How to move to NH from CA? (Manchester, Nashua: apartment, transporting)

[LeavingCAforgood]

I have a 2 bedroom apartment and it's going to take a full size moving van.

I also have two "special needs" cats, in the sense they're a wild breed and they tend to be more dog-like than cat like.


I can afford to hire a moving company (as I'm not driving cross country with two wild animals in a huge ass van).

But after the moving company is done loading up my stuff into their truck for cross-country transport.....

How do I get from CA to NH with two cats?


Has anyone done a similar long distance move (with a cat)?

I realize if I fly from CA to NH, I will arrive at my new place in NH before my furniture/etc does.

How do you even put a cat on an airplane and ensure it's going to be safe and comfortable? My vet gave me some dope pills to give to the cats to chill them out....but I don't want to dope them up completely due to that's not really safe to give to a cat. And it's a 5 hour flight from CA to NH.

Would love to hear how some of you guys/gals got from one end of the country to the other in the cheapest, fastest and least stress way possible?


thanks

[LeavingCAforgood]

I might be open to having a garage sale....but then I would have to buy all new stuff in NH and from what I hear the name brand furniture "reasonably affordable, but not really" stores (such as Living Spaces) are few and far in between.

I'm thinking Manchester at this point in time.

Maybe Keene.

And I'm not too hip on having strangers come over to my apartment and pick through my stuff.

[znlwovuhrjw]

If you run your own business and are handy with tools, you could build your own new furniture in your new apartment for significantly less than buying it. I like the area around Concord (because of Granite State College).

As for transporting cats, you could just use a couple cat carriers, secure the luggage in the moving truck with straps and keep the cats in the front by the loading door so when you stop, you can open the loading door quickly then get to the cages for a moment to give the cats food, water, or litter.

[Nonesuch]

I've moved cats halfway across the country, more than once. When I moved to NH, I put my books and furniture into a PODS-like storage container, then drove out a week later with stuff that I didn't trust PODS to move (computers, cats, etc).

Yes, you can fly with a cat as your carry on, but carrier needs to fit under the seat in front of you, and rule is one cat per passenger. I've flown with a cat (less than 3 hour flight), he was not particularly happy about the experience, but didn't disturb the other passengers and didn't get dangerously stressed out.

I have also relocated both cats and dogs by car, including multi-day drives. I have a SUV, put a jumbo dog carrier in the back with the door turned so they can see me, and so I can check food and water without unloading everything . You'd want to make reservations at pet-friendly hotels along the way.

then I would have to buy all new stuff in NH and from what I hear the name brand furniture "reasonably affordable, but not really" stores (such as Living Spaces) are few and far in between.

Because of all the tax evaders from Massachusetts, we have a ton of furniture stores (e.g. Bernie & Phyl's, Jordan's, Ashbrook) in Nashua, plus a few others elsewhere.

[Wells5]

Moving companies' rates for interstate moves are competitive, so get quotes from the major movers and beware of fly by night movers who tease you with low rates and then either disappear with your stuff or demand additional money before they will unload.

You'd be surprised how little space your things take up in one of those big moving vans. They know how to pack things tight.

If your furniture is of good quality and you have have a lot of clothes, books, dishes, pots and pans, electronics and odds and ends that you really must have with you then go with the big move. If not, sell your furniture and whatever else is non-essential, give your old clothes to the Salvation Army and pack your car to the gills with whatever is left. You could rent a small UHAUL trailer to take more stuff, but it makes for difficult driving and you'd need to have a hitch welded to your car's frame.

My suggestion for your cats is to put them in a kennel in CA, move and get settled in NH and then fly back to CA and take them back with you on the plane. Taking the cats cross country in your car will be a nightmare.

[RainbowHope]

If you do decide to move with your cats in the car, it is really not bad. Once we knew we were moving, we took our cat for rides with us when running errands so we could get her used to being in the car. She was always in her crate with a little blanket that she sleeps on in the house. The first couple times she was nervous, but after that she was used to it and didn't have the anxiety.

Someone already mentioned flying with cats, and some hotel chains are pet friendly.

[GregW]

A long time ago we traveled from Connecticut to Arizona in December and back in a Ford Econoline (yeah, a real six cylinder Econoline with a bed in the back) with our cat. All we had to do was show her where the litter box was and she found the food and water just fine. She spent most of the time in my wife's lap and shared our bed at night. She did not want to get out of the car at all during the trip.

I like the idea of boarding your pets until you have a secure place in NH. Then go back and drive yourself and them across the country. Driving across this country (I once did it on a motorcycle) gives you a real sense of the size of our magnificent land.