Moving is practically hard to avoid at some time in one’s life, but a cross-country relocation is a completely difficult task. It necessitates a great deal of forethought, preparation, scheduling, and coordination. Moving from one state to another is no easy endeavor, from finding a new home to live in, to canceling services and transferring mail.
How Can I Move to Another State Efficiently?
Knowing the steps before you move will help you stay on track and avoid mistakes that will cost you money. This guide will walk you through each stage, paying attention to the little details. You’ll learn how to move across the country on a budget, choose the best moving company, and get to your new location quickly.
1. Create a List of Moving Companies and Request Quotes from Them.
When it comes to finding the top cross-country movers, recommendations and word-of-mouth from friends and family can help you decide. You can also conduct your own research by looking at online evaluations of local or national businesses. This is necessary to decide whether you want full-service movers to pack, load, transport, and unpack your belongings. This service can be beneficial, particularly if you have mobility issues or simply can not stand packing and unpacking.
Once you’ve decided which type of mover you want to hire, get bids from a few different businesses. Most movers will need to speak with you over the phone in order to provide an accurate price, but these calls should only take a few minutes. Getting a few quotations might help you make sure you’re getting a good deal.
2. Do-It-Yourself Move
Moving great distances on your own is the most cost-effective option. Performing all of the work yourself saves money on labor, which makes a full-service move more expensive in most situations.
You’ll just have to pay for the truck rental and gas if you do the work yourself. While a DIY relocation is the most cost-effective, it does need personal labor and time. It will also take longer because you will not be working with a crew.
The average rental truck gets about 10 miles per gallon. If you’re traveling 2,000 miles across the country, you’ll need roughly 200 gallons of gas. If the gasoline capacity of your rental truck is roughly 30 gallons, you’ll need to stop for gas at least seven times during your journey.
If you decide to move your belonging yourself, you might want to see 50 Moving Tips and Hacks.
3. Use a Freight Trailer
Using a massive freight transport trailer rather than a moving company is one of the most effective ways to transport your stuff across the country. A freight moving trailer firm will provide a huge trailer (28 feet) and give you 3 days to fill it. The business will pick it up and transport it to your new house in three days.
Old Dominion Household Services, Estes SureMove, and U-Pack are among the popular freight trailer firms. Renting a freight trailer is typically thousands of dollars less expensive than employing a full-service moving firm. The average cost of a long-distance relocation using a U-Pack moving trailer, is $3,190, according to HireAHelper.
3. The Hybrid Movement
Fortunately, with a DIY move, you can choose whatever parts of the process you wish to handle yourself. You will save a lot of money on labor if you drive the moving truck yourself. Most of the time is spent transporting your belongings, which is why it accounts for a significant portion of the moving expenses.
To save time, you can hire professional movers to load the vehicle. On the other hand, if you want to get the most out of your money, you could ask friends and family to help you pack and load.
4. Rent a Pod
A pod, also known as a moving container, is among the most common cross-country moving solutions. Renting a Pod is a better choice than employing full-service movers for so many reasons. First of all, getting a pod is less expensive than hiring a moving company. Second, these containers can be utilized as storage containers.
The cost will be determined by the size of the container and the length of time you hire it. A long-distance move can cost anything from $1,800 to $3,200 to hire a moving container. When you compare it to the $4,000 to $9,000 a moving company is going to charge, you can see the gap. To move your items with a pod, you only have to load the boxes into the container, and the company will take care of the rest.
5. Ship Your Belonging
If you don’t have much to relocate, shipping your belongings across the country is a reasonable option. It’s handy, quick, and can save you a lot of money, particularly if you utilize one of the major shipping companies’ ground service options.
There are other shipping businesses that will ship large products at a reasonable cost. It can make sense to sell part of your belongings and carry the rest in a moving truck yourself.
In addition to using USPS, FedEx, and UPS, you can ship larger things online through several service providers, such as uShip.com.
You might want to check the Cost of Shipping a Package to enable calculate your expenses properly.
6. Find Cheap or Free Packing Supplies
Collecting and using as many free protective packaging materials as possible is among the best strategies to save money on long-distance relocation. Look for secondhand boxes, packing tape, and packing paper at local stores, community organizations, and online marketplaces. Local liquor shops, friends, neighbors, offices, and online platforms like Nextdoor.com, Craigslist, Exchange, U-Haul Box, etc. are all good places to look for free moving goods.
Gathering your moving materials for a low or no cost can allow you to put more money toward the rental of a vehicle, shipping charges, or any unexpected costs that may arise during the move.
7. Look for Relocation Discounts.
While you’re out shopping, don’t forget to inquire about any available discounts. Members of so, so, and so are eligible for relocation discounts, and some moving companies offer special rates at particular times of every year.
Look for military discounts if you’re a veteran or active service member. A military moving company will understand what special requirements you have for a military move and will give discounts to military service members, veterans, and their families. Military personnel can enjoy discounted prices from firms like Penske and Budget Truck Rental.
8. Sell Old and Worn Items
If you’re like most people, you’ve amassed a large number of belongings over the years, most of which you no longer want. You can earn more cash to pay for your move by selling the items before the move. You’ll also need to pack fewer items, which will make unpacking easier and shipping costs lower. If you have patience and enough time, you can throw a yard sale or hire a booth at a local flea market.
You can also sell your possessions on the internet. Selling stuff online has never been easier thanks to internet markets like Craigslist, Nextdoor.com, Facebook, Amazon, and eBay. Remember that mobile applications like OfferUp and LetGo are another wonderful method to swiftly sell stuff before moving.
10. Avoid moving during peak seasons.
The time you choose to relocate has a huge impact on the cost of your move. You could save money on vehicle rentals, moving firms, and other expenses by avoiding peak moving seasons. Weekends, the months between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and the beginning and last weeks of the month are a few prime moving dates to avoid (if at all feasible).
Due to the high volume of business during this period, moving costs may rise, and you may not have enough options for the precise weekday you want your items picked up. If your moving date is uncertain, try to avoid weekends between October and April.
11. Make Trip Plans and Hotel Reservations.
It’s time to plan your travel and accommodation after you have determined when and where you’ll be going. If you’re flying, book your flight as soon as possible because plane tickets tend to get more expensive the closer you get to your departure date.
If you’re driving, you’ll probably need to plan out the shortest route and the handiest rest stops. If your journey will take a whole day to complete, look into overnight lodgings. You’ll also need to select a trustworthy auto transport company if you decide to transport your car to a new place. You can also inquire if the transport company you choose provides auto transport.
We’ve written guides on packing the various rooms in your home, you might want to see How To Pack For Moving Houses.
