the beds in place.
Older daughter will fly out one or two days later with Mom and electric wheelchair. A van with lift gate will be hired for airport transport. Van in SC will take Mom and daughter to my rental home. Then the kids will get rid of extra left behind things my mom used, and spiff the place up.
Sorry to bore you all, but somehow seeing this in writing in public helps me think through it.
Any ideas on this one? How do you move the contents of your safety deposit box cross country? That bank is local only. Put it in the car and hope nobody takes it when you stop to go to the bathroom? Send it Fed Ex insured? I plan on having a bank box all ready to receive it when I get there.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by demicent
...Here's a little update on my progress. I am 90% sure I have a house rental in Greenville, SC. ... How do you move the contents of your safety deposit box cross country? That bank is local only. Put it in the car and hope nobody takes it when you stop to go to the bathroom? Send it Fed Ex insured? I plan on having a bank box all ready to receive it when I get there.
Cheers,
demicent
Great progress and the details help us too!!
I do the above for legal stuff - Fed Ex Insured. I make e-copies of necessary items before shipping. (And have a bank or title company receive it,)
WOW !!! You have made GREAT progress and I commend you. My dilemma is leaving my daughter and her husband here, as well as wanting to buy a house, not rent when I get there. But your info about the Relocubes is so valuable ! I was thinking about UPack and got a $3100 quote for 13ft of space in the truck. The cubes sound so much better. Best to you and maybe we can meet up in Greenville ! Barb
Any ideas on this one? How do you move the contents of your safety deposit box cross country? That bank is local only. Put it in the car and hope nobody takes it when you stop to go to the bathroom? Send it Fed Ex insured? I plan on having a bank box all ready to receive it when I get there.
Cheers,
demicent
I'm a fan of shipping FedEx insured for most things of value. If you use the "Home Delivery" option and ask for "Date Certain", and signature required, you can set up a specific date and time (within 3 hours) for delivery of your packages. I have done this and it works great, especially if you are driving to a new location and don't know when you will be there to receive packages. The specified delivery date has to be within 2 weeks of shipping, so I set mine up for one week out, and that gave me plenty of time to drive to my new location ahead of the delivery date and be ready for the delivery.
As far as high end valuables, I would take any valuable jewelry or documents (passport, etc) with me in the car in one small cardboard box. That stays in the car when I go to the rest room (which doesn't take that long and I only stopped at rest areas on the interstate), but when I stayed overnight in a hotel along the way, I took the box inside along with my luggage. I also didn't ship my computer since it would be too risky unless you had the original packaging. I took that in the car, and took the tower/hard drive inside the hotel room with me. I have an old desktop that I put into a larger piece of luggage with some clothes stuffed around it. All in all everything arrived in fine shape. (If you have room, the valuables could be packed in your suitcase that goes with you into a hotel.)
Thanks for the ideas! I guess anything I can't bear to lose like family heirloom jewelry and my external hard drive with all the photos archived, plus the contents of the safe deposit box will probably go with me. Although I will look into Fed Ex Home Delivery if cargo space gets tight in the car.
I plan on driving straight through the 12 or 13 hour trip with no hotel. I like to leave around midnight, so that when the sun comes up I feel more spunky again about half way through the trip. I've done this in the past and it works for me. I'll have to check the highways to make sure none of the mountain passes are currently washed out in the Appalachians. (This has happened for two of my previous trips and I had to reroute.)
The RELOCUBES were my moving choice because they go to Greenville. 1800Packrat was my first choice but they don't deliver to that area. I was originally going to move to Fort Mill to be closer to my niece but could not find a house rental with a first floor bed/bathroom for my mom in that area. So Packrat is out of the picture.
I am going to take several empty plastic bins and the dog crate and see if I can arrange the best way to pack the Subaru Outback with the best rear visibility. Then load the bins and have them ready to go.
Looks like the rental place will be mine, there was some mixup about the appointment for my friend to view the place tonight, but hopefully that will be straightened out. Also, the listing did not mention air conditioning but the realtor says it is there. My friend will check for me.
Meanwhile on the home front in Chicagoland, I'm tring to finish the work that my realtors thought would give the most bang for the selling buck. I endured 4 estimate meetings with siding companies who will rip out the fake plaster and rotten boards on the front of the house, replace it with siding to match the rest of the place, and do a few decorative things. After sifting through several slimy salesmen/marketing guys, I chose a nice young man who was really on the ball and was able to answer all my hard questions satisfactorily. Before I signed the contract I made sure to tell him that if he did a fantastic job, I would post it all over the internet. Of course if it isn't fantastic, the world will know that too. He was actually happy to hear it.
Every time I try to get more packing done, I sit and sulk a while because it seems like such a huge job. I decided to start by opening up the boxes I already packed and tossing about half the stuff in there. How many extension cords does one person need? How many pens and pencils and boxes of staples?
