Did anyone drive to Washington state from the east coast when moving there? (Seattle: rental, hotels)

[Returning2USA]

Originally Posted by newintown89

I will be relocating to Washington state from Virginia, and I have a dog that I would rather not put through a flight because he is still only a puppy, but it is a very long drive.

I am just wondering if anyone else drove from the east coast when moving?

I drove from DC to Seattle.

I enjoyed it.

I didn't have a puppy or dog, however.

[GraceKrispy]

Originally Posted by newintown89

I will be relocating to Washington state from Virginia, and I have a dog that I would rather not put through a flight because he is still only a puppy, but it is a very long drive.

I am just wondering if anyone else drove from the east coast when moving?

I haven't actually taken a driving trip quite that long, but I think a driving trip would make a lot of sense and save you some shipping money (although cost you more in hotels, perhaps).

I would recommend thinking about how you want the puppy to travel. It's a long trip, and puppies can easily get underfoot if they have free reign in the car. I would also plan out the hotels ahead of time since not all hotels/motels take pets. We have done a TON of traveling with a dog in the car-- WA to IL, AZ to WA, WA to ND, AZ to IL, etc etc-- and it involved a little extra thought and planning but was a great way to travel. Be sure to plan for rest breaks and bathroom breaks (for both of you).

[RRinWA]

I drove from PA to WA in a Uhaul towing my car with my then 6 year old son and the dog (Labrador). I drove 10-13 hours per day; I did it in just under 4 days. It was an adventure and extremely extremely nerve racking. Very glad when it was over.

[NWarty]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Yup, great memory, was 23 years old in 1989. Left Burlington Vermont after university in my old beater college car. $200 and an American Express credit card with $500 limit. Drove up to Montreal, then across Ontario, reentered the US Upper Peninsula Michigan. I passed through Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, up to see Vancouver BC, then down to Seattle. Had never been here, caught my first glimpse of Lake Union, the Space Needle and Mt Rainier on a sunny, July day. Stunning.

I slept in my car all the way across the county, ate out of groceries stores, got a room at Motel 6 for one week in Burien until I got on my feet. Got a restaurant job waiting tables at South Lake Union Duke's and also bartender on day cruise boats. Got a room in a house, lived simply, somehow made it work. Repaid my college loans, got a job a year later as marketing assistant for a small medical company, took a job as VP of Marketing for a healthcare publication 2 years later. Did that 10 years till 2001. Got my real estate license and then took over the world .

2 marriages, a divorce, a financial crash bankruptcy, kids, travel. Have loved, lost, had good beer, coffee and loved again. Throughout it all, the beauty and welcoming qualities I find in Seattle have always been there for me. I'm thankful I drove west all those years ago.

Very similar to my story. Loaded everything I owned into my Ford Explorer in January 1998 and drove from Atlanta to Tacoma. I was also 23 years old.

I drove by myself with a loaded up CD-changer and a camera. Spent the nights sleeping in my car. Rest stops outside of St. Louis, Sundance Wyoming, got a hotel room in Spokane and made the final push into T-town on a snowy January evening.

Here I am, 20 years later, still in Olympia. I'm home. This will always be my home. It's where I met my wife, raised my two sons, retired from the Army, but found myself and grew into the person I am today.

[CoffeeandNatureWalks]

My vote is for a cross-country road trip! Seeing this beautiful country via highways and bi-ways was more enjoyable in my opinion. I drove here from Maryland about 10 years ago with my beloved cat, all my belongings in an SUV. Planned stays at pet-friendly motels. Once in Seattle, alternated camping up north with stays at B&Bs and rented rooms where my cat could remain comfortably while I went out for groceries, laundry, etc. It's important to be very mindful of the animal's safety and comfort, particularly when having to stop for (their human's) bathroom and food breaks on the road.

Within two months of arrival in Seattle, I was employed and had found a nice apartment. (So nice, I doubt I could afford it today. Housing and economy here seemed very different just 10 years ago). Personally, I couldn't subject a pet to air travel and never, ever as cargo. I'm in no way a seasoned traveler, and fortunately experienced no problems on the road. I remained very attentive to my cat; he was comfortable and happy, which was my priority --- along with safety. Besides, ain't it more badass to say you drove coast to coast with your dog and everything else you could fit in your SUV than saying something like, "I flew Delta."

[eugene_b]

Just for the sake of providing some diversity in opinions

We considered this and had one cat and one kitten, both were too big to take in the plane cabin (Maine coons are big...) We ultimately took flight because we decided we’d rather spend this time unpacking and settling up on the new place before our jobs start (we both had offers on hand with set starting dates). Then once settled and familiarized with our new jobs, we’d take vacation and dedicate this time to exploring any of those many interesting places between the coasts...rather than spending time driving between them. I also have a friend who did this drive and said it was a bit too much. Also will add to this that I in general love driving and have done many road trips in the past.

Alaska Airlines took great care of our cats and both are healthy and happy, from what I can tell they haven’t been traumatized by the flight experience. They also seem to love it here in Seattle: they are glued to window all the time and I can almost hear their mouths watering when they are looking at all those juicy seagulls.

[Olympian2]

Jeff Bezos drove from New York City to Seattle to found Amazon.

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by NWarty

Very similar to my story. Loaded everything I owned into my Ford Explorer in January 1998 and drove from Atlanta to Tacoma. I was also 23 years old.

I drove by myself with a loaded up CD-changer and a camera. Spent the nights sleeping in my car. Rest stops outside of St. Louis, Sundance Wyoming, got a hotel room in Spokane and made the final push into T-town on a snowy January evening.

Here I am, 20 years later, still in Olympia. I'm home. This will always be my home. It's where I met my wife, raised my two sons, retired from the Army, but found myself and grew into the person I am today.

Good stuff, NWarty! Although I went to uni in Vermont, I'm a born a raised Miami boy. This makes our stories even more similar .

[Blondebaerde]

Originally Posted by RRinWA

I drove from PA to WA in a Uhaul towing my car with my then 6 year old son and the dog (Labrador). I drove 10-13 hours per day; I did it in just under 4 days. It was an adventure and extremely extremely nerve racking. Very glad when it was over.

(bolded). Must be quite an experience to live in fear.

I've hauled a full load of goods from Michigan to Reno, Reno to Bay Area, then Bay Area north. Couple of those were long day trips, for which the pets were none too happy, but periodic breaks and water kept their exhaustion to a minimum. For all of the above I had a SIG Sauer P226 pretty handy, for dirtbags or other "nerve wracking" - anything, lol. Only thought I'd need to use it once, out in Oregon at 1am against some buck toothed varmint who seemed to just hate everyone heading north into or through "his" state. Dipstick.

[kynight]

I drive NC to WA next month, but drove to WA 3 times before. Keep a 2.5 gallon of spare gas in the trunk and bagged. Avoid eating in WY its costly. Allow 5 days. Have cash and blankets, gallon of water.