Need advice for a cross country move (relocating, packing, moving truck)

[sunsetb]

Looking at moving to the east coast and want to see if there is anyone here who has made the trip before.

I am looking to see hear experiences as I do not know where to begin. What moving companies I should look at. What should I do with my two cars. Should I sell most of my furniture and only keep the important things to make the move cheaper?

If you moved from one coast to the other I would love to hear how you did and your experiences.

thanks

[PDF]

I think we will need more info here. Are you moving with a job? What's your situation?

[sunsetb]

Moving with for a job which they are not paying any moving expenses. We are trying not to go in debt before we even leave the west coast. we have a house and 2 kids, 2 cars, and 2 cats.

No idea where to start really so just looking for feedback.

[canyondanny]

We were moved by my company, so the prices might have been negotiated lower than what I could have gotten, but to move the stuff we had in a one bedroom apartment (about 1000 sq ft) and one of our cars from new jersey to LA came to about $6000. That was because that car was a compact, and there was enough room in the moving truck to just drive it into the back of the truck. If it was shipped separately, I think that would have added another $1000-2000 minimum.

The movers we had were Graebel van lines. I was happy with all of the workers, the driver, the packers, the unloaders, etc...We had some minor confusion and communication problems along the way, but nothing a phone call to our rep couldn't fix in short order. They were a full-service van line, i.e., they packed everything for us and unpacked when we arrived. It would have been a few hundred dollars cheaper if we had done our own unpacking.

If you have the time, it will probably be cheaper to drive your family, rather than ship both cars and fly. It's also a great excuse to see the country, stop in some national parks, and have memories with your family that will last forever. You will also be really sick of the car after 5 days.

If you need a decent hotel that accepts pets, we had good luck with La Quinta (we were driving with our 60 pound dog). 99% of them accept pets without any additional surcharge.

[ccm123]

We have used Mayflower on previous moves and have been happy with them. We have had cars shipped with the household goods (inside of the truck) and moved by a separate car carrier.

My advice would be to contact several reputable moving companies for quotes. They sometimes vary considerably. I use Mayflower because of the success I have had with them in past moves.

I would get rid of stuff that you don't need, to save weight.

[ryanms3030]

I have moved Boston to SF, SF to Boston, Boston to LA, LA to DC and DC to LA. So I have a lot of experience.

As others said, get a lot of quotes from reputable national moving companies. Shipping cars is expensive. If you can live without one of the cars you might be better off selling it and driving the other one. Or have your wife drive one and you drive the other. I have also done the drive with 2 cats one time and it was hell. Cats don't like being in a car for 8 hrs and even though lots of hotels are "pet friendly", I found out that really means "dog friendly" so we ended up having to get cheap motels and sneaking the cats in. The best bet with the cats would be to have one of you fly cross country and take the cats on the plane on a direct flight hopefully. On my last move, I shipped the cats using Delta Dash because I was traveling alone. Cost about $500 for both cats and was about 13 hours door to door and very stressful on them but they survived the ordeal.

And I would also recommend getting rid of everything you don't absolutely need to making moving costs less. But obviously don't get rid of things you need like a bed or appliances because it may cost more to buy new ones then to ship them. My last move was about $5000 all in for a 2 bed apt, gas driving cross, hotels, food etc. Keep in mind that you can write off most if not all of the moving expense on your taxes

[Roanoke Bound]

Hi Sunsetb --

My family and I are relocating to Roanoke very soon and have done a great deal of research I would be happy to pass on!

My husband and I have 3 kids still in the house, 3 dogs, 1 cat, and two cars. We originally planned to drive a uhaul out ourselves (even though it makes me cringe). However, the further I looked into it, a less expensive and far more convenient option is to go with U-Pack which is even less expensive that U-Haul.

They bring containers to your home three days before moving day to load the containers. Helpers can also help you load and unload. They drive the containers to your destination and then you schedule when you want them delivered to your new home. They leave to pods for three days to unload and again, movers are available to help unload.

That allows us to drive across country in our cars much more leisurely and show our kids a little bit of the country, although we will only be staying overnight in places for a minimal amount of time. My husband travels for a living so he has oodles of hotel points so we can stay at Hilton's and Marriotts completely free all of the way out.

We couldn't be apart from our furry babies so they are making the drive with us. We have a certified service animal so that takes care of the critters in hotels if we're quiet about it. I'm sure our kitty won't appreciate it but our dogs love car rides. :-)

Good luck and I hope that helps!

[timtemtym]

If your stuff is more valuable than the cost of the move then go for it. But I've seen some people pay good money to move crap.

When I left Texas, I got rid of everything that wouldn't fit in my Honda. I drove to Long Beach and put everything in a storage unit and stayed with a friend I made online for a month until I found the right place for me. I got new furniture when I got the place. I highly recommend living space both for price and for good delivery (you can track the truck online!). I loved it and got better stuff than I had back home.

[LoveMeSomeSFVHouses]

I think it depends on replacement costs of your stuff as well and how hands on you want to be. If you want to drive a u-haul and do all the packing then that's different than the cost of a full service. But certainly weigh your own time spent moving the things you could care less about as well. Definitely easier to sell whatever you can and just move the most important things.

[pharmboyinSD]

The OP has not posted the location of their destination, which can greatly impact the value/benefit of moving items. Without that information, I strongly recommend to sell as much as your family can, to lighten the burden.

Moving is some of the most stressful activities I have endured, including one of the worst arguments I ever had with my wife.

The cheapest is to drive the family out with our cats. I personally do not trust the airlines with handling live animals and recommend looking at Pet Air to see if one of their flight destinations are close to yours. Not cheap, but similar in price of major airlines.