Moving Cross Country in the Time of Covid

[volklpowdermaniac]

So this is sort of two parter.
Moving from SE PA back to the west coast in Seattle. Need to be there by June 8th. Could leave as soon as May 20.

First - yes I have to move (sorry just wanted to ward off the “don’t do it now, so irresponsible” peanut gallery. I have an ironclad contract working in healthcare at the epicenter in WA that can’t be breached. I have to be in Seattle by June 8th at the latest, but a small chance it could be earlier.
Trying to get on top of things while I’m sitting at home during shelter in place....


Sort of regardless of covid situation- 1) Who here has done a longgg move recently and used a moving company - what moving companies did you all use? Is it a total PITA to do long distance, what kind of cost am I looking at (1BR/1BA +) How long to do trucks take for long distance moves like this?

2) I’ll be driving my truck out with some extraneous crap and my bikes etc. Any body foresee this being a cluster (in terms of places to stop and refuel) because of covid? - I know that its basically two months away, and stuff could change on a dime, just trying to be proactive. Right now if I had to leave I’d foresee a lot of camping (which fine by me).

I guess the thought of moving cross country during all this chaos is giving me a little agita, just looking to smooth it all out.

[Core Shot]

Cocaine, coffee and nicotine

You got this

[iceman]

are you planning to stay in Seattle long term? And, how nice is your shit?

I'd expect the country to be fairly normal by then one way or another.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

upack.com

[XXX-er]

are you planning to stay in Seattle long term? And, how nice is your shit?

I'd expect the country to be fairly normal by then one way or another.

uh we are talking about the USA

I wouldnt count on truck stops being open for anything but fule so you probably want to count on being self supported

[wooley12]

Real happy with my move to the PNW from NYS 7 years back. I was advised by a commercial moving broker on Epic (Finndog?) to pick a name brand that had a local mover. Got similar quotes from 2 and went with the salesman my wife liked. Tactical move on my part. Any screw up would be on her. The driver told me that whoever we picked we would have had him as the truck/driver.

[evdog]

Not recent but when I moved from Vancouver to San diego 12 yrs ago it cost around 3k (Cdn) for a 1 BR/BA place. Had a couple reputable/national companies come by and give a quote, picked the better one. Trucker and helper came and packed everything and did the required packing list/declaration for customs. Pickup and dropoff dates were both scheduled. 3-4 days later the truck arrived in SD, same trucker who loaded and drove unloaded. I think my stuff was last on the truck which meant I was first delivery in SD. Pretty easy experience. After years of self-moving I've always hired movers for local moves after that, usually costs me 2-3 hours labor with me doing all the packing/unpacking. The cross country move was really no harder. Only difference was I had to catch a flight down rather than drive over to the new place.

[pepperdawg]

.. Got similar quotes from 2 and went with the salesman my wife liked. Tactical move on my part. Any screw up would be on her. .....

Ooo you've done this before LOL. Well played.

[volklpowdermaniac]

Cocaine, coffee and nicotine

You got this

U get me.

are you planning to stay in Seattle long term? And, how nice is your shit?

I'd expect the country to be fairly normal by then one way or another.

Yeah, I’ll be there at least four years.

It’s fine, not nice but not total junk. Gonna chuck a bunch of shit before the move, but still have a decent bed, couch, desk, table etc etc etc.

Anyway. This is a good start. Thanks

[dunfree]

Observation over several moves with national companys was the local agent/company you dealt with made the most difference especially who they hired to pack & load. There could be a bit of a wait for your stuff to show up, but that Might not apply with the cratering economy.

If you are stuck at home, buy boxes and pack the shit yourself.

[nickwm21]

I move a lot for work. The easy / cheap method I’ve found is thru uhaul.

If you rent a truck thru uhaul they have vendors you can hire thru uhaul at each end to load / unload for cheap (like 2 guys for $100/hr)

You pack your stuff. They show up and load it at an agreed upon time. You drive the truck to your new home. A crew shows up at the destination and unloads for you.

The labor uhaul hires are not professional movers. They are labor. They do not check/uncheck your items. They do not pack and bubble wrap. Expect something broken. Pack your valuables carefully.

The advantage to this though is that you spend $800 for the uhaul and labor instead of $8000 for a full moving outfit. The other advantage is that the move is on your time and terms. With professional movers you often are at the mercy of their schedule...


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[gravitylover]

As people get more and more broke you'll see things like utility trailers selling cheap. Wait a few weeks and take a look, I bet you'll find something you can pull behind your truck and do it all yourself.

