Cross-country move -- best way to move stuff? (San Diego, Orange: fit in, movers)

[RainbowHope]

My family is working out the details of a move from New England to southern CA - the San Diego area.

I have been researching different options of how to get ourselves, pets, and belongings out there.

The situation:

2 adults, 3 small pets.

2 bedrooms of stuff

2 vehicles

Would love to hear different scenarios that we could do to make this happen. I have run a couple options, but I learn by reading other's experiences, and I know some of the people here have made this type of move.

I appreciate your feedback.

[whiteboyslo]

We moved from SoCal to NC, then moved back a few years later. Here's how we did it:

On the way out, we used ABF U-Pack for our stuff (about the same amount as you). At the time, when I priced out a U-Haul, its fuel, the car dolly I'd need for my vehicle, etc, it was only a couple hundred more to use this service. No brainer. The only risk is that, since it is a 'U-pack' service, the condition of your items is up to your packing skills. We had one or two things that didn't make it, but this wasn't long after we got out of college, so none of it was high quality stuff. As for vehicles, I shipped my motorcycle in one of the U-Pack containers and shipped my wife's car via Dependable Auto Shippers. The bike had a few minor issues from me not tying it down well enough in the container. The car was fine.

On the way back, my new employer shelled out a bit more for moving expenses, so I hired a company. I still paid out-of-pocket quite a bit, but we had purchased a good amount of furniture while out in NC and we wanted to minimize damage risk. This time, we drove both vehicles (the bike went with the movers). I had our two cats (adopted while living in NC) in a cage in the back of my car. We stayed at Motel 6 the whole way across because they do not charge extra for pets. Not my most favorite trip, but we made it.

Mike

[moved]

It all depends on how much you want to spend on moving expenses. I drove cross country (VA to AZ) with three cats, and had no problems. Do you have a place lined up to live already here in San Diego? If you do, it'll make it a lot easier. If you use a pack and ship company (PODS) then when you get to your destination, you can call them, and they'll send it out.

[Mike930]

Originally Posted by whiteboyslo

We moved from SoCal to NC, then moved back a few years later. Here's how we did it:

On the way out, we used ABF U-Pack for our stuff (about the same amount as you). At the time, when I priced out a U-Haul, its fuel, the car dolly I'd need for my vehicle, etc, it was only a couple hundred more to use this service. No brainer. The only risk is that, since it is a 'U-pack' service, the condition of your items is up to your packing skills. We had one or two things that didn't make it, but this wasn't long after we got out of college, so none of it was high quality stuff. As for vehicles, I shipped my motorcycle in one of the U-Pack containers and shipped my wife's car via Dependable Auto Shippers. The bike had a few minor issues from me not tying it down well enough in the container. The car was fine.

On the way back, my new employer shelled out a bit more for moving expenses, so I hired a company. I still paid out-of-pocket quite a bit, but we had purchased a good amount of furniture while out in NC and we wanted to minimize damage risk. This time, we drove both vehicles (the bike went with the movers). I had our two cats (adopted while living in NC) in a cage in the back of my car. We stayed at Motel 6 the whole way across because they do not charge extra for pets. Not my most favorite trip, but we made it.

Mike

I second the Pods. We will be moving this year and the ABF Pods are the way to go. As far as packing, look on the U-Haul website for moving help if you don't want to pack yourself. We used the moving help service and they were great. Here's the link...

U-Haul: Moving Help moving labor service

They were very professional and knew how to pack things correctly. The Pods are the best and most economical way we've found. Go to the general forums, under "General Moving Issues" and do a search for "Pods". You'll find a wealth of information there.

If you want to ship cars, the best place we found was....

http://goldenkeyexpress.com/auto-transport/quote.html

[DinsdalePirahna]

I used Door to Door Storage (similar to Pods) when I moved to the Midwest. We drove from Orange County to the St. Louis Area every thing arrived on time, and unbroken.

You save a ton of money, but the down side is that you have to pack and unpack everything on your own. I still found the process to be very easy.

I think pods are more secure and their containers are sturdier.

[oddstray]

Consider carefully whether it would be cheaper to sell your stuff in New England and then replace it when you get to San Diego, to save yourselves the packing/moving/unpacking costs.

[RainbowHope]

I have read a lot of crummy reviews about PODS (the actual POD company). That has me nervous about using them, but I love the idea of the pod systems, and it seems like they all work pretty much the same.

We are already getting rid of a lot of stuff, like couches, guest bed, coffee table, endtables, etc. What we're bringing is the stuff that is our treasured stuff. And, I'm very much the opposite of pack rat, so I am confident that we could get it all into a 17' truck if we had to...

[clarabella]

I moved from MD to FL a couple of years ago....used Uship.com for our main stuff. I had tons of quotes and researched moving cars, cats etc. You do need to sign up, make a profile etc but is easy and totally worth checking out.
We ended up getting movers for whole house full of furniture, driving one car with the cats and putting another car with kids on the Autotrain.
My next move is from FL to CA this summer. Will be using Uship again for quotes BUT plan to sell as much stuff as possible. It's crazy how much we move just to store it in the garage!
Best of luck

[lillies123]

I am in the same position...Moving from Boston to San Diego in March. My bf and I live in a small apt and I have been in grad school for 2 and a half years so most of our furniture is low quality and we can def sell it or just throw it away. We considered getting a pod but for the cost it would be too much given the quality of our furniture. We are using vacuum sealed bags for clothes ( I heard theyre heaven sent) shipping out anything like books or anything else we cant fit in the car via flat rate shipping and hoping everything else fits in the Corolla! The only prob with this method is we need to buy a bed as soon as we get there. Let us know what you ended up doing! It sounds like you have alot more than we do though.

[RainbowHope]

lillies123, right up the road in southern NH! Do you know where you'll be in San Diego?

Yes, I plan on getting some of the vacuum seal bags for clothes. Though, I do plan on getting rid of most of the winter stuff. I know it does get cooler in San Diego in the evenings, and there are the occasional day that it is chilly, but I don't think I'll need the snowpants and snowboots anymore!

The donation center is going to get sick of seeing me every week between now and the move! ha ha