I am slowly developing a plan, and I feel more confident of success every day. Sometimes I do break down and cry and imagine how much easier all this would be if my husband were still alive. I feel so alone and helpless sometimes but I know that I have to step up and take care of myself now, there's no alternative. Caring for my mother takes many many hours each day and she wakes me up several times during the night, so exhaustion is beginning to set in as well. If I can just get through the next 6 weeks or so I think things will get better from there.
Wish me luck, intrepid fellow travelers through life.
Thanks for the ideas! I guess anything I can't bear to lose like family heirloom jewelry and my external hard drive with all the photos archived, ...
Back up those photos! A hard drive will be punished by sitting in a hot vehicle and by bumping along the road. Burn them to discs, and/or find an on-line site in which to store copies.
Thanks for the ideas! I guess anything I can't bear to lose like family heirloom jewelry and my external hard drive with all the photos archived, plus the contents of the safe deposit box will probably go with me. Although I will look into Fed Ex Home Delivery if cargo space gets tight in the car.
I plan on driving straight through the 12 or 13 hour trip with no hotel. I like to leave around midnight, so that when the sun comes up I feel more spunky again about half way through the trip. I've done this in the past and it works for me. I'll have to check the highways to make sure none of the mountain passes are currently washed out in the Appalachians. (This has happened for two of my previous trips and I had to reroute.)
The RELOCUBES were my moving choice because they go to Greenville. 1800Packrat was my first choice but they don't deliver to that area. I was originally going to move to Fort Mill to be closer to my niece but could not find a house rental with a first floor bed/bathroom for my mom in that area. So Packrat is out of the picture.
I am going to take several empty plastic bins and the dog crate and see if I can arrange the best way to pack the Subaru Outback with the best rear visibility. Then load the bins and have them ready to go.
Looks like the rental place will be mine, there was some mixup about the appointment for my friend to view the place tonight, but hopefully that will be straightened out. Also, the listing did not mention air conditioning but the realtor says it is there. My friend will check for me.
Meanwhile on the home front in Chicagoland, I'm tring to finish the work that my realtors thought would give the most bang for the selling buck. I endured 4 estimate meetings with siding companies who will rip out the fake plaster and rotten boards on the front of the house, replace it with siding to match the rest of the place, and do a few decorative things. After sifting through several slimy salesmen/marketing guys, I chose a nice young man who was really on the ball and was able to answer all my hard questions satisfactorily. Before I signed the contract I made sure to tell him that if he did a fantastic job, I would post it all over the internet. Of course if it isn't fantastic, the world will know that too. He was actually happy to hear it.
Every time I try to get more packing done, I sit and sulk a while because it seems like such a huge job. I decided to start by opening up the boxes I already packed and tossing about half the stuff in there. How many extension cords does one person need? How many pens and pencils and boxes of staples?
I am slowly developing a plan, and I feel more confident of success every day. Sometimes I do break down and cry and imagine how much easier all this would be if my husband were still alive. I feel so alone and helpless sometimes but I know that I have to step up and take care of myself now, there's no alternative. Caring for my mother takes many many hours each day and she wakes me up several times during the night, so exhaustion is beginning to set in as well. If I can just get through the next 6 weeks or so I think things will get better from there.
Wish me luck, intrepid fellow travelers through life.
As I read this I feel like I wrote it. So much to do and it can become overwhelming but you have the ball rolling and I have no doubt when this is done you will be very proud of yourself. It's all in the details and it sounds like you are thinking of everything
I get better and better at eliminating excess stuff and had to laugh at the extension cords - I have a tub full of that kind of stuff.
I really like the FedEx idea for important docs & jewelry. I don't wear any jewelry when I travel - don't want to add any temptation to the mix, so this is a good idea.
Keep us informed as you go along, including once you safely land at your new destination. I'm now looking at the Asheville area so many of us may end up in the same area. A future meetup could be in our future.
I'm now looking at the Asheville area so many of us may end up in the same area. :
If I were to ever consider moving South it would only be to the Asheville area, where I have connections and where it doesn't seem South in terms of the oppressive climate of the South. Over the border in Tennessee (Knoxville) is nice too, but seemingly hotter and more humid.
If I were to ever consider moving South it would only be to the Asheville area, where I have connections and where it doesn't seem South in terms of the oppressive climate of the South. Over the border in Tennessee (Knoxville) is nice too, but seemingly hotter and more humid.
I'm getting less and less interested in CO - not sure why. Ashvl looks interesting - will check it out.
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and I only stopped at rest areas on the interstate), but when I stayed overnight in a hotel along the way, I took the box inside along with my luggage. I also didn't ship my computer since it would be too risky unless you had the original packaging. I took that in the car, and took the tower/hard drive inside the hotel room with me. I have an old desktop that I put into a larger piece of luggage with some clothes stuffed around it. All in all everything arrived in fine shape. (If you have room, the valuables could be packed in your suitcase that goes with you into a hotel.)
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