Moving Company Suggestions for Internship

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temppsych123

temppsych123

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Hello all,

A suggestion was made on this year's internship interview thread to start a new one regarding moving-related issues for internship. Many of us will be making cross-country or other long-distance moves, and suggestions from people who have already done so would be wonderful!

At least for me, the following information would be useful:

1) Did you use a professional moving company? If so, what companies did you consider and ultimately choose? How was the service? Would you recommend them?

2) If you didn't use a professional moving company, how did you move? Amtrak bulk shipping, selling everything off before moving, driving a U-Haul yourself, etc.? How did it work out for you?

3) Were there any issues you wish you had known about before moving that you know now? For example, recent googling suggested looking into the DOT records for moving companies before picking one, and I found a company that looked great but had records of tons of crashes and failed inspections!
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Depends on the length of the move, really. For very long moves, my suggestion is to sell off everything that won't fit into your car. That way, if you move for postdoc, and possibly again when you secure your first real job, you won't have to pay those moving costs again.

Additionally, no matter what you do. Keep receipts for EVERYTHING related to the move. Could be a decent tax write off, if you have other deductions that can get you above the standard deduction threshold.
 
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I did exactly what WisNeuro suggested when I moved for internship--sold everything I couldn't fit into a cargo van, drove everything over myself, and rented my furniture for a year when I got there. I then had very little to move when I relocated again for postdoc (at which point I actually bought some new furniture).

I'd definitely do it that same way again. And yes, the tax break is pretty nice, particularly on an intern/postdoc's salary.
 
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If you do a search on here, there is a thread from 2-3yrs ago about different moving companies. Search for "pods" or maybe "pack rat". /Unofficial SDN Psych Forum Historian

For doc program to internship I sold everything, packed my car, and mailed ~20 boxes (mostly media mailed books, binders, DVDS). USPS punted each box across the country for two plus weeks and I filed ~$1k in "lost" and damaged items. In one instance they sent me 1 box flap from 1 box. That was all that was left of the box.

For internship to post-doc I used a cube service. For post-doc to my faculty gig I used a regional moving company (paid for by employer).
 
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How exactly do you deduct the expenses? Under which category?
 
Yes, selling off and rebuying has been our MO through most of my husband and my's previous moves (many, many moves...so many...) but now that we've created a reasonable facsimile of a "grown up house," there's enough worth keeping that moving it all seems worth it. In our case, we're also moving to a city that has postdoc options for both myself and my husband, so planning on staying for at least a year or two after internship. Even if you didn't use a moving service, if you have knowledge of any good or bad experiences with various companies, that'd be helpful! You can find a ton of bad reviews online for every company, but that's because most people don't bother posting reviews when they're not super upset about something...
 
For my ~1700 mile move from internship to postdoc, I used Movers Alliance. The total cost was just under $2000 for my studio (my amount of stuff was comfortably in their minimum price bracket). The delivery included loading and unloading from my high-rise apartment to middle-of-nowhere rural dirt roads and took about 3 weeks for delivery. They were easily the least expensive quote I could get for all types of moving service -- my experience with them was very positive, though since they contract through multiple affiliated companies, caveat emptor, ymmv, bbq.
 
I moved everything across half the country when I moved for internship, and I used American's Moving Services. It was AWFUL. Well, the in-office person I talked to was super nice, but they weren't on time (they were supposed to pick up my stuff on a Saturday or so, when I was scheduled to fly out on a Wednesday), and didn't show up until Tuesday, which was extremely stressful. That meant I didn't have any more than a suitcase worth of my stuff for a week, which was also OK, but in general it was not a positive experience. Then I made the mistake of using them again the following year, thinking it would be better to stick with the "devil you know" and that second experience was even worse (they were also about a week late, which resulted in me having to pro-rate my apartment for a week because I had to continue living somewhere, and the driver upcharged me with some shoddy weighing practices). Never again.
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
If you do a search on here, there is a thread from 2-3yrs ago about different moving companies. Search for "pods" or maybe "pack rat". /Unofficial SDN Psych Forum Historian

For doc program to internship I sold everything, packed my car, and mailed ~20 boxes (mostly media mailed books, binders, DVDS). USPS punted each box across the country for two plus weeks and I filed ~$1k in "lost" and damaged items. In one instance they sent me 1 box flap from 1 box. That was all that was left of the box.

