Cross Country Moving

[ucsdhibiscus]

I currently live in SD (where I did my undergrad) and are mainly looking at schools on the east coast.
Has anyone done an east coast move? Any tips?
I also have recently (in the last year or two) bought some nice furniture (dresser, desk, bookshelves, tables, bed...) and would like to keep it but have been hearing how crazy expensive it is to transport it.
Are there any cheaper options? Sharing a Uhaul with a Craiglister or fellow soon to start med school mover?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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[Maxprime]

Bring the absolute minimum - seriously. Throw away/sell/donate anything and everything that is not vital to your existence. I've done it 3 times now (not cross country, but over 1,000 miles).

If you're driving, it shouldn't be much of a concern - UHaul trailer isn't that terrible. If you don't have to drive a car across the country, ditch everything and fly. You can ship books cheaply (special rate for books), carry on most of your clothes and your laptop, etc.

 

[blargh]

hey ucsdhibiscus... i'm in the same boat. ucsd student looking to move east. if you end up doing the uhaul thing, you might have someone to share it with.

 

[Zendoc]

Bring the absolute minimum - seriously. Throw away/sell/donate anything and everything that is not vital to your existence. I've done it 3 times now (not cross country, but over 1,000 miles).

If you're driving, it shouldn't be much of a concern - UHaul trailer isn't that terrible. If you don't have to drive a car across the country, ditch everything and fly. You can ship books cheaply (special rate for books), carry on most of your clothes and your laptop, etc.

I will be moving across the country too, from northern Cali. I feel your pain. The couches my husband and I have are the first major purchase we ever bought together. I am super attached. Anyway, Maxprime must not be a woman because I can say with certainty that there is no way on G-d's green Earth that my clothes will fit as "carry on" only. Maybe carry on for every single person on the flight

I think the above posters are correct in all honesty though. I've heard that it's much easier to just sell and rebuy when you get across the country than it is to ship. Good luck! This is the fun part, yay life adventures!!!!

 

[kuhlguy]

hey guys ... im at ucla .... looking to move east to if i get the chance ... we should keep each other in mind .... if we are gonna move east and we're headed to somewhere close to each other we should totally team up

 

[ucsdhibiscus]

I am definitely open to sharing U-Hauls to the two people who have posted so far! I don't even think I'll have enough to fill a U-haul by myself. Splitting the cost of u-haul/gas would be very nice! Are you two thinking of bringing your car? I think I am but I don't think it could tow a trailer (2 door chevy cavalier lol).

 

[SketchLazy]

'Nother exile here. Going to NY from Southern CA. Was going to use the PODS moving service and then just drive my beater cross country. They seem to be pretty convenient because you just load your stuff and then you can schedule when to have it delivered. Don't know about prices though but it has to be cheaper than renting a UHAUL big enough to tow your car too. Plus gas has got to be killer for something that big.

Edit: nvm, I called for a quote. A 7x7x8 container from orange county to syracuse NY is $4,000!

With the money it costs to move things cross country, you can just buy whole new furniture at ikea and target. I think I'm gonna stuff everything I can in my car and just ditch the rest.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

We used this service for our last move, and I'd use it again for a cross-country move. It was about the cheapest option, and the shipping was pretty quick.

http://www.upack.com/

If you're thinking about uhaul, you really need to figure in gas prices because those trucks are very fuel-inefficient. We calculated that we would spend about as much on gas as we would on the truck rental itself.

 

[Depakote]

We used this service for our last move, and I'd use it again for a cross-country move. It was about the cheapest option, and the shipping was pretty quick.

http://www.upack.com/

If you're thinking about uhaul, you really need to figure in gas prices because those trucks are very fuel-inefficient. We calculated that we would spend about as much on gas as we would on the truck rental itself.

I used that too. Pretty cost effective.

I had a short trip, but my brother used it to move from the mid-west to NY and it was still not bad.

 

[blargh]

We used this service for our last move, and I'd use it again for a cross-country move. It was about the cheapest option, and the shipping was pretty quick.

http://www.upack.com/

If you're thinking about uhaul, you really need to figure in gas prices because those trucks are very fuel-inefficient. We calculated that we would spend about as much on gas as we would on the truck rental itself.

san diego to new york quote on june 3 = $2,310 door to door

looks like i'm throwing away or selling my junk before moving... or paying someone to take some of my bigger stuff to the east coast

 

[Maxprime]

Trust me - pack your wireless router, laptop, clothes you ACTUALLY wear, and a few other necessities into your luggage. You won't have a bunch of crap that won't fit in your new place, you'll have some cash from liquidating all you owned, and you'll get rid of a ton of the crap us silly humans refuse to get rid of.

 

[SageFrancis]

Unless you have some very nice furniture that will last you years, it's really not going to be worth moving. I'd sell the furniture and ship whatever I couldn't take (you won't need the winter clothes right away). Media mail is cheap for books/DVDs...
Just order a bed and set up delivery for the day you get there. Any other furniture can wait until you have time to buy it.

And if you end up flying, be careful about packing, since extra-heavy baggage is around a $50 charge. Shipping what you need is the way to go.