How much did you pay to relocate to CO? (Denver: fit in, apartment)

[R2F]

We plan to relocate from FL to CO in a few years and I'm now working on setting some realistic expectations for up front costs for the move. I know there are many factors that determine the cost but I'm hoping to get a little input from what people have paid so far. We will be moving from a 3 bedroom house and are undecided if we are taking the car or selling before me move. We will probably have everything moved and just fly there. I made the drive once, and while it was interesting, I have no intentions of doing it again, especially in a large truck.

Thanks for any information you can share.

[jazzlover]

How much it costs depends on how much you move, but you will likely be looking at several thousand dollars minimum. When I relocated several years ago (when fuel costs were spiking) from a far shorter distance (like about the quarter of the distance from Florida to Colorado), it was a total cost of close to $3,000 for moving a relatively moderate household. As diesel fuel costs continue their long-term increase, shipping anything of size and weight any distance is going to cost more and more. I recently had some steel equipment shipped to Colorado from Texas. The freight cost was nearly one-third of the cost of the equipment itself. For a move such as you are contemplating, it may make more sense to sell all but your most expensive possessions before you move and replace them once you relocate.

[md21722]

On top of the cost of moving your possessions, you would want to factor in costs of renting a car and a hotel until you find another place to live, and then deposits/month in advance for renting an apartment or house, changing any vehicle tags, vehicle insurance, and changing driver's licenses. If you provide your own health insurance, most providers will not let you keep your FL insurance indefinitely - once you move here they will find out about your change of address and start the process to non-renew your FL policy.

[R2F]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

How much it costs depends on how much you move, but you will likely be looking at several thousand dollars minimum. When I relocated several years ago (when fuel costs were spiking) from a far shorter distance (like about the quarter of the distance from Florida to Colorado), it was a total cost of close to $3,000 for moving a relatively moderate household. As diesel fuel costs continue their long-term increase, shipping anything of size and weight any distance is going to cost more and more. I recently had some steel equipment shipped to Colorado from Texas. The freight cost was nearly one-third of the cost of the equipment itself. For a move such as you are contemplating, it may make more sense to sell all but your most expensive possessions before you move and replace them once you relocate.

Thanks for the reply. We have already begun trimming down what we will move and have had quite a few conversations about selling or tossing stuff that would probably be cheaper to replace than to move or risk damaging. There's only two of us and if I had to guess, we'd probably fill about half a semi with what we plan to keep, if that's the route we went. I'll probably budget around 10k but will do what I can to reasonably minimize costs.

I did have a car shipped out there a few years back when I was working in Denver and I think it cost me around $1200. Does anyone know if they would possibly put home goods and the vehicle on the same truck? I admittedly don't much much about long distance moving.

[R2F]

Originally Posted by md21722

On top of the cost of moving your possessions, you would want to factor in costs of renting a car and a hotel until you find another place to live, and then deposits/month in advance for renting an apartment or house, changing any vehicle tags, vehicle insurance, and changing driver's licenses. If you provide your own health insurance, most providers will not let you keep your FL insurance indefinitely - once you move here they will find out about your change of address and start the process to non-renew your FL policy.

Thanks for the tips. We will probably rent the first year and plan to buy afterwards. We'll definitely plan to transfer over tags, licenses, etc once we get settled. Insurance is not a problem - it's through my company and we have employees nationwide so I'm sure we'll be able to get coverage. I've estimated about 5K for these expenses (on top of the 10K mentioned above). It might be less but I'd rather over estimate than end up short. Any excess will be put towards purchasing or building a home.

[Mike from back east]

I think my wife and I spent almost $5k on moving here in2005. We have a LOT of stuff (60 cases of books, tons of hobby items and collectibles, large heavy furniture) and it used 60% of a 53-foot moving van.

Also paid $1k to have the Camry shipped via an automobile carrier. The car was loaded backwards on the truck and when it got here, the REAR window was coated in bugs, as were the lens on the outside mirrors and the back end of the car; the car wash folks just looked at it and were scratching their heads until I told them.

I did my own packing, buying about 300 pro-quality moving boxes from U-Line, tons of tape and lots of bubble wrap. United Van Lines gave me a 66% discount for having packed my own stuff. I was already retired so I took my time and it took me two months to pack it all up and get the house empty for MLS and Open House viewing.