For internship to post-doc I used a cube service. For post-doc to my faculty gig I used a regional moving company (paid for by employer).
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What is a cube service?
 
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Therapist4Chnge said:
Pods, Pack Rat, etc. square storage containers they drop off, you fill, and they ship to your new address. You can hire guys off of Craigslist to help pack/unpack.
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I looked into pods as well, and found that they were more expensive than hiring a moving company. Of course, this will vary depending on where the move is from/going to, but it was surprising to me. For my move, I was quoted at $1800 for a moving company, and it was $2300-ish for the pods. I was surprised.
 
PBCocce said:
I looked into pods as well, and found that they were more expensive than hiring a moving company. Of course, this will vary depending on where the move is from/going to, but it was surprising to me. For my move, I was quoted at $1800 for a moving company, and it was $2300-ish for the pods. I was surprised.
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ABF Relocubes are generally several hundred dollars cheaper than Pods
 
I moved a little over 1800 miles with my husband. I got rid of some stuff but, given the distance - it was cheaper for us to rent a Penske (they have great student discount and online coupons), pack up the truck with our stuff (so we didn't have to buy new stuff here) and drive ourselves. It's not fun driving a rental truck and our own cars but it was the cheapest option for us.
 
I have found this website helpful for weighing this decision for previous moves. In general, it seems like the safest route is to DIY with U-Haul/Pod/the like. I've heard too many horror stories (including from interns at my current training site) of moving companies that hold your stuff hostage until you give them more money, etc.

http://www.movingscam.com/articles/how-to-find-a-reputable-moving-company
 
Has anyone moved with small kids? I have my toddler and it's limiting our options.
 
FWIW I used Penske for my move to grad school (~1100 miles) and again from grad school to internship (~800 miles) and they were incredibly affordable. For internship move I ordered the truck two months in advance, and was able to score an 18 foot truck for 5 days for $400 (including insurance and all the works). To save money on movers, I invited all my grad school friends over for pizza, goodbye hugs, and loading up the truck :p Penske, I believe, also offers AAA discounts and was easily the most affordable out of all the other truck rentals. Hope this helps!
 
Because I had a family and a lot of stuff when moving for postdoc (didnt have to for internship) we rented a moving truck and drove it, since it was only 7 hrs. And I learned something.
If you're planning to use a moving truck, be pretty careful about the terms you agree to. For example, the money I paid for my reservation is not actually a reservation of a truck. And Budget is a POS company not worth doing business with. Here's a few paragraphs from their terms and conditions that I didnt pay attention to, and ended up costing me dearly.

A reservation is not a contract. Reservation only guarantees the rate quoted and shows a customer's preferences for a pickup location, drop-off location, time of rental, date of rental and equipment type.

The pickup location, drop-off location, time of rental and date of rental selected in a reservation is a preference only and if a preference selected is not available, Budget reserves the right to offer a customer alternatives.
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So if you rent a big truck, and its not there, they say, aww, shucks, you're SOL. And now you've cut off power one place, turned it on 7 hrs away, etc. Next time, I'm using movers. And never ever again using Budget.
 
bmedclinic said:
Because I had a family and a lot of stuff when moving for postdoc (didnt have to for internship) we rented a moving truck and drove it, since it was only 7 hrs. And I learned something.
If you're planning to use a moving truck, be pretty careful about the terms you agree to. For example, the money I paid for my reservation is not actually a reservation of a truck. And Budget is a POS company not worth doing business with. Here's a few paragraphs from their terms and conditions that I didnt pay attention to, and ended up costing me dearly.


