moving across country

[sunnyINphilly]

Hey guys, congratulations to everyone on an excellent match this year!

For those who are relocating across the country, do you have any ideas/tips as to how to move/ship items? Is there any advantage to getting a U-haul and driving everything over vs shipping everything with some carrier?
I realize that costs will vary with the number of items one is moving, gas, tolls, packaging costs, etc.

For specifics, I plan to move ~1 BR of stuff in total, and I am also planning on getting a car for residency (before or after I move?)

Any opinions/suggestions appreciated!

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[walli]

The cheapest way to move is find a used trailer on Craig's list as cheap as possible. Load up all the stuff you need to take be liberal about tossing as much as you can before you move. Tow it with your car, usually your gas mileage will be about 10mpg less towing a trailer. When you get to your destination unload your trailer and sell it on Craig's list. Every hospital I have ever worked at has a shipping dept full of boxes, they would love to give away. If you don't feel unloading or loading your trailer, on craig's list you can find moving help or if that doesn't work out go to the nearest Labor Ready, don't go inside, but talk to the guy smoking just out side the front door, tell him you are looking for moving help. He will gladly work for 10-15/hour cash instead of the minimum wage Labor Ready pays.

U haul trailer rental across the county will be at least $1200 to $1600, which you could use to buy you a good used trailer, you can sell after the move.

Some of U hauls trucks are old and in need of repair. Penske or Buget is often a much better choice. Penske may have a special unlimited miles rate one way. So if you rent the truck for over 100 miles you don't pay for miles. So rent NYC to Baltimore pay $300+ an extra day or two, instead of NYC to LA $2000. Find some one in CA moving to the east coast. Drive NYC to LA then LA to DC with your new buddy or go to the truck stop and find a load to the east coast that will pay for the entire gas and rental charges. Return truck to Baltimore fly back to LA.

Professional movers are a minimum of double the cost of a Uhaul trailer. There are so many shady moving companies, you really have to be careful not to get fleeced.

 

[greenbottleblue]

Are you actually in philly? Moving xc with the bf and we're getting a Penske truck (much better than Uhaul, both pricing and truck quality-wise for long distance moves), and further there's a discount for them under 'retailmenot' website. Have an ipod connection in the truck and everything.

Anyhoo, we're also getting Mambo Movers to load our truck so that everything's packed optimally. They've moved me multiple times and are the best! if not stoned the entire time. We found this is the cheapest way to go, without worry of someone else's truck breaking down, etc.

 

[jdh71]

http://www.movingscam.com/

Everyone thinking about hiring a moving company needs to read the link. There are way too many shady moving companies and their adds spam the internets with rock bottom prices, but once your stuff is on their truck this is the beginning of the woes.

I personally kind of like PODS or AFB-Upack (I'm partial to AFB because I think their customer service is better). It's not really that much more than renting a u-haul + gas acorss the country. You pack it and unload it (which you can usally also pay someone else to do) and then it is driven by professionals from point A to B.

In my adult life I've moved cross country with a rented truck and a motorcycle trailer, AFB-Upack, and United Vanlines all at different time. The nicest is the full service van lines (look for a recommended one in your area at the site listed above if thinking about it, most estimates are free), but you pay for it. If you've never gone cross country in a fully loaded truck, now might not be the time to experiment . . . if the price is right, pack it yourself (with a POD or AFB), let someone else drive. MHO.