Moving from LA to Philly Forum

[Peace of Mind]

I will be moving from LA to Philly and I will not be bringing my car so I cannot pack up my car with my stuff and move it. I will be going to IKEA and buying the essentials when I get there and anywhere else I can find the necessities on the cheap. I do need to move my clothes, shoes, books and a few personal items however.

What do you suggest is the cheapest way to do this?

I thought about packing my stuff in boxes, max 5 and shipping them. Do you guys think this would be the most economical way?

I have already looked online but many of the sites I have come across don't give you pricing unfortunetly. Any sites you'd reccommend I check out?

Any and all suggestions will be appreciated!

[sarahlawg]

I will be moving from LA to Philly and I will not be bringing my car so I cannot pack up my car with my stuff and move it. I will be going to IKEA and buying the essentials when I get there and anywhere else I can find the necessities on the cheap. I do need to move my clothes, shoes, books and a few personal items however.

What do you suggest is the cheapest way to do this?

I thought about packing my stuff in boxes, max 5 and shipping them. Do you guys think this would be the most economical way?

I have already looked online but many of the sites I have come across don't give you pricing unfortunetly. Any sites you'd reccommend I check out?

Any and all suggestions will be appreciated!

My friend shipped a ton of stuff (13 boxes, over 300lbs) through Amtrak and it worked really well for cheap (I think it was $230). For an even 500lbs it's $275. It went across the country in 5 days. No furniture and it has to fit into at largest a 3x3 box (like home depot's large box). I think this is what I'm going to do with my stuff, though. I think it's definitely cheaper than mailing.

[UCLAtransfer]

I did this to move cross-country, except with like 10 boxes, and shipped them by UPS. It was a couple of years ago, so I don't recall exactly how much it cost, but it was actually pretty reasonable, especially if you don't over-pack them to the point that they consider them "bulky items" based on the weight of the box.

If you end up using just home depot-type moving boxes (typically the cheapest alternative), double/triple tape the shit out of all the edges/corners/flaps, because they are not all that sturdy, and get pretty beat up.

[bk1]

Depending on how much you have it might be cheaper to use freight shipping (a lot of them will also palletize your boxes for a cost) as opposed to USPS/UPS/FedEx.

[Peace of Mind]

Depending on how much you have it might be cheaper to use freight shipping (a lot of them will also palletize your boxes for a cost) as opposed to USPS/UPS/FedEx.

What exactly is freight shipping? Company name?

Thanks for all the responses! I will look into all of these. I like the Amtrak idea the best so far.

[dpk711]

This thread is relevant to my interests.
Tagged.

[bk1]

What exactly is freight shipping? Company name?

Thanks for all the responses! I will look into all of these. I like the Amtrak idea the best so far.

A bunch of different companies do it but you can get an online quote here: http://www.freightcenter.com/

Depending on what you are sending, it will probably be cheaper with AmTrak, but AmTrak has more limitations (size/weight) than freight shipping and freight shipping will do door to door (which I don't think AmTrak will do).

[Peace of Mind]

What exactly is freight shipping? Company name?

Thanks for all the responses! I will look into all of these. I like the Amtrak idea the best so far.

A bunch of different companies do it but you can get an online quote here: http://www.freightcenter.com/

Depending on what you are sending, it will probably be cheaper with AmTrak, but AmTrak has more limitations (size/weight) than freight shipping and freight shipping will do door to door (which I don't think AmTrak will do).

I got a quote for freight shipping and it was around $325-$350 for 100lbs. Do you think that is reasonable?

[T-Account]

Don't rent a uhaul...whew...just looked online, pricier than I would've expected...I'm guessing this is more than you need.

I just heard of some site that might be of interest to you. It's some site where people looking to ship their cars can drop their car off at this company's nearest facility. Then other people can sign up to drive the car from point A to point B. I do not know many of the details, obviously...I don't even know the company's name. However, if someone just happens to have a car in LA and wants it to be in Philly but cannot drive it themselves, that might be perfect for you. That way you could "ship" your stuff yourself (I think you might get paid to do it too).

Best of luck!

[beach_terror]

Just stopping in to say welcome to my city

[sarahlawg]

What exactly is freight shipping? Company name?

Thanks for all the responses! I will look into all of these. I like the Amtrak idea the best so far.

A bunch of different companies do it but you can get an online quote here: http://www.freightcenter.com/

Depending on what you are sending, it will probably be cheaper with AmTrak, but AmTrak has more limitations (size/weight) than freight shipping and freight shipping will do door to door (which I don't think AmTrak will do).

