OT: Moving expenses

[sjbraun]

We're contemplating a move- AZ to OR. Does anyone have recent experience with the cost of 2000 mile move? We have a 2 bedroom hone's worth of stuff to move.

Thanks

[Likes2ridefar]

I did a similar move (two bedrooms) from ct to arizona about 7 years ago and it was a bit less than 10k.

[Louis]

I would imagine that it depends on how much you do yourself, and how much you have the movers do.

[reuben]

Originally Posted by Louis

I would imagine that it depends on how much you do yourself, and how much you have the movers do.

Yah, prepack. Buy your own boxes. Label them.

[soupless]

We paid $8100 to move a 2 br apartment (medium level of stuff) from LA to CHI. We packed the vast majority of the stuff, they did mattresses and the tv.📺

Probably spent $400 on boxes and supplies if not more.

[Likes2ridefar]

We also packed everything besides the big stuff that they wrapped. I had a motorcycle as well they had to load which had some special insurance requirements adding to our cost.

[saab2000]

I have always moved myself, sometimes with a bit of help.

Hopefully no moves in the next long time.

If you use professional movers, make sure they allow you to pack your own stuff. Some want to pack literally everything so they document any damage. I have heard stories of people packing boxes and then having the movers unpack and then repack those boxes. FYI.

[mhespenheide]

Can't really tell you an estimate until you specify whether you're doing it all yourself, hiring a company to do everything, or landing somewhere in the middle.

I've made seven major moves. Six of them I did completely without professional help and had good experiences. One I hired a company and had a bad experience.

If you want to hire a company, hire one of the large good ones that handle your stuff from end-to-end. They cost more. Don't hire a local packing company that hands off to a long-distance mover. That model is filled with shady practices. We were quoted $8000 for a move that ended up costing us $12,000 and still ended up with damaged items.

[p nut]

The last move, it was just across town. But we packed all of our stuff ourselves. Plenty of boxes available on Facebook marketplace. It was only across town so it ended up only costing $800.
If I were moving several states over, I’d rent a 26’ Uhaul truck and hire a company to pack up. Then hire another to unload at your new place.

[fourflys]

ever since the pandemic, moving has been a bit of crapshoot.. I say as someone who just retired from the military this past fall and moved almost 20 times in 30 yrs.. If I had a BR place to move that wasn't packed to the rafters with stuff, I'd highly consider a POD or similar.. they drop it off, you pack it, they pick it up and deliver to your destination, you unpack, they pick the empty pod back up.. we would highly consider that when we do our final move in two yrs if we didn't have probably close to 15k pounds of crap to move.. plus, the military will pay for one final move that includes packers and movers, so why not..

[Ralph]

Originally Posted by p nut

The last move, it was just across town. But we packed all of our stuff ourselves. Plenty of boxes available on Facebook marketplace. It was only across town so it ended up only costing $800.
If I were moving several states over, I’d rent a 26’ Uhaul truck and hire a company to pack up. Then hire another to unload at your new place.

Helped my son move a couple years ago. He used Uhaul. Rented the truck and drove to his old house. Their movers mostly loaded it. He drove it across 3 states. Then at destination called Uhaul again, and another set of movers unloaded it. Worked smooth. Not too expensive.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by fourflys

I'd highly consider a POD or similar.. they drop it off, you pack it, they pick it up and deliver to your destination, you unpack, they pick the empty pod back up..

This is what I plan to do when I move.

[Tandem Rider]

When we moved 2,000 miles family of 4, we used a pack and load yourself semi trailer. We also unpacked ourselves. They dropped the trailer off days in advance and picked it up when we had it empty. Big advantage was having my at the time 21yo son moving with us so I had help. The only possible downside was the week or so waiting for our "stuff", I pulled a small U-Haul trailer with some basic stuff and the tools we would need to swap out light fixtures, patch drywall, paint, etc. We finished the last bit of painting the night before they dropped off the trailer so it worked out perfect. I think it was about 9K for the trailer service.

[Louis]

Given the high cost of moving stuff, I just thought of something: In some cases, for some items, I wonder if it would pay off to just sell the one(s) you have now and buy a similar item when you're at your final destination? Sure, you'll take a hit when you sell and repurchase things, but factor in the savings of not having to move it (assuming you can save by shipping less stuff) and you might be closer to breaking even than you'd think. Exercise equipment might fall into that category. I currently have a roman chair and a captain's chair, quite a few dumbells, and more than a few kettlebells. The weights don't take up much space, but obviously are heavy, and the chairs take up a lot of room.

Another obvious way to save is to sell / toss as much junk as possible before going. I'm horrible at that. Here's one example: I still have most of my undergrad textbooks AND my notebooks from class notes, tests, etc. (I graduated in '83 and have moved multiple times since then.) Yes, I know, that's crazy.

However, assuming you don't damage your back or knees doing it, moving yourself is a great workout...

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by Louis

Another obvious way to save is to sell / toss as much junk as possible before going. I'm horrible at that. Here's one example: I still have most of my undergrad textbooks AND my notebooks from class notes, tests, etc. (I graduated in '83 and have moved multiple times since then.) Yes, I know, that's crazy.

that's one thing moving almost 20 times in 30 yrs will do for you, ensure you don't keep carrying around old stuff that you never use.. it's a great way to purge!