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I've been accepted into a grad program at NC State and planning to move in May. In comparing the modes of packing and moving a 2 bed apt, I'm trying to figure out what the best options are.
Considering the logistics of moving, can anyone comment on their experience moving from the northeast to North Carolina?
Renting a 16' truck is cheaper (I've calculated rental, insurance & gas costs) than using a storage container service, but in your experience does it save a big headache to pay the extra few hundred for using a container mover?
What services do you recommend or advise against?
It would be very helpful to hear back your experiences.
Bert,
I used ABF aka upack to ship a container of household items from NY to Cary in Feb. It was MUCH cheaper than P.O.D.S and cheaper than a UHaul would have been, plus I didn't have to do the driving.
I am hiring them again in July to move the rest. They will deliver a 28' trailer to my house, then only charge me for the part of trailer that I use. So to move 16' of goods is going to cost me $1050, each additional foot is $33. I will only pay for what I actually use. And I don't have to do the driving with my two kids during a stressful time. I can add storage for $50 per day if I need. THe trailer is cheaper than 3-4 of their containers, not sure why.
Every person I dealt with was friendly, helpful and professional. They will even help you out with special requests. They let me keep my container an extra day because we had a snowstorm and still got it to NC on time.
Highly recommended. Get a Free shipping quote at the website, and no, I don't work for them but I'm starting to wish I could.
We moved from Maine to NC and used Penske and did the driving ourselves. Gas was much cheaper then, but it was still less expensive than ABF or PODS. We were also able to stop and see stuff we had not seen before on the drive down. We drove it in 2 days. I wish we had done it in 3!
When we moved last year (Springfield, MA to Durham, NC) we ended up using United Van Lines & were very happy with the service.
We also looked at U-Haul, but considering the logistics of packing our own stuff, moving us & the critters (1 dog + 3 cats) and the week delay between our closing & closing on the house here it was easier to use them.
We boxed our stuff then they loaded the truck. A week later they showed up at the new house & unloaded the truck for us. In hind site I wish we had just dropped the extra $$ and had them pack the house for us too. Relative to everything we spent for the move it wouldn't have been that much more.
I would suggest talk to 3 or 4 companies for estimates. The ones we worked with did a per pound estimate & several of them promised even if we were over on weight the max cost. was going to be our estimate.
One thing you should check is if you can deduct moving expenses on your taxes for 2011. I know in our case since we re-located for a job we could, but I'm not sure how grad school falls into that?
we used ABF/Uhaul to move cross country (from CA). PODS was twice the amount of money and saving a couple hundred on a Uhaul (which has been reviewed as unsafe) just wasn't worth it with all the drive time and stress. the ABF station in CA was wonderful to work. the ABF station in Raleigh/Durham kind of sucked. Emily needs to get trained in customer service. Would I use ABF again if we had another long distance move? Probably... Overall, the price was worth the hassle towards the end.
If you're having your car hauled by a company that specifically transports cars, do some research and look up reviews first. When I moved to CA a few years ago, I hired a company without much research (forgot the name of it). They picked up my car much later than promised (like DAYS) and I was without my car for like 3 weeks in Los Angeles. When I tried to call and complain, the manager threatened to take my car back to NC (by this time I was already in CA).
I am in the process of getting estimates and trying to figure out the logistics of our move from Boston to Raleigh as well. A pod, united mayflower "SAM", and a uhaul are about HALF of what a moving truck would cost us from what I'm finding so far. United Mayflower has a mover option (3 hours of labor, 2 people) and they are very competitive in pricing. Any reviews on the United Mayflower storage container option? Those who have used storage containers - how many hours would you estimate for professional movers to pack the container for a 3 bedroom townhome?
Bert,
I used ABF aka upack to ship a container of household items from NY to Cary in Feb. It was MUCH cheaper than P.O.D.S and cheaper than a UHaul would have been, plus I didn't have to do the driving.
Highly recommended. Get a Free shipping quote at the website, and no, I don't work for them but I'm starting to wish I could.
Libary Sue -- I like ABF a whole lot as well. I used the relocubes a couple years back on a cross-country move. They have a great business and were very professional. It took some time to figure out how to use the the vertical space most efficiently, but all else with ABF went smoothly. Price was right too.
This time around I've decided to use Moderator cut: no recommendations, please. Their containers are 16x8x8 which I think will be a better packing option for me this time than ABF's relocubes. I was on the fence about renting a truck but agree with you about no wanting/needing to take on the stress of driving a fully loaded truck while I have other things to prepare once I arrive in Raleigh.
Thanks again!
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 04-24-2011 at 09:23 PM..
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UPack/ABF from Minnesota was about the same cost as UHaul and much less hassle, Particularly liked that they stored belongings while we bought a house and we didn't have to unload and reload. We hired 3 guys to unload that were terrific and affordable. Would recommend them in a heartbeat. Message me if you would like contact info.
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