Cross-Country Move Planning: ideas, experiences, advice? Forum

[accidentalhippy]

My application cycle isn't over, but regardless of where I get in, I will be facing a move from WA state to either the Midwest or the East Coast.... with a toddler... and 1-3 cats (one is old, one is co-dependent and the other annoys the crap out of me).

So, for TLSers who made a big cross-country move:

• Did you drive, take the train, rent an RV and make a vacation out of it, or fly?
• Did you do the move with kids and/or pets? Any suggestions?
• Did you hire a mover, use the pod thing, U-Haul it or sell all of your earthly possessions?

For TLSers who will be making this move this summer:

• What do you think of the rv vacation idea? Does anyone know of a company that rents rv with toy hauