Anyone Done a Cross-Country Move?

“Totally not backpacking related but I need some advice. As you've probably noticed, I'm researching a move to Seattle from NYC. My biggest issue is getting my stuff from here to there. The rental companies want $2,000!!!!

Can anyone suggest a cheaper way to move short of getting rid of what little I have in my apartment?

Thanks”

“UHAUL”

“I just moved from AZ to VA.
Depending how much stuff you have, I rented the biggest Uhaul and a car trailer and did it my self. about $700 + gas. Not bad if you dont mind driving, you are going to the extremes.”

“Uhaul wants $2,000. I need that money for things like rent...food....school”

“Can't you get some guy to pay for it?”

“I don't have a car.”

“What does not having a car have to do with getting some guy to pay for it?”

“Why would I get some guy to pay for it?”

“Seattle? Out near Rainier?”

“Yeah. Why did the bane of my existance have to move to the city I've been eyeing for two years now?

Guess I won't be going anywhere near Rainier! Sheesh.”

“Isn't that better than paying for it yourself?”

“Hey - that's who can pay for it. Problem solved.”

“Sell all your "large items", ship your other items via UPS, buy a car, and drive out there. It'll prolly cost you less than a grand doing it that way, and you'll get to buy new stuff once there.”

“How much stuff you moving?”

“Good idea. Not really my style.

Now, $1,000 I could do for the move but double that? Ouch.”

“I don't own alot. It all fits into my nyc apartment. I moved here in a small moving van with my roommates stuff also in the van. I could leave some behind. The rest I want to keep - since its so little. All I need is a one-bedroom size moving truck.”

“I see a connection here!

JK Twinkle

How much stuff do you have? I can't imagine that you would need a large Uhaul truck.”

“There comes a point where the cost of moving things needs to be compared to having a yard sale and buying new things when you get there.

At one point I was paying increasingly high costs for a storage bin for personal property, much of which could have been repurchased far more cheaply had I just thrown it in the trash. But the other stuff was irreplaceable - books and fossils.”

“I do not have alot of stuff. Really. My entire life could fit into the one bedroom moving van. It's because it's such a long distance that its jacking me up.”

“Is it alot of big stuff?
Maybe sell the big things like the matress, then maybe see if you can rent a van.
We moved a guy that I worked with to florida and put everything that he owned on a pallet and shipped it with a frieght company. That was pretty cheap.”

“Its okay - I'll just have to wait a few months...then I'll have to drive cross-country in January. That'll be fun like a hole in the head! LOL”

“Depending on what you have, it might be an idea to sell it and buy new stuff out there. Just a thought. Only you know what you have and what emotional investment you have in it.”

“No matter what I do I will still need a freakin truck. Unless I got rid of everything and fly with my backpack. No thank you.”

“How big is your car? If you can fit everything in your car and ship some of your stuff...AmTrack will take your car cross country for around $400.”

“Dumb suggestion...I just read that you didn't have a car...but if you did have a car...

You can ship things Greyhound pretty cheap. I've shipped some large items I've sold on eBay (like 100lbs pinball machines) for a great price.”

“a small uhual should not cost 2000 to use. i would call a different uhual.”

“I used to work for ABF frieght. THey have 15' Trailer pups..they drop it off in front of your house..you load it up by the foot..but up a divider bulkhead if you only use a partial trailer...they pick it up...and ship it to your destination...then drop it off unload it, and call them to get the trailer..the rate is by the foot or trailer load. it's called ABF U-Pack. Look into it..you don't have to do any of the driving, and it's alot cheaper than U-haul...any other questions about this feel free to ask”

“Did you try Ryder?

I like the selling of everything here, and buying new there.”

“My sis is finding out the same ting. When she moved from Germany to LA, she's at a loss on how to get her stuf from my mothers house (in D-Town, Michigan) out to LA cheap. They do want an arm and a leg and then some. I would suggest that you sell or donate (and take the tax write off!) as much as you can. Maybe fly out first, rent a space (or storage) come back and either send or take with you as much as you can. Rent a van (not a truck), or something like an Explorer from a rental place and head west, young twinkie. There must be a way. Peeps doit all the time.”

“Tru Dat laqtis”

“Thanks for the info Opie - am waiting for a quote....will see what the damage will be”

“if you have heavy items..i suggest you get the 75$ ramp at origin and destination..it's a b!itch with out it”

“All moving trucks are expensive. When I moved from Jersey back down to Florida the truck cost $1600. They really get you with the one-way moves.

I've vowed next time I do a major move I'm going to get rid of most of my stuff to where I can fit everything in a trailer. I have too much crap as it is.”

“When I moved from NC to NH last year, I used U-Haul. A 26' truck was somewhere around $900, not including gas and tolls. I think they allotted 4 or 5 days for the trip including a day on both ends to load and unload. They probably figure on somewhere between 10-14 days for a cross country trip. $2,000 sounds pretty reasonable to me. I like Opie's freight container idea.”

“Twinkle,when I moved from near Seattle to Ft.Worth then a year later from Ft worth to Detroit I packed evrything I owned into my car. The first car was a 68 VW beetle. The second an 85 escort.”

“join the military and have them move it for free... ;-)”

“BTW: I'm all for the sell there by new here idea. Keep what's sentimental and buy new for almost everything else.
I like the ABF-U-Pack idea that OPIE suggested...”

“twink,,,
we move for a living and one word SELL. anything you can ,break it down to what you need,,,you would be suprised,,,,”

“I have done this about 8 times. My exhusband was military and I refused to fly for five years. lol. We use to use Pensky because they were cheaper now they became expensive. If your vehicle can support a tow bar then maybe a small trailer would be cheaper to go. THe tow bar is about 10 bucks to rent and the small box trailers are pretty cheap too. but not if you have alot of furniture you may have to start from scratch on the other side. Or maybe check out a van rental instead of a full truck cause you are also looking at gas all the way which is pretty expensive. Try to get a diesel but make sure you route your trip on interstates only cause you cant find diesel on the back highways. but diesel is cheaper. if you have someone on the other end you might want to start mailing boxess of minor junk and dishes you wont need till you get there. that is only if you dont plan to leave for a long period of time but takes some of the edge off. It also saves alot of space believe it or not. about 10 little boxes leave alot of space and less weight on the gas cost.

well good luck. also make sure you get rental company quotes off the internet like uhaul and pensky and budget. check for different dates of the year cause the summer is extremely expensive season for renting. we always did it right before snow in fall was cheap.”

“the military paid for our move but we had to pay it up front first. It cost me around 700 for the truck and around 400 for gas because we towed the car on it too.”

“Maybe a move isn't in the cards right now. If the move's not critical for your job, maybe you could stay put for 8-10 months till you have the money saved for the move.”

“Maybe try to find other people in your area who are moving that way and split the costs on a truck. Same thing with shipping companies. Sometimes if they don't have a full load, they'll let you finish filling it up for a lower cost.

Whatever you decide, good luck. The Northwest is a great place to be.”

“Opie is on the right track. A commercial freight shipper will fill a load with your stuff and make some money from you, and probably be a lot cheaper and less of a hassle for you. Also, get rid of what you really don't want or need. Moving is a great time to get rid of stuff.

My life moving history?

San Diego, Houston, El Paso, Abilene, Ogden, Boulder, Valparaiso FL, Dayton, Oxon Hill MD, Albuquerque (college), Houston, Dallas, Oakland/East Bay, Fairbanks AK, Albuquerque.”

“Do you have a driver's license? If you do, you can rent a uhaul or other truck and drive across. Also - get rid of anything that you don't use often. I moved books that I had already read across country once - that was stupid.”

“I would look for free room and board from TT'ers on your move out west. One night here or there of couch surfin' isn't too much to ask. It beats motel prices and sleeping in the front seat and bathing at truck stops.

I don't think you will get as much as you would like if you begin hawking items. Selling some of your larger and presumably more pricey items my lighten the load BUT in the short of things , those items maybe more costly out there and you just might find yourself shopping for used items. You will be hard pressed to make any money yardselling anything, unless you know the value of any treasure you might have.

I would look into renting a LG. cargo van and possible a sm. towable trailer if need be. Take only those items you will need to get started with and sell/leave/donate items you can do with out for the mean time. If you got a big bed you may need to foton it for awhile.

Have you found a job or a place yet?”

“You guys mean well.....

I repeat: I DO NOT HAVE A CAR

I repeat: I ALREADY LOOKED INTO RENTING A MOVING TRUCK AND THE SMALLEST ONE IS $2,000.00!!!

Also, I live in NYC - I do not have much stuff. It will all fit into a 10" truck.

Opie - I got a better quote from the shippers than the truck places which is great. I can move in January without having to worry about driving cross country in the winter.”

“http://www.movecars.com/toc/find/index.htm#national

Try this page.
It is a list of auto transporters.
I have not read all of them but you might find a service that hires drivers to move cars cross-country.

Maybe there is a bulletin board somewhere on the web for people who want to hire someone to drive their car cross-country.”

“Tom....I'm going to kick yer booty....grrrrrr.....Mr funny pants talking about a car I do not have!! LOL!!!”

“No, smartie pants!

YOU might find an opportunity to drive SOMEONE ELSE'S car cross-country!

I'm not tryin' to be funny!

I'm pickin' on twigeater today......you'll have your turn!”

“Okay, that freakin does it!

IT'S PICK ON TWIGEATER DAY GUYS!!!”