Moving (with family) to another coast

[J. R., MPPA]

As I sit here, pushing 40, the idea of moving my family from the west coast to the east coast is rather daunting.  We're prepared to do it, but preparation does not alleviate anxiety.  Anyone else in a similar boat?  I'll miss California.. born and raised.. but I was stationed in the South for a bit.. and know what to expect climate-wise.

[juilletmercredi]

I moved from the East Coast (New York) to the West Coast (Seattle) in August to start a new job.

[shadowclaw]

I moved from the east coast to west coast with my husband and cats... not quite the same as moving with kids, but it had its own issues. 

First off, I had a tough time finding an apartment. Many people were uncomfortable renting to someone from so far away, and many rental companies had policies that required me to see the apartment before I could even apply for it (which didn't work for me). Others wanted me to physically be there to sign the rental agreement within a few days of sending my deposit, which also didn't work because I was apartment hunting a month or two before the move. If you're looking to buy a house or you have time and money to go see places at your destination, then this might not be an issue for you.

I had a fairly good experience getting our stuff there. We rented a relocube which fits a surprisingly large amount of stuff. Prices for moving that far are high, so you need to decide what's worth paying to transport and what will be cheaper to buy new/used at your destination. Moving containers seem to be priced similarly to a good sized moving truck, but you don't have to pay for the gas (which can be insane for a cross country move). They are smaller, though. We packed all of our bedroom furniture in the cube (queen bed, 2 dressers, armoire, 2 nightstands), plus a small dining room table. The rest of the space was taken up by something like 60 banana boxes. We bought things like kitchen chairs, a couch, tv stand, etc. used at our destination.

Also, if you go with a container like a pod, relocube, etc.  shop around and reserve as soon as possible. I originally planned on two uhaul uboxes which ran $1800 for the pair when I priced them in June. When I went to reserve in August, the price went way up - it was $2500 for one. So I went with a relocube which was $2000 and slightly bigger, but it also meant I couldn't bring nearly as much as I wanted. 

The actual move took us 8 days because we did some sightseeing in the southwest. We crammed our Forrester full of stuff and had a canoe, kayak, and bicycle attached. We got terrible gas mileage (between 12 and 20 mpg) mainly because of the canoe. The cats were surprisingly well behaved, especially in the hotels. Overall, it went very smoothly, except for getting the bike stolen in Reno. 

Utilities were easy to set up from afar... all of them took credit cards for any deposits and only one wanted a copy of the rental agreement, and the security deposit form was sufficient. One thing to look out for is your mailbox. The city I moved to does those community mailboxes that you might see outside of an apartment complex (with the tiny mailboxes that need a key), except they do it for most if not all of the residents. Which is fine, because they still deliver packages to your door. However, you have to go request the keys from the post office and it takes a week, so if you are expecting any mail delivered to your new address, you won't get it until you get your keys. This was new to me!

[sabq]

I moved to Philadelphia PA from CA over a decade ago.  At first, I thought 'why did I ever move to this ###!' Everything seemed different: building style, people's attitude , different stores than the ones I knew, different banks, humidity, toll roads everywhere, roundabouts,  and the list goes on.  After the first year I got used to it and now I like it so much that I can't think of moving back to CA.

 

I also was with my family and had terrible time searching for housing with a very tight budget.  It all worked out at the end.

Edited February 15, 2016 by sabq

[somekindaway]

I'm moving from the east coast to close to the west coast! I understand your anxiety; I have a spouse and two kids as well. What we've found to be helpful is scouting out where we're going to live (based on which schools we wanted the kiddies to go to), and scoping out the houses on Zillow and Realtor.com. With Google maps, you can even look at all the neighborhoods and everything, which takes the unknown out of the equation (not completely, but still). 

[Guest SIPA_MPA18]

I'm moving from the Seattle area to the New York City area this summer. I've done multiple cross-country moves in my lifetime and am just over two years removed from moving from NC to WA. This time I'm doing it with a wife, four dogs and two birds. We are trying enlist some family with an RV to come out and help us with the move. Staying in hotels for over a week with all those animals is daunting, especially because you have to find hotels that accept pets, have rooms near the exit or outdoor access and juggle cages, food, etc. It's plain exhausting. And you get to wake up and do it all over again the next day! Not to mention, if you're towing a trailer, add a maneuverable parking lot to the criteria and your options dwindle pretty quickly. 

[Cat_Robutt]

I'm trying to figure out the whole moving stuff as well...I've moved cross-country before, but this is the first time we have any furniture, so we have to sell couches, tables, everything––we will just have our two cars, whatever fits in them, and our cat. Moving from Los Angeles to Pennsylvania will be...a long trip; but honestly I'm more daunted by how to get rid of our stuff! Any tips from those of you who have made a similar move?

[Guest SIPA_MPA18]

On February 23, 2016 at 11:21 AM, Cat_Robutt said:

I'm trying to figure out the whole moving stuff as well...I've moved cross-country before, but this is the first time we have any furniture, so we have to sell couches, tables, everything––we will just have our two cars, whatever fits in them, and our cat. Moving from Los Angeles to Pennsylvania will be...a long trip; but honestly I'm more daunted by how to get rid of our stuff! Any tips from those of you who have made a similar move?

Craigslist, OfferUp and other similar websites are great for getting rid of stuff, just make sure you vet the buyers before inviting them into your home. Be wary of poor grammar, sporadic communication, and other signs that they could be scamming you. My experience though has been positive as long as you're careful. 

The other option is to donate it if you don't need the cash real bad. Some places will come pick up larger furniture and other stuff you can drop off at the local Goodwill. The donation value is tax deductible, assuming you itemize your taxes. 

[Cat_Robutt]

@mpp2016 Thank you for mentioning OfferUp––I had never heard of that before now and will definitely check it out. I've thought about Goodwill and have donated a few things already; alternately, I may list things on Freecycle.

[MercurialMisfit]

On 2/7/2016 at 1:20 AM, J. R., MPPA said:

As I sit here, pushing 40, the idea of moving my family from the west coast to the east coast is rather daunting.  We're prepared to do it, but preparation does not alleviate anxiety.  Anyone else in a similar boat?  I'll miss California.. born and raised.. but I was stationed in the South for a bit.. and know what to expect climate-wise.

I definitely know what you mean to an extent as I am relocating from Maryland to California by myself. Just keep in mind though that this move is to your benefit and not your detriment. It'll be well worth it once you and your family arrive there. 

[Cat_Robutt]

30 minutes ago, MercurialMisfit said:

 Just keep in mind though that this move is to your benefit and not your detriment.

Words of wisdom right there.....feel like I need to print that out and periodically ponder it while getting ready to move.