Cross country moving companies Dallas to Seattle (relocation, packing, moving company)

[quirky_alex]

I'm moving from Dallas to Seattle either in late September or October sometime. Moving a one bedroom apartment and possibly my car. My new job is applying for a relocation incentive for me that I will probably get, somewhere in the range of $2500-4500.i have to make my own moving arrangements, and then this amount will be included on my first paycheck.

What long distance, cross country moving companies do you recommend or recommend avoiding? Do you think the relocation incentive would cover a long distance move for a 1 bedroom and a car? Also if u don't find an apartment right away, I might need to have my belongings stored for a few days or so. I put in some info on a couple of websites to get quotes, and my inbox just explored with at least a dozen different companies. Only one of them offered a ballpark quote in the actual email, which was $1100 which seems low.

Any advice about using a cross-country moving company is appreciated!

[jkwing]

First recommendation is to NOT select your mover from on line, email or phone quotes. You will want to have at least 3 major companies come in and do a visual survey and give you a guaranteed price in writing

The best companies to select from are

United Van Lines
Mayflower Transit
North American Van Lines
Allied Van Lines
Atlas Van Lines
Bekins Van Lines
Grabael Van Lines

You will want to make sure the company you select has a brick and mortar office at both ends of your move.

Never deal with a Broker, never use someone who does not have offices at both ends

There is lots more to know, but start with getting quotes

as for $1100.00 to move From Dallas to Seattle, not going to happen,

The car alone will probably cost in thee $1200.00 range, and household could be in the $2500 to $3500 depending on how much weight you will be transporting

All moves are based on weight and distance, along with any additional services you may need, such as packing and valuation coverage

[Moving2GF]

We've used United twice, once from Mississippi to Washington state, and now they're picking our stuff up tomorrow morning for our move from Washington state to Fort Worth. We've been very pleased with them.

[quirky_alex]

Thank you for your recommendations! Someone else recommended Mayflower, so I looked up their website and their ballpark estimate was $2300-2800, depending on if I packed my things or they did. I will check out United as well. My friends who work for Amazon and Microsoft used Grabael, boyfriend said Grabael cost $1900 for his move from NYC to Seattle (but he didn't have much furniture at the time, but that included packing and unpacking). I don't trust these $1100 lowball quotes from the internet places, I think they're just being shady to try to get business. I'll look into these recommended companies more and contact a few of them to come in person and get quotes.

Someone on another thread said that Allied uses ex-cons in Seattle for their unloading and felt uncomfortable with some of the workers, so they recommended calling to find out who they contract on both ends.

As I've looked into it, looks like car transport would be $1000-1500, plus airfare, plus at least $100 extra for my cat to fly, so I think I'll just make the long drive. That way I'll actually have my car and more stuff while I wait for the rest of my things to arrive.

It looks like if I drive my car, I will be able to move roughly in my budget, though I won't know for sure until I get the real, in-person quotes. Thank you! I'll check back in when I have more questions.

[Restrain]

My son is moving from Austin to Seattle (new job), rented a 16' Penske truck, pulling the car on a trailer, about $2K total. Similar moving stuff. Pods are generally more expensive,

Look at using an ABF UPack trailer. You only pay for what you use. I moved a full 28' trailer from Dallas to Sarasota area, cost $3300 but I moved a lot more than you. You have to hire people at each end but that was about $500 total for us.

[quirky_alex]

So many options to consider! My friend used Door to Door moving crates instead of Pods when moving from SoCal to Dallas, they said it was cheaper than Pods and they were happy with it.

[tngirl1]

Im making a move from DFW to SEA within the next 2 months
What turned out to be the best option for your move? Did you ship your car? I dont have a moving allowance..so just wanting to make a smart decision...