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And people move from Hawai'i for lots of different reasons, many of which have nothing to do with the military.
Breaking news - nobody has to move to Hawaii, it isn't a life requirement. If you can't even afford a mover, then you probably shouldn't bother. You want to move your own stuff because that is your thing - go for it. But if you can't afford something as trivial as $5,000 then this isn't the place for you. Period.
In fact, I don't recall anyone who has been forced to move here on this forum.
Besides, containers ship at a fixed price per volume, rather than at an estimated price by weight, as movers do. So a $10K mover's estimate to move ~4,000 pounds competes with a $5K fixed container price to move up to 60,000 pounds. If you are shipping a lot of heavy stuff, like shop tools or books or maybe your grandmother's treasured pot-belly stove collection, an ISO container makes a lot of sense. And besides, movers are notorious for underestimating weights, and having the final bill be higher than the estimate. And doubly besides, I never had movers take as much care with my stuff as I do.
There is also a third option, which splits the difference. In many locations you can hire a local service to pack your stuff and load your container. That might be a good choice for the small fishing boat crowd...
All good reasons that need to be taken into consideration when deciding how to move your stuff!
We were initially planning to pack a container ourselves. But, in our case having to put our goods in storage for a time plus not being able to park the container near to the house made us have to consider using a full-service mover. We did look into hiring a local crew for the packing and loading, but in the end it just made more sense to have someone do it all. We are not moving any really heavy stuff this time either, so needing to ship a lot of weight for a lower cost wasn't a factor for us this time.
In defense of movers, in the 9 moves we did during our time in the military (four of which were overseas and back), and the three moves since we've been retired, some of been exceedingly careful with our stuff, and done a better job of packing than we ever could have, while others pretty much just threw our stuff on the truck and hoped for the best. Good luck though knowing which type you're going to get . And maybe we've just been lucky, but our weight was never underestimated even once; usually just the opposite, in fact. YMMV though.
Breaking news - nobody has to move to Hawaii, it isn't a life requirement. If you can't even afford a mover, then you probably shouldn't bother. You want to move your own stuff because that is your thing - go for it. But if you can't afford something as trivial as $5,000 then this isn't the place for you. Period.
Spoken like a true Five Percenter! I mean, if they can't afford brioche, what good are they?
But life is more complicated than that, and average people do have circumstances outside your well-manicured experience. We've had a number of people post here about some of those circumstances, including death in the family or illness or other personal crisis and needing to move "home" with little warning, just to name the most obvious of many possible scenarios.
First and foremost, even people who can well afford to pay someone else $5,000 just might not choose to spend their money that way. "Hey we could pay somebody else Five Thousand Bucks to pack up our stuff, or we could just do it ourselves in a few days. Geez, that's a No Brainer!"...
You said you didn't understand why people bother to use shipping containers, and I'm trying to explain it, despite the inherent difficulty in bridging the gap. To boil it down to the simplest terms, most people don't think the way you do. Real life isn't all nearly that black and white.
You said you didn't understand why people bother to use shipping containers, and I'm trying to explain it
This isn't complicated although you are trying to make it that way.
Me: Use a mover - don't bother with the hassle of a container.
You: Maybe they can't afford $5,000
Me: Then they shouldn't be moving to Hawaii if they can't afford $5,000. Although I did say if someone can afford it and they were into the container route to go for it.
You: Still not getting it
Me: Reiterating once again, that if ones finances are so tight, that $5,000 is a stretch, then moving to Hawaii makes no sense for any reason.
I don't remotely understand why you think this quote should be the theme of Hawaii:
“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door. "
All good reasons that need to be taken into consideration when deciding how to move your stuff!
Precisely right. Every situation is different.
Quote:
We were initially planning to pack a container ourselves. But, in our case having to put our goods in storage for a time plus not being able to park the container near to the house made us have to consider using a full-service mover. We did look into hiring a local crew for the packing and loading, but in the end it just made more sense to have someone do it all. We are not moving any really heavy stuff this time either, so needing to ship a lot of weight for a lower cost wasn't a factor for us this time.
Yep, that all makes sense to me. Most importantly, after consideration, it all made sense to you.
Quote:
In defense of movers, in the 9 moves we did during our time in the military (four of which were overseas and back), and the three moves since we've been retired, some of been exceedingly careful with our stuff, and done a better job of packing than we ever could have, while others pretty much just threw our stuff on the truck and hoped for the best. Good luck though knowing which type you're going to get
That's the pickle, isn't it? Telling one from the other. I've had both.
Quote:
And maybe we've just been lucky, but our weight was never underestimated even once; usually just the opposite, in fact. YMMV though.
Maybe I'm just special, but on two corporate moves the estimate was way low. Both times the company was picking up the tab, so they covered the additional charges without a beef. On the last mover-move I paid for myself, the unexpected overweight charge added more than a third to the total, payable in certified funds before they would start unloading, which was quite disappointing to me.
It was also an object lesson in why using the occasion of a major move to declutter one's life is such a good idea.
We were not told of any minimum amounts by Royal Hawaiian, but they did say that if the weight of your goods is less than 4000 pounds than you will not get an exclusive container for your goods and you will have to share a container with another (or others).
Having done a few overseas moves, I would prefer we do not share a container with others. No matter how good a job the movers do, it's much easier for things to get lost, mixed up, etc. when you're sharing.
Real good information to know. I would rather have a container to myself as you noted.
Thank you for the response.
Scott
Just Curious, not trying to high jack the thread. How much is the lightest load you can ship using Royal Hawaiian, to the mainland, and does it change the price? Does anyone know? I guess you can call and find out as a last resort.
Scott
I just got an estimate from Royal Hawaiian for Utah to O'ahu at $1.99/lb with a minimum of 1000 lbs. I told them I have a motorcycle and minimal furniture to move; I suspect that the $/lb changes for larger moves.
@whtviper1
You speak as if trying to save several thousand dollars on moving expenses is a bad thing? I get what you're saying about being able to comfortably afford a move to Hawaii because the cost of the move is in line with the cost of living, but that doesn't mean if someone wants to save money on moving expenses that they can't afford living in Hawaii, which I believe is the point OpenD was trying to make. Wanting to spend less doesn't necessarily mean you're poor or can't afford things. In fact, I think it can be a rather positive character trait.
Last edited by kowen1208; 02-22-2014 at 02:05 PM..
I just got an estimate from Royal Hawaiian for Utah to O'ahu at $1.99/lb with a minimum of 1000 lbs. I told them I have a motorcycle and minimal furniture to move; I suspect that the $/lb changes for larger moves.
@whtviper1
You speak as if trying to save several thousand dollars on moving expenses is a bad thing? I get what you're saying about being able to comfortably afford a move to Hawaii because the cost of the move is in line with the cost of living, but that doesn't mean if someone wants to save money on moving expenses that they can't afford living in Hawaii, which I believe is the point OpenD was trying to make. Wanting to spend less doesn't necessarily mean you're poor or can't afford things. In fact, I think it can be a rather positive character trait.
Thank you kowen1208 for the response and information. Was wondering if there was a minimum weight to ship.
Best of luck on your move.
Scott
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