[Shredhead]

I bought a trailer and hired muscles at both ends.

[Peruvian]

Depending on how large a place/family, UHaul is a good option. Tow your truck if you are solo or have your partner caravan with it.

Nick’s idea of hiring labor thru UHaul is wise.

[El Chupacabra]

I haven't moved any longer distance in a long time, but if you can fit all your stuff in/on your truck + inside a trailer, it's a lot cheaper to rent the trailer from Uhaul than renting a Uhaul truck. They used to have fairly large trailers too, like 12'.

I've moved and camped during the move too, using RV parks for easy camp + showers. Who knows if that'll be an option in a month or two.

[Supermoon]

You should be able to fit a 1 bed into the biggest sized covered trailer from Uhaul. Easily the cheapest option.

We did the same as nickwm21 and it worked out well. Rented a Uhaul, had the movers pack and unpack it for us. Towed the truck behind the Uhaul. Pretty easy overall.

We just had to in-town move this week and due to the shelter in place order in Oregon we decided against hiring movers and using a Uhaul so we just ran loads in our pickup. Holy shit that’s a lot more work than hiring it out.

[MarcusBrody]

I'm in the same situation, but have a bit more time so I hope things calm down a bit. I have to be out of my current house June 30 and my new job starts August 1. Moving from Massachusetts to Nevada. I'm just going to have to decide how much convenience is worth to me. We have a reasonable amount of stuff (particularly if we bring all my tools and such that are in the basement). Upack would be way easier than driving a truck and caravanning, but it would probably mean getting rid of one of our cars (or shipping it separately). Renting a bit Uhaul is a much cheaper option and I don't mind driving them, but it means my wife would have to drive a second car with my son (as Uhaul's aren't made for car seats), and I'm not sure that she'd survive that. And there is no way I'd trust her in a 26 ft. truck towing a car.

[El Chupacabra]

^^ You're moving to Vegas, right? Definitely hire some help to unload your stuff upon arrival in late July.

I hope you love hot weather. Not just like, but LOVE.

[volklpowdermaniac]

^^ You're moving to Vegas, right? Definitely hire some help to unload your stuff upon arrival in late July.

I hope you love hot weather. Not just like, but LOVE.

All good options. I did a professional mover for first time in my life when I moved locally the last time, my god was it worth the money. Called around to a few of the National big guns. We shall see

[muted]

Last summer I helped my Mom move, we used Uhaul U-boxes. The boxes get dropped at your house, or you can pick them up with a trailer. You load them up, pack everything how you want. Or you hire movers through Uhual to pack shit up, your choice. When you are done, a truck moves them cross-country. There is an option to store them at a Uhual location for $75/month each, and you can access these boxes anytime if you need to just grab one thing. Movers hired through Uhaul unloaded everything into my Moms new place.

[XXX-er]

up here if you are moving closer to a job its all tax deductible

[MTslackcountry]

If you have a truck just rent the biggest uhaul tow behind trailer and load it with as much stuff as you can fit. Everything else you either give away or throw away. Just moved my girlfriend back to the west after she finished school and we jammed an insane amount of stuff in one of the smallest tow behind trailer uhaul has and towed it behind a Subaru in beginning of feburary. Worked out great. The shipping companies etc were 4X as expensive. The uhaul is a no brainer. If shits still as crazy at that time plan to camp out or sleep in your car. Pack a cooler full of food and rally. Good luck!

[MarcusBrody]

^^ You're moving to Vegas, right? Definitely hire some help to unload your stuff upon arrival in late July.

I hope you love hot weather. Not just like, but LOVE.

Yeah I'm not super excited about the summer weather. I've lived in hot places for summer before though (Sinaloa, Mexico; Hyderabad, India) and survived. At least in Vegas, I'll have air conditioning.

I'll aim to hire people to help unload. Seems like there should be plenty of available labor around there...

I have a 9 month academic job, so in the future I plan to just spend a lot of the Vegas summer in other places - either at a mountain cabin if we decide to stay there long term or just visiting family in other parts of the world. I can do the research part of my work from anywhere. It just doesn't work for this summer as i have to actually move and likely go through orientation and the like.

[riser4]

So right now seems like the time to move with only what one can carry. And store the rest, get it later. No way I'd let a moving crew, if any are working, into my house at either end. If you can pack it yourself and have it stored at the receiving end, that seems like a good option.

[MontuckyFried]

All I have to say is that one of the biggest expenses with DIY moving cross country is fuel costs. Now that fuel's as cheap as it's been in many a year, I don't think there's ever been a better time to be perfectly honest. Traffic will be good too.