Be really RUTHLESS about getting rid of stuff you don't need or use anymore; try to get what you can for it or donate it.

Consider the same fate for any old furniture that may be more expensive to ship than it's worth.

If you hire a long-distance mover, beware of low-bid offers, they usually rip you off at the other end and hold your stuff hostage until you pay. Avoid that by getting a BINDING estimate from a reputable mover.

[delta07]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

How much it costs depends on how much you move, but you will likely be looking at several thousand dollars minimum. When I relocated several years ago (when fuel costs were spiking) from a far shorter distance (like about the quarter of the distance from Florida to Colorado), it was a total cost of close to $3,000 for moving a relatively moderate household. As diesel fuel costs continue their long-term increase, shipping anything of size and weight any distance is going to cost more and more. I recently had some steel equipment shipped to Colorado from Texas. The freight cost was nearly one-third of the cost of the equipment itself. For a move such as you are contemplating, it may make more sense to sell all but your most expensive possessions before you move and replace them once you relocate.

I have to agree with Jazzlover here. It makes more sense to sell what you can and only keep those items which have sentimental value or would be too expensive to replace. When we moved from Western Colorado to Central Oregon almost 4 years ago, we hired a moving company. We kept most of our belongings because we had just purchased new furniture for the entire house only two years prior. We had a 3 bedroom home and ended up sharing the moving truck with two other people. It cost us around $4k. However, the furniture is big, as we lived in a newer construction home. When we purchased here in Oregon, we bought a home built in the early 70s. All of our furniture is really too big for this house and I wish we would have just sold everything and only moved with our clothes and other possessions that we could fit in a smaller space. It just wasn't worth it, IMO.

[R2F]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

I think my wife and I spent almost $5k on moving here in2005. We have a LOT of stuff (60 cases of books, tons of hobby items and collectibles, large heavy furniture) and it used 60% of a 53-foot moving van.

Also paid $1k to have the Camry shipped via an automobile carrier. The car was loaded backwards on the truck and when it got here, the REAR window was coated in bugs, as were the lens on the outside mirrors and the back end of the car; the car wash folks just looked at it and were scratching their heads until I told them.

I did my own packing, buying about 300 pro-quality moving boxes from U-Line, tons of tape and lots of bubble wrap. United Van Lines gave me a 66% discount for having packed my own stuff. I was already retired so I took my time and it took me two months to pack it all up and get the house empty for MLS and Open House viewing.

Be really RUTHLESS about getting rid of stuff you don't need or use anymore; try to get what you can for it or donate it.

Consider the same fate for any old furniture that may be more expensive to ship than it's worth.

If you hire a long-distance mover, beware of low-bid offers, they usually rip you off at the other end and hold your stuff hostage until you pay. Avoid that by getting a BINDING estimate from a reputable mover.

Just what I was looking for - thank you. I'm more ruthless about parting with stuff than my better half is... but I have a couple of years to whittle away at it. I've already parted with most of my big tools and have cleaned out a ton of clothes and misc crap from my office. Sad to see the tools go but looking forward to having an excuse to replace them when I get there.

[R2F]

Originally Posted by delta07

I have to agree with Jazzlover here. It makes more sense to sell what you can and only keep those items which have sentimental value or would be too expensive to replace. When we moved from Western Colorado to Central Oregon almost 4 years ago, we hired a moving company. We kept most of our belongings because we had just purchased new furniture for the entire house only two years prior. We had a 3 bedroom home and ended up sharing the moving truck with two other people. It cost us around $4k. However, the furniture is big, as we lived in a newer construction home. When we purchased here in Oregon, we bought a home built in the early 70s. All of our furniture is really too big for this house and I wish we would have just sold everything and only moved with our clothes and other possessions that we could fit in a smaller space. It just wasn't worth it, IMO.

I've tried to convince some people to move with us but they just look at me like I'm insane. We both love CO and I can't wait go back.

[md21722]

You can't put your car on the semi, so you'd need to do that separately. I would figure roughly $1200-2000, possibly more, for moving a car in this day and age. Keep in mind if you go furniture shopping when you get here it doesn't usually arrive the day you pick it out. So it may be wise to bring minimal furniture, like a bed..

Personally I would just drive the car to Colorado with some of your most important possessions like birth certificates, bank paperwork, etc.

Thefts can and do occur with moving trucks.