So if you rent a big truck, and its not there, they say, aww, shucks, you're SOL. And now you've cut off power one place, turned it on 7 hrs away, etc. Next time, I'm using movers. And never ever again using Budget.
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Wow, that's pretty bad. I used U-Haul when moving to grad school, internship (just a cargo van after selling all my furniture), and postdoc, and Penske when going to my first job. Didn't have problems with any of them, fortunately. Ran into a situation with both Penske and U-Haul (separate moves) when they didn't have the smaller car carrier I'd reserved. In both instances, they just upgraded me to the larger ride-on trailer for free.

Never used Budget, but if I go the DIY route again, I'll now know to avoid them.
 
FWIW the Budget experience gets so much worse than that, but no need to go into it here. Just avoid them. Also, Budget = Avis, but Ive never had a problem with avis rental cars. But knowing the same people/policies are in place, that's enough for me to steer clear of them for good.
 
I sold, gave away, and threw away everything when I moved cross country for grad school and ended up w/ a couple suitcases plus mailing a few boxes of books. I'm now facing the prospect of doing so again for internship and this time it feels more daunting. I probably have the same amount of stuff, perhaps a little less even, but the idea of doing this sort of purging feels overwhelming right now.

Any else feeling a bit of a post match funk? I feel guilty knowing others are dealing with phase 2.
 
hamsterpants said:
I sold, gave away, and threw away everything when I moved cross country for grad school and ended up w/ a couple suitcases plus mailing a few boxes of books. I'm now facing the prospect of doing so again for internship and this time it feels more daunting. I probably have the same amount of stuff, perhaps a little less even, but the idea of doing this sort of purging feels overwhelming right now.

Any else feeling a bit of a post match funk? I feel guilty knowing others are dealing with phase 2.
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Oh man, the purging for internship/postdoc/job was great. I don't particularly like hanging on to things, though. So, it was a great opportunity to clean out closets, make some money back, and collect tax breaks.
 
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WisNeuro said:
Oh man, the purging for internship/postdoc/job was great. I don't particularly like hanging on to things, though. So, it was a great opportunity to clean out closets, make some money back, and collect tax breaks.
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Yeah, you are right. It is kinda a good feeling and has cured me of any hoarder like tendencies ( I used to really like to hang on to my books/ papers). I guess right now I'm just pulled in so many directions, the new (finding an apt, purging) and the old (clients, finishing my diss, writing). My energy seems like its at an all time low but the last two years I have been going pretty much at full steam with a min. of self care so perhaps its coming back to bite me.

Btw, my friend did Uhaul Pods. It was cheaper than some pod companies but not that inexpensive. They also delivered way later than expected (and were not in communication to explain why or when the new ETA was) and they also got some of the stuff wet! I'll stick to purging.
 
hamsterpants said:
Btw, my friend did Uhaul Pods. It was cheaper than some pod companies but not that inexpensive. They also delivered way later than expected (and were not in communication to explain why or when the new ETA was) and they also got some of the stuff wet! I'll stick to purging.
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I thought about the U-Haul pods because they were the cheapest option, but saw a ton of bad reviews on them, so decided to pay a little extra to get the Relocube from ABF. This was for my most recent move, though, and I got a relo incentive, so I was ok with ponying up a little extra. I'm also past the intern/postdoc stage, so I actually had some furniture that was worth moving and not junk like I used to have.
 
Another endorsement for Penske. We've moved across country several times and tried U-Haul and Penske. Penske was cheaper, more reliable, and better customer service.

On the move to grad school we were hit on the freeway in small town Iowa on our last full day of a 2000+ mile move, with nearly 500 miles planned for that day. It was a Sunday and a Penske rep (and his son) met us at the crash site, brought a new truck, and helped us transfer all our belongings. We offered to buy them lunch and they graciously declined.
 
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hamsterpants said:
I sold, gave away, and threw away everything when I moved cross country for grad school and ended up w/ a couple suitcases plus mailing a few boxes of books. I'm now facing the prospect of doing so again for internship and this time it feels more daunting. I probably have the same amount of stuff, perhaps a little less even, but the idea of doing this sort of purging feels overwhelming right now.

Any else feeling a bit of a post match funk? I feel guilty knowing others are dealing with phase 2.
Click to expand...

