MD & DO Tips for Moving

[FlyMissMD93]

I'm planning out how I'm going to start my move next month when I start medical school. I'm getting ready to move ~12 hours away.

For those of you who moved far to start medical school, where did you order your bed from? Anyone have experience with Amazon/eBay beds? My mom is saying I should order from there because of cheaper price, but I found a nice bed at IKEA that is basically less/more of the same price from what I saw online on Amazon (and it has better reviews...a lot of Amazon beds have mixed reviews). I feel more comfortable buying from IKEA since they physically have a store (I also went there in person to see the bed), but wanted opinions on if folks bought their bed from Amazon or eBay, and if it turned out okay. Also recommend other good sturdy websites to buy beds from too, other than those three!

Also, for those moving far, do you plan to assemble your stuff on your own? Or hire a moving service? I have no family in WI so I will have to move in on my own pretty much, so with that in mind I'm leaning toward a moving service.

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[H_Scheck]

I am not moving too far away, but I will be buying a lot of my stuff from IKEA. I love that place. Also, my bed is from there and has served me well.

 

[FlyMissMD93]

I am not moving too far away, but I will be buying a lot of my stuff from IKEA. I love that place. Also, my bed is from there and has served me well.

Do you normally assemble the bed yourself or have you done their assembly service?

 

[ChopinLiszt]

Overstock.com delivers it to your new place and always has good coupons going around (there’s one today for 20% off), plus free shipping. Lots of their stuff is cheaper than ikea prices.

 

[H_Scheck]

Do you normally assemble the bed yourself or have you done their assembly service?

I just assembled it myself, but I will also have family in town so they will probably help me move in to my place. I don't think I have ever used that service

 

[DokterMom]

Craigslist can be your best friend. Check out what's available in your new locale and in major cities along your route if you're driving there in a moving van. You can often find better stuff at much lower prices if you know how to shop.

Also Costco. Generally a bit lower on style but a great quality for the price value.

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

Can someone comment on moving service? I’m also 12 hours away, and have been quoted up to $3,000 Looking for cheaper options!

 

[JeremyClarkson]

Can someone comment on moving service? I’m also 12 hours away, and have been quoted up to $3,000 Looking for cheaper options!

Might be cheaper just to pack as much as you can into your car and buy stuff at the other end? Thats what I'm doing at least.

 

[BlastedHeath]

Can someone comment on moving service? I’m also 12 hours away, and have been quoted up to $3,000 Looking for cheaper options!

Look into Uship. I've used it more than once for cross country moves and I've been pretty happy with my experiences. Just read reviews of the shippers before committing to anything

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

Might be cheaper just to pack as much as you can into your car and buy stuff at the other end? Thats what I'm doing at least.

The hard way it is..

 

[DrDwayneJohnson]

Also not moving too far. I'm hitting up every Craigslist ad and/or Goodwill in the area once I move there. IKEA is the back-up plan.

 

[redfish955]

A box truck and fuel will cost you $600. A moving company will cost you like $800-$1200. They will let you piggy back off of someone else moving an entire home. If you just have a bunch of cheap ikea stuff I would just start from scratch. The only way I would consider moving would be if you already had $4500 in a bedroom set(actual overstock prices) and nice couch. The only thing I would actually splurge on is a decent mattress from like overstock or somewhere. A $500 mattress from there will make a big difference. You could literally have a mattress delivered the second you get there and just shop around craigslist over the summer until you have your place setup.

 

[myfatherhasit]

Can someone comment on moving service? I’m also 12 hours away, and have been quoted up to $3,000 Looking for cheaper options!

One option you can think about is having friends help you move your stuff into a rented truck (I've had good experiences with Penske - they always have AAA discount too). That should save you some money - you can then hire a moving service to move all your stuff from your truck into your new place.

That way you won't need to pay for the loading and transport, but you still don't have to move all of the stuff yourself!

 

[aymar]

One option you can think about is having friends help you move your stuff into a rented truck (I've had good experiences with Penske - they always have AAA discount too). That should save you some money - you can then hire a moving service to move all your stuff from your truck into your new place.

That way you won't need to pay for the loading and transport, but you still don't have to move all of the stuff yourself!

I did this and it worked out fine! Granted I was super nervous since my stuff wasn't insured (like it would be with a moving company if anything got damaged in the process), but it ended up fine. The moving company I used for unloading charged $100/hr for 2 guys.