I got a quote for freight shipping and it was around $325-$350 for 100lbs. Do you think that is reasonable?

Amtrak is way cheaper

[Peace of Mind]

What exactly is freight shipping? Company name?

Thanks for all the responses! I will look into all of these. I like the Amtrak idea the best so far.

A bunch of different companies do it but you can get an online quote here: http://www.freightcenter.com/

Depending on what you are sending, it will probably be cheaper with AmTrak, but AmTrak has more limitations (size/weight) than freight shipping and freight shipping will do door to door (which I don't think AmTrak will do).

I got a quote for freight shipping and it was around $325-$350 for 100lbs. Do you think that is reasonable?

Amtrak is way cheaper

Thanks! I was just checking out the website and I will be calling tomorrow to get a quote. I'm pretty sure this is what I will be doing.

[Peace of Mind]

Just stopping in to say welcome to my city

YOUR city.....



... Thanks!

[dood]

car rental + gas from LA to DC about $500. not saying its cheapest, just letting u know

[sarahlawg]

car rental + gas from LA to DC about $500. not saying its cheapest, just letting u know

it would cost $500 in gas alone. And it's expensive to pickup a car in one city and drop it off in another. I don't know how old OP is, but if under 25, the insurance requirement comes into play as well. Orbitz car rental is one way to get an idea of costs for a 4 or 5 day rental and AAA gives gas estimations (and what about staying in hotels?).

Now if you also take into account your flight and do some math, it may work out similarly, but I still think renting a car + gas would be more expensive.

[T-Account]

http://www.autodriveaway.com/default.aspx

There's the link to the company I was talking about. There's a link above for drivers - you can see what cars need to be driven/how the whole thing works. I've never actually done it myself but, in theory, it would be cheapest for you if everything were to fall into place.

[Peace of Mind]

http://www.autodriveaway.com/default.aspx

There's the link to the company I was talking about. There's a link above for drivers - you can see what cars need to be driven/how the whole thing works. I've never actually done it myself but, in theory, it would be cheapest for you if everything were to fall into place.

Cool! Thanks, I'll look into that!

[jarofsoup]

I am going to start a cross country move thread to get some more information on this....

[sarahlawg]

http://www.autodriveaway.com/default.aspx

There's the link to the company I was talking about. There's a link above for drivers - you can see what cars need to be driven/how the whole thing works. I've never actually done it myself but, in theory, it would be cheapest for you if everything were to fall into place.

oh this is interesting!

by the way, there is also this thread
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 5&t=120263

[sundance95]

OP: Greyhound also has freight options, as does Southwest Airlines.

For those who have a furnished 1BR and are keeping their furniture, I highly recommend ABF transport. They have a small cube that I've used twice to move cross country-once DC to SF, once SF to DC. Both times it cost around $1400. People don't know this, but you really should negotiate with these companies-they will significantly reduce their prices if you try.

[bk1]

I got a quote for freight shipping and it was around $325-$350 for 100lbs. Do you think that is reasonable?

Amtrak is way cheaper

Yeah I don't think freight is worth it for 100 lbs. I mean depending on how you box it, 100 lbs is going to run you about $100 via UPS or FedEx.

[Peace of Mind]

I got a quote for freight shipping and it was around $325-$350 for 100lbs. Do you think that is reasonable?

Amtrak is way cheaper

Yeah I don't think freight is worth it for 100 lbs. I mean depending on how you box it, 100 lbs is going to run you about $100 via UPS or FedEx.

I'm not totally sure how much my stuff weighs I just guessed it would be about 100lbs since it's just clothes, shoes, and pillows... stuff like that.

[bk1]

I'm not totally sure how much my stuff weighs I just guessed it would be about 100lbs since it's just clothes, shoes, and pillows... stuff like that.

Depending on how much it is I would just box it and ship it via UPS/FedEx/USPS. Probably not the pillows though. Or, if it isn't too much, you could also just pack it in bags and pay the extra fee to take it with you on the airplane.

[Peace of Mind]

I'm not totally sure how much my stuff weighs I just guessed it would be about 100lbs since it's just clothes, shoes, and pillows... stuff like that.

Depending on how much it is I would just box it and ship it via UPS/FedEx/USPS. Probably not the pillows though. Or, if it isn't too much, you could also just pack it in bags and pay the extra fee to take it with you on the airplane.

Cool! Yeah, i thought about doing the plane thing too... we'll see whatever works best and is the ost cost effieicent

[23402385985]

I would really recommend you bring a car to Philly. Having lived there, I think not having a car is a terrible idea.