Funkin' right with ya
 
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hamsterpants said:
Any else feeling a bit of a post match funk? I feel guilty knowing others are dealing with phase 2.
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So glad this is a common experience. I finally feel like I'm starting to come around a little bit, but the last 2.5 weeks haven't been the bright beacon of relief I thought they would be!
 
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I was actually feeling really down after the match. I was happy about matching to my top choice and that I'm almost done with grad school. BUT I felt so sad! Is that normal?
 
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NY-Psych-Dream said:
I was actually feeling really down after the match. I was happy about matching to my top choice and that I'm almost done with grad school. BUT I felt so sad! Is that normal?
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I felt exactly the same! I wonder what thats all about?
 
JedMosley said:
I felt exactly the same! I wonder what thats all about?
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i'm not married, but after some of my friends have gotten married, they've expressed to me feeling in a funk. i can imagine you spend so many years building up to this one moment, and in the past 3 or 4 months doing so much work for one day. then you celebrate and everyone in congratulating you and all of a sudden you're back on your own and reality hits that you're moving away from the place you've been the past 4 years and the friends you've made. it's life changing, and it's completely normal to feel that way (NORMALIZING!)

speaking of not married, i'm moving from NYC to Memphis, but my lady friend is staying in NYC and cannot afford to keep our 1BR alone, so she will be moving out and will be looking for a roommate. if anyone here is or knows anyone moving to Manhattan and is looking for a roommate, she would love to talk to you! just send me a PM.
 
PSYquailman said:
i'm not married, but after some of my friends have gotten married, they've expressed to me feeling in a funk. i can imagine you spend so many years building up to this one moment, and in the past 3 or 4 months doing so much work for one day. then you celebrate and everyone in congratulating you and all of a sudden you're back on your own and reality hits that you're moving away from the place you've been the past 4 years and the friends you've made. it's life changing, and it's completely normal to feel that way (NORMALIZING!)
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I agree, that's what it feels like. Every day was a calculation for how close we got to match day! Now it's when am I going to move far, far away from friends and family.
 
How much time is everyone allowing themselves to move?
 
Some of my classmates are moving a few days before they start (a week tops!). I'm thinking early to mid-June for a July first start date.
 
NY-Psych-Dream said:
Some of my classmates are moving a few days before they start (a week tops!). I'm thinking early to mid-June for a July first start date.
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I gave myself a couple of wks...which I highly recommend. Trying to find a grocery store, cleaners, and living out of boxes makes your week feel a lot longer.
 
I was planning a few days before. I already scouted out my favorite grocery store and found a good coffee shop when I interviewed. I'm leaving my partner behind so I want to minimize our time apart.
 
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I encourage everyone (if possible) to move at least 2 weeks prior to the start date.

This allows you to deal with any unforeseen issues that arise in your new home, particularly if a moving company misses their promised-by date.
 
To each their own, but I did not find it worthwhile to sell stuff off and rebuy after crunching the numbers. For one the sheer hassle of doing so can be astronomical depending on how much "stuff" you have. With a 2 bedroom apartment, some nicer pieces I preferred to keep (i.e. our $2000 sofa I got on clearance for $350) and being busy enough I didn't want months of dealing with a parade of craigslist buyers - it wasn't worth it.

Rental truck is by far the cheapest if you are comfortable driving it (or know someone who is). Tow the car or have someone else drive it. Friends can help load or I have had tremendous success with Uhaul moving help (google it). Its not like full-service movers and you'll largely have to eat the costs of anything damaged but its not any worse than having a bunch of grad students heave a couch down 2 flights of stairs. $500 truck rental, roughly $400 gas for that monstrosity, $200 on either end for loading and unloading and we did a cross-country move for a bit over $1000. Pods were double the cost (even the cheap ones) and had wide delivery windows so you'd basically go 2 weeks to a month without belongings. Full service was quadruple the cost.

Once you are done, it is not uncommon for relocation to be covered (in part or in whole) so that makes everything much easier.
 
Depends on the niceness of your stuff. At the grad level, all I had was pretty cheap furniture. Took me 2 days to sell most of it, donated the rest and kept the receipt for taxes. Do a quick appraisal, it will work for some, not as much for others.
 
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