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

I did this and it worked out fine! Granted I was super nervous since my stuff wasn't insured (like it would be with a moving company if anything got damaged in the process), but it ended up fine. The moving company I used for unloading charged $100/hr for 2 guys.

Ok! I’m definitely sold. Although, i think I’ll rent a uhaul and hire a moving service to load and unload in both cities!

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Random cheap tip I’ve discovered. The Walmart mattresses that come in a box and then pop up are actually pretty comfortable and are only like $130.

 

[FlyMissMD93]

Random cheap tip I’ve discovered. The Walmart mattresses that come in a box and then pop up are actually pretty comfortable and are only like $130.

What is the brand name of the mattress?

 

[fourandtwo]

Forget craigslist .. it's about fb marketplace now! Also, stuffing your car IS best. Just pack lightly, if it doesn't fit, it goes! I'm moving 24 hours away in a Prius C, you can do it!

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

What is the brand name of the mattress?

I’m not sure honestly. Literally just google “Walmart Mattress” and it’s the $130 dollar one.

 

[Raney Schauer]

Anything you haven't used in a year - gone.

 

[never2late4me]

I've moved more times than I care to count and done it just about every way imaginable. A lot of this has already been mentioned, but just to put it in one spot:

If you don't have much stuff or aren't attached to it:

• Sell most of it, shove your personal items in a car, buy "new" stuff on the other end from thrift stores/craigslist/cheap retailers
• Rent a U-haul trailer. The smaller ones can be put on just about any car

If you have more stuff than will fit in a car/trailer:

• Call commercial movers/transporters and ask for partial loads. As mentioned, they often have less than full loads and will happily sell the rest of the space to you at a nice discount. Date flexibility is key for this.
• Call the rental companies (UHaul/Budget/Penske) and see if they need any trucks moved. They tend to end up with surplus inventory in one area and need it moved to another. You may have to pick-up or drop-off at a short distance from your own start/end point, but it can still be worth the savings
• Hire a commercial mover to just transport and load/unload yourself.

Loading/Unloading

• Have a going away party for all your friends and family. Provide beer and pizza. Put them to work.
• Make new friends by bribing your new med school classmates to come help you unload.
• Hire local college kids
• Rent a dolly. Seriously.

Best of luck to everyone heading off to medical school this year. Hope to be joining y'all next year

 

[7331poas]

What is the brand name of the mattress?

Just buy off Amazon. Ship to your house.

 

[EleanorAbernathyMD]

I moved across the country and was lucky to have my parents who were willing to drive with a U-haul trailer on our car. That allowed me to pack most of my stuff. As for a bed, it turned out a new med school had an extra they wanted to get rid of. It was a cheap mattress but I bought a $40 memory foam topper at Target and never looked back. Depending on when you move, a lot of furniture stores due holiday sales for July 4th or Labor Day and I got my couch for a steal!

Also check out your class facebook page if you have one! It's a good place to enlist help/meet new people or cash in on the graduating/older students trying to offload their stuff.

 

[Cath Up]

Forget craigslist .. it's about fb marketplace now! Also, stuffing your car IS best. Just pack lightly, if it doesn't fit, it goes! I'm moving 24 hours away in a Prius C, you can do it!

Two of us, 40 hrs away, in a Prius. This is our mantra.

 

[TurtleyReady4Med]

Wayfair with their free shipping

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

Forget craigslist .. it's about fb marketplace now! Also, stuffing your car IS best. Just pack lightly, if it doesn't fit, it goes! I'm moving 24 hours away in a Prius C, you can do it!

Lol you can do it, I definitely can’t

 

[fourandtwo]

Lol you can do it, I definitely can’t

I'm a non-trad who owned a house and it was full of stuff that I had to sell / give away and am now mostly just a closet full of clothes lollll.

 

[fourandtwo]

Two of us, 40 hrs away, in a Prius. This is our mantra.

I did a test-run with my prius to see how much stuff I can pack in and it's A LOT! Especially if you put things in your car without boxes! Definitely proud of my little car haha.

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

I did a test-run with my prius to see how much stuff I can pack in and it's A LOT! Especially if you put things in your car without boxes! Definitely proud of my little car haha.

I'm buying my car near school! So, I'll definitely be using a UHaul

 

[Goro]

I'm planning out how I'm going to start my move next month when I start medical school. I'm getting ready to move ~12 hours away.

For those of you who moved far to start medical school, where did you order your bed from? Anyone have experience with Amazon/eBay beds? My mom is saying I should order from there because of cheaper price, but I found a nice bed at IKEA that is basically less/more of the same price from what I saw online on Amazon (and it has better reviews...a lot of Amazon beds have mixed reviews). I feel more comfortable buying from IKEA since they physically have a store (I also went there in person to see the bed), but wanted opinions on if folks bought their bed from Amazon or eBay, and if it turned out okay. Also recommend other good sturdy websites to buy beds from too, other than those three!

Also, for those moving far, do you plan to assemble your stuff on your own? Or hire a moving service? I have no family in WI so I will have to move in on my own pretty much, so with that in mind I'm leaning toward a moving service.

One thing about moving day, you learn who your friends are.

 

[FlyMissMD93]

One thing about moving day, you learn who your friends are.

TRUE.

 

[luxaeterna6]

hayneedle.com is a good website for affordable furniture

 

[tiramisucheese]

Prius owner chiming in. My things are definitely NOT fitting in this car. Too many hobbies that take up too much room. I think I'll be shipping my non-essentials.

 

[ekmf27050]

PSA: If you're not fresh out of college with a body that can still tolerate sleeping on frat house floors, splurge on a mattress if you splurge on only one thing.

Even if it's a mattress on the floor.

There is nothing worse than having a crappy mattress and waking up with back/hip/body pain just from sleeping.

 

[Raney Schauer]

PSA: If you're not fresh out of college with a body that can still tolerate sleeping on frat house floors, splurge on a mattress if you splurge on only one thing.

Even if it's a mattress on the floor.

There is nothing worse than having a crappy mattress and waking up with back/hip/body pain just from sleeping.

Truth. So many people don't understand how crucial proper sleep hygiene is to their health and how they function throughout the day. To paraphrase Daniel Tosh, it's a third of your life - spend the money. Buy the good high thread count sheet sets. That cheap stuff is like sleep on bail of hay in comparison. Get a kickass mattress and the best pillows you can find. It's what we refer to in the business as a 'force multiplier'.

 

[Domepiece]

What is the brand name of the mattress?

This is an Amazon memory foam mattress option for ~$250. Ships directly to your new place, is prime eligible, and is vacuum packed so its easy to move around by yourself before you open it and it expands. Everyone who has been on it loves it, says its super comfy, and thinks it is way more expensive than it was. Highly recommend.

Amazon product

 

[TheTruckGuy]

This is an Amazon memory foam mattress option for ~$250. Ships directly to your new place, is prime eligible, and is vacuum packed so its easy to move around by yourself before you open it and it expands. Everyone who has been on it loves it, says its super comfy, and thinks it is way more expensive than it was. Highly recommend.

Amazon product

Does this mattress sleep kinda hot? Or is it pretty cool?

 

[DiscusKeeper]

If there's a Bob's nearby, I was able to furnish my apartment for a very reasonable price by looking through the furniture in "the pit". It's imperfect furniture that's sold at a lower cost, but you can find some nice things in pretty good condition.

 

[MediCane2006]

This is an Amazon memory foam mattress option for ~$250. Ships directly to your new place, is prime eligible, and is vacuum packed so its easy to move around by yourself before you open it and it expands. Everyone who has been on it loves it, says its super comfy, and thinks it is way more expensive than it was. Highly recommend.

Amazon product

I have the 16 inch version of this in my guest room and people go crazy about how comfortable it is

 

[Domepiece]

Does this mattress sleep kinda hot? Or is it pretty cool?

Haven't had any issues with temperature regulation. Would say it depends much more on the thickness and material of the bedding/sheets you choose.

 

[caesars palace]

I'm planning out how I'm going to start my move next month when I start medical school. I'm getting ready to move ~12 hours away.

For those of you who moved far to start medical school, where did you order your bed from? Anyone have experience with Amazon/eBay beds? My mom is saying I should order from there because of cheaper price, but I found a nice bed at IKEA that is basically less/more of the same price from what I saw online on Amazon (and it has better reviews...a lot of Amazon beds have mixed reviews). I feel more comfortable buying from IKEA since they physically have a store (I also went there in person to see the bed), but wanted opinions on if folks bought their bed from Amazon or eBay, and if it turned out okay. Also recommend other good sturdy websites to buy beds from too, other than those three!

Also, for those moving far, do you plan to assemble your stuff on your own? Or hire a moving service? I have no family in WI so I will have to move in on my own pretty much, so with that in mind I'm leaning toward a moving service.

Got my stuff delivered from IKEA after buying it online and looking at pics. Besides a cut on my finger from assemblying the bed, so far so good. It's only about $30 to have it delivered so I would do that.