GenderMediaGrad Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 For those of you considering moving companies, my only advice is NOT to go with ELITE MOVING & STORAGE. My girlfriend and I used them when we moved across the country for her MSW program and they ruined everything we owned. We had to take them to court (we won) but it was an absolute nightmare. Since it looks like we will now be moving across the country AGAIN for my PhD program, anyone know a BETTER moving company we could go with? I just don't think us, our 2 dogs, furniture, etc. can all fit in my little, 2-door car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfm Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 For those of you considering moving companies, my only advice is NOT to go with ELITE MOVING & STORAGE. My girlfriend and I used them when we moved across the country for her MSW program and they ruined everything we owned. We had to take them to court (we won) but it was an absolute nightmare. Since it looks like we will now be moving across the country AGAIN for my PhD program, anyone know a BETTER moving company we could go with? I just don't think us, our 2 dogs, furniture, etc. can all fit in my little, 2-door car. I will be moving halfway across the country downsizing from 4 kids to an almost empty nest for my PhD and have decided to use ABF U-Pak http://www.upak.com - friends recommended them. They bring a "pod" to your current residence - you pack it - they come and pick it up and deliver it a week or so later to your new residence. You unpack it and they come remove it. It is much less expensive than a moving company and less stressful than U-Haul for long distance moves. I will pack the irreplacable items and take them in the car, but the furniture and books will be in the pod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deianira Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 wow, thanks for the pod recommendation. I'm moving from California to Maryland. The moving companies have quoted me between $1.5-2K for a 1-bedroom apartment. The other (big) POD company quoted $4K!! U-PACK is only $1K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahlan_amnell Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Does anyone have advice on moving? I'm planning to move an apartment's worth of furniture, probably just a couple states away, possibly cross country if I get another acceptance. I don't think that I'll be using a U-Haul or similar rental truck. I've considered using something like http://www.upack.com/ or http://www.pods.com/, but I think that some of my furniture might be a bit heavy to load myself, and I doubt my apartment complex would like me taking up parking spaces with a big truck or packing pod. So, that means I probably need to hire a full service moving company. That kind of worries me, because I've heard so many horror stories about movers doing things like holding all your stuff hostage until you pay them twice what you agreed, or just generally tacking on lots of fees at the last minute. Can anyone recommend a moving company they had a good experience with? Preferably one that serves the West coast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthla Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I too would like to hear anyone's personal experience on this... I used Flat Rate (http://www.flatrate.com/) on a recent local move and was really impressed with the high quality of service and professionalism. Their website says they do long-distance as well, so I'll probably check with them. Their deal (as you might have guessed) is that they give you a flat rate quote and stick to it. I've found that the quote is a bit higher than the absolute lowest estimate you'll find, but they bind themselves to it and won't come back later and try to double the charge or add on fees. The movers themselves were not scary types, it was a crew of 3 for my 2-bedroom apartment, and an area supervisor stopped by in the middle of the move just to check and see that things were going okay. I hope they can do long distance for me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gomezdm Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 When my husband and I started grad school, we moved from our three bedroom house in Georgia to a one bedroom apartment in New Jersey via our own manpower and a U-Haul. It wasn't too expensive, and it wasn't that bad. Loading and unloading is no fun, but it never is. I know the appeal of hiring movers, but speaking as someone who has moved A LOT (3 states in the past 3 years!) I just gotta say that it is significantly cheaper to do it yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahlan_amnell Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 When my husband and I started grad school, we moved from our three bedroom house in Georgia to a one bedroom apartment in New Jersey via our own manpower and a U-Haul. It wasn't too expensive, and it wasn't that bad. Loading and unloading is no fun, but it never is. I know the appeal of hiring movers, but speaking as someone who has moved A LOT (3 states in the past 3 years!) I just gotta say that it is significantly cheaper to do it yourself. That may be, but I don't drive, neither does my significant other, and I don't think anyone I know would want to drive U-Haul for me. Also, I have two cats, and I'd rather take a short flight with them then drive with them for a couple days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthla Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Yeah, after my last move however, I realized I hate moving so much that I swore I would never do part of it myself again, so this time I'm going full service - I don't even want to pack or unpack. I'm lazy. I'm also not big on driving a truck across the Rockies (or at all), and have two cars to deal with, so it's either drive my furniture or drive the cars, and I trust furniture movers more than I trust car movers. Which is not a lot in either case unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gomezdm Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Yeah, after my last move however, I realized I hate moving so much that I swore I would never do part of it myself again, so this time I'm going full service - I don't even want to pack or unpack. I'm lazy. I'm also not big on driving a truck across the Rockies (or at all), and have two cars to deal with, so it's either drive my furniture or drive the cars, and I trust furniture movers more than I trust car movers. Which is not a lot in either case unfortunately. Ah, we had one shitty car, and the truck was one of the UHaul trailers - oh, and did I mention that we cheated a little on the do-it-ourselves part when my dad volunteered to tow it with his SUV? That probably made it easier! I'll admit, I dream of being able to go full service for the next move - I envy you! I'm not questioning that your way is AMAZING, just wanted to toss in my two cents for those who don't have the budget to make it work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthla Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Ah, we had one shitty car, and the truck was one of the UHaul trailers - oh, and did I mention that we cheated a little on the do-it-ourselves part when my dad volunteered to tow it with his SUV? That probably made it easier! I'll admit, I dream of being able to go full service for the next move - I envy you! I'm not questioning that your way is AMAZING, just wanted to toss in my two cents for those who don't have the budget to make it work. You had it good! Yeah, I'll probably have buyer's remorse when I pay the bill, but this is going to be a stressful move in more than one way, so I figure it's one of the few areas that spending some money will help that for us. And this should be the last move for 7-8 years! Good luck to everyone moving though... I'm dreading the "getting there" process so much, but keep telling myself, it will be over and I'll be in class in 5 months and it all seems better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaximKat Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 it's funny to read this discussion for an international student with an airplane weight limit of no more than 40-50 kgs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthla Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 it's funny to read this discussion for an international student with an airplane weight limit of no more than 40-50 kgs Indeed! I've actually considered ditching all of my furniture and starting over in the new place, but even if money were no object (though it is), I remember all the time spent furniture shopping, etc., and have no desire to repeat the process. Good luck with the suitcases! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahlan_amnell Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Indeed! I've actually considered ditching all of my furniture and starting over in the new place, but even if money were no object (though it is), I remember all the time spent furniture shopping, etc., and have no desire to repeat the process. Good luck with the suitcases! Yeah, if I do move cross country I might consider selling my furniture and starting over. But for moving a shorter distance, I think it would be more cost effective to move the furniture than replace it. Also, I'm not sure if there will be many reasonably priced places to buy furniture where I'm moving. Plus, I don't want to assemble a whole apartment worth of furniture again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I'm selling all of my furniture to move from the Pacific Northwest to New England. I've never done a big move like this, but have good friends who are seasoned long-distance movers. Their advice has always been to take as little as possible. Be totally ruthless and honest about if you actually love/need something, or if it's just an object that can be replaced when you get there. Being sentimental means increasing your stress level. My rule is that if I don't love something enough to pay full shipping fees or find a place for it in my Hyundai, I'm selling or donating it. Another big factor for me? I'm completely obsessed with furniture shopping, especially thrifting and my annual I-just-signed-a-new-lease IKEA run. Nothing makes me feel at home like strewing a blank-canvas apartment with several sets of birch-foiled blocks and allen wrenches. Even the smell of the particleboard makes me happy. It's how I get myself excited about moving. Yep, I'm bizarre :mrgreen:. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rising_star Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 You may find this post helpful: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=730. Plus, I've merged this with a related past discussion on moving. More: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=13761 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TulipOHare Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I either will not be moving at all, or will be moving to New York City. I have no problem selling everything I own down to what I can fit in the car and then ditching the car... SO is a different story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irrealised Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Another big factor for me? I'm completely obsessed with furniture shopping, especially thrifting and my annual I-just-signed-a-new-lease IKEA run. Nothing makes me feel at home like strewing a blank-canvas apartment with several sets of birch-foiled blocks and allen wrenches. Even the smell of the particleboard makes me happy. It's how I get myself excited about moving. Yep, I'm bizarre :mrgreen:. Haha, I'm the same way, except that I'll be moving to a city where the nearest Ikea is 6 hours away :cry: . Actually, I'm really torn about what to move. I have some awesome second-hand furniture that I have found and fixed up over the past few years. I wouldn't get much by selling it, but I do have some decent items (solid wood, handmade) that I'm sentimentally attached to. I also have a bunch of Ikea stuff that, while cheap, might not be so cheap to replace at my destination. I'm thinking I need to take the all or none approach when it comes to furniture - rent a van/upak/pod and take it all, or sell it all and take all my other stuff in my car. I'm torn because it will cost pretty much the same to move everything as it will to buy it again... and while I'm attached to my stuff and don't really want to have to replace *everything*, I also love furniture shopping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
europegrad Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I'm jealous about you guys. My moving had an Ocean between origin and destination, had to drop all but the most significant books I have bought (~250) during undegraduate program, and will have to live in a place that has a quarter of the area I was used to. International freight for home-move is just utterly expensive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TulipOHare Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 had to drop all but the most significant books I have bought (~250) during undegraduate program, I feel you on that. It hurts to say goodbye to the books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasper.milvain Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Another big factor for me? I'm completely obsessed with furniture shopping, especially thrifting and my annual I-just-signed-a-new-lease IKEA run. Nothing makes me feel at home like strewing a blank-canvas apartment with several sets of birch-foiled blocks and allen wrenches. Even the smell of the particleboard makes me happy. It's how I get myself excited about moving. Yep, I'm bizarre :mrgreen:. Oh, I'm right there with you. I'm lucky enough to be married to someone who works at Ikea (the discount isn't that great, but it's something) who loves assembling furniture. We got married a year ago, and still have some fairly massive Ikea gift cards to go spend on setting up our new place. Since all of our books and DVDs are stacked two deep right now, I'm fantasizing about new shelving units. We're moving from one side of the rockies to the other, and we're probably going to get our stuff shipped, since 1) we hate U-Haul with a passion that burns like a thousand suns due to numerous customer service fuck-ups in the past, 2) my husband is a brand new driver and I don't trust him on mountain roads, and 3) I'm TERRIFIED of driving in the mountains in a car, let alone a truck. Like, I will have a panic attack in a passing lane and kill us all. Of course my father asked how I was going to move, and I told him we were going to get someone to move it. He warned me that I'd have to figure out how much it cost (What? NO! Thanks, dad!) and offered to FLY OUT and do the 20 hours of U-Haul driving for us. Which is sweet and I love my father, but come on! Buying a plane ticket and wasting vacation so that we can save a few hundred bucks? Let alone that there's not space in one of those trucks for my husband, my father, me, and the cats (road trip!), so we'd have to fly someone anyways. Given the hassle of all other options, I'm thinking that splurging on getting our stuff shipped is totally worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studentfromLA Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I just did my 2008 taxes, and it cost me about $3,300 to move from Los Angeles to Madison, Wisconsin, including full-service movers (I packed myself but they moved the boxes/furniture), shipping a few boxes, packing materials and cost of gas to drive my car from CA to WI (about 2200 miles). This included a 10% gas surcharge from the movers (around $250) which shouldn't apply this summer, seeing as gas is about 1/2 the price it was last year at this time. Another friend ditched all her stuff and bought new (cheap) furniture when she moved from Boston, MA to New Mexico for grad school, and she spent about $2000 on new (cheap) furniture. She also had driving expenses, so her move cost her about $2,300. However, she complains all the time that she hates her futon bed and misses her nice stuff that she left behind. Personally, I'm really happy I brought my stuff with me -- the cost differential between getting a moving company vs. getting a U-Haul was not very significant last year, because gas was so expensive -- the U-Haul truck estimate was $1,700 but gas for the vehicle was expected to run around $500, and the movers were $2,700, so the difference was around $500. I guess it really depends upon how nice your furniture is, and what your living situation will be in grad school vs. where you are now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnsunnedSnow Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 I have no idea if this will help anyone, but I'm planning a Seattle to Chicago move for this coming summer and here's what I've found: Renting a truck (even with high gas prices) was our cheapest option. For a truck that can carry roughly a 1 bdrm apartment worth of stuff prices ranged from $660 (Budget Truck Rental) to $1200 (U Haul). We're going with Budget and hoping gas will be < $500. Professional moving companies would have started at $1400, more likely close to $2000. Pods gave an outrageously high quote (more than 3K!!!) and a Pods competitor was about $2,000. Anyhow, for anyone planning a similar move, I'd recommend checking all truck rental companies, playing around with the dates (prices varied by +/- $100 depending on what day of the week and what pick up/drop off site you picked. Cheapest to pick one of their main pick up/drop off sites). Although I'm dreading the 30 hours of driving (with a cat), I'm excited that we'll be able to take our time with it (all the truck rental companies force you to rent it for 7-8 days, making for leisurely packing/driving/unpacking). I was amazed at the price variations among truck rental companies. I've never driven for longer than 8 hours- anyone have advice on how best to break up a 30 hour drive? My partner was all for just taking turns and doing it in one fell swoop but I don't know if I'm up for that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teaganc Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 I've never driven for longer than 8 hours- anyone have advice on how best to break up a 30 hour drive? My partner was all for just taking turns and doing it in one fell swoop but I don't know if I'm up for that! When my partner and I moved 3,000 miles away, we drove for 10-12 hours per day (total), and alternated driving, so that each of us only had to drive 5-6 hours. Just being in the car for 12 hours will make you really stiff and uncomfortable, and I got terrible back cramps/spasms, so it really wasn't possible for us to stay in the car for 30 hours straight, even taking turns driving. You can find really cheap hotels, especially in the middle of the country, and we added a bunch of sight-seeing things each day as well to make the trip more fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnsunnedSnow Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Thanks for the advice! Since we've got a cat I think we'll be limited in our sight-seeing but I'm realizing now that there is no possible/safe way for us to do 30 hrs straight. I'm hoping the 16ft moving van is not too scary to drive. Cannot wait until this move is over and done with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rising_star Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 I've never driven for longer than 8 hours- anyone have advice on how best to break up a 30 hour drive? My partner was all for just taking turns and doing it in one fell swoop but I don't know if I'm up for that! First, congrats on not picking U-Haul. There are some awful U-Haul stories on the net. When I drove cross-country, I actually had to do it in 2 days. My aunt and I took turns driving in 2-2.5 hour stints (we were driving through some really boring terrain and it made it so you never got too sleepy) and we split a 26 hour trip (according to Google maps) into the two days, though I think we drove longer the second day. We also didn't drive at night at all because we left early and stopped for sit down lunch and dinner each day. Made it a lot less painful. I recommend pre-scouting some hotels at various locations on the trip (for example, our first night we stopped 40 miles past where we had planned because we weren't tired) and keeping their numbers and rates handy as you travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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