Moving

[ecphd]

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Hey Everyone,

I'll be moving sometime in June and have started looking at moving options. I don't have a lot to move, but will be moving about 500 miles away.

What are peoples experiences with different moving companies? I'm (obviously) trying to find the most cost effective way to move. Anyone used a Pod before? Pros? Cons? General advice?

 

[AcronymAllergy]

One of my internship cohortmates used a Pod to move; I'll see if I can get their take on the experience.

I personally just always went with the manual labor approach--rented a truck and handled everything myself (and with the help of some great friends, of course). One-way moving truck rentals are obviously much more expensive than in-town rentals (for two ~550-mile moves, the truck, insurance, and a car dolly came out to a total of something like $500-600 each time, I believe), and you also have to factor in gas (probably around $100-200 for a 500-mile move, depending on the size of your truck and the price of gas). Not sure how that stacks up against Pod or something similar.

 

[bmedclinic]

I dont know all that much.. most of my moves were as a single bachelor/poor "minimalist" so I was able to move all my own things w/o problem. My parents moved when I was in college and my mom caught one of the hired movers (sorry dont know the name of the company) who had broken a few of our nice plates/serving dishes discreetly hiding them in various trashbags. Not trying to discourage you, just a point of "beware" when getting hired help for this type of deal.

Kinda like AA, I'm a manual labor type person-- I'd say to get a few friends to help if that's possible and just renting a truck. No idea how the economics play out though.

 

[Marissa4usa]

If you just have boxes, I recommend www.busfreighter.com

Otherwise, I'm a big fan of www.uship.com: Essentially, you post the details or shipment (origin, destination, approximate weight, number of boxes/pieces of furniture) and movers bid on it.

 

[bmedclinic]

cool resources Marissa!

 

[Marissa4usa]

cool resources Marissa!

Yeah, last year I moved from across the country (3200 miles). All my belongings combined (including a large 3-piece sectional w/ sleeper and close to 50 medium sized boxes) weighed about 1600lbs. I paid $1200 for the mover who literally did all the work. Not only was it cheap but it was by far the best moving experience I've had. I would have paid way more had I rented a UHaul truck due to gas, cost for trailer to pull my car, and extra nights in a hotel because I can't drive as fast with a fully loaded truck.

 

[LETSGONYR]

Yeah, last year I moved from across the country (3200 miles). All my belongings combined (including a large 3-piece sectional w/ sleeper and close to 50 medium sized boxes) weighed about 1600lbs. I paid $1200 for the mover who literally did all the work. Not only was it cheap but it was by far the best moving experience I've had. I would have paid way more had I rented a UHaul truck due to gas, cost for trailer to pull my car, and extra nights in a hotel because I can't drive as fast with a fully loaded truck.

That's amazing. I'm moving roughly 1300 miles for internship, and a uhaul would cost around $1400 for a one way move, not counting gas or insurance. And without someone else doing the labor. 🙂.

 

[Marissa4usa]

That's amazing. I'm moving roughly 1300 miles for internship, and a uhaul would cost around $1400 for a one way move, not counting gas or insurance. And without someone else doing the labor. 🙂.

Haha, yeah, I forgot to mention: My mover also had full insurance coverage, not just the standard $0.50/lb which is pretty much useless . Personally, I would have gone up to $1500 for everything. Keep in mind, though, that I ended up paying an additional $600 when I drove my car from coast to coast (i.e. gas, hotel food). I still think it was a pretty sweet deal, especially considering that I didn't have to do any of the heavy lifting.

If the poster (or anybody else) goes with that option, I recommend posting early and having a pretty precise idea of what your shipment looks like (# of items, weight) that way you can get more accurate bids. I packed all of my stuff about two months ahead of my move and then literally measured every single item and weighed every box I had (I estimated the last five or ten boxes to the best of my ability). Also, always read the reviews other people leave for the movers.

I'm moving about 1300 miles this summer and roughly have the same amount of stuff (i.e. 1600lbs) and I plan on spending no more than $700 ($800 at the most) on a mover + whatever it costs to get myself and my car to my new location (i.e. gas, hotel for one night,food)

 

[fallen625]

I used professional movers as well and the cost of moving + 3 months of storage was 1200. Also, don't quote me on this, but I would look into tax benefits - I believe my husband deducted it from our taxes. It was such an easy moving experience.

Before that, I had moved once with a UHAUL thing attached to our car. The mileage was horrible, we could only go slowly, and it ended up being a miserable two day trip. With hotel + gas + cost of renting the UHAUL - I am not really sure how much we saved.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I used professional movers as well and the cost of moving + 3 months of storage was 1200. Also, don't quote me on this, but I would look into tax benefits - I believe my husband deducted it from our taxes. It was such an easy moving experience.

Before that, I had moved once with a UHAUL thing attached to our car. The mileage was horrible, we could only go slowly, and it ended up being a miserable two day trip. With hotel + gas + cost of renting the UHAUL - I am not really sure how much we saved.

Yep, I've deducted moving expenses for internship and postdoc over the past two years when completing my taxes. There are some rules regarding the proximity of your old/new home and job, but for most of us where the move is at least a couple hundred miles, that won't be an issue. Just keep receipts so you have accurate numbers to plug in and you should be good to go.

 

[Pragma]

If you can swing it, get professional movers. Totally worth it.

Now I never did anything cross country for my program, but just in general it is faster and you don't have to be that annoying person asking your friends for help. I have had awesome experiences with movers. You can find them for very reasonable prices and it is worth every penny IMO. Just find a company with good reviews.

 

[ecphd]

thanks everyone. I looked into pods and they quoted a ridiculous price ($2000 +) for a one bedroom apartment. Definitely out of my price range.

I'll likely do the manual labor route - I've heard better things about penske (compared to Uhaul or budget).

 

[HomeworkHelper]

thanks everyone. I looked into pods and they quoted a ridiculous price ($2000 +) for a one bedroom apartment. Definitely out of my price range.

I'll likely do the manual labor route - I've heard better things about penske (compared to Uhaul or budget).

I quite liked Penske, and while they were initially more expensive, they matched Uhaul's price when I called them. I also paid for movers to unload my truck (around $125) because my place was a third story walkup. SOOO worth it!

 

[cam88]

Definitely go with Penske. I moved last year for a job and will be moving again, but this year's move is much farther so I don't even know what I am doing. Anyways, Penske is the only truck company that GUARANTEES you a truck the day you reserved it. Other companies (Uhaul and Budget) don't guarantee your truck will be there. For instance, if someone was late on returning it and that was supposed to be your truck, you're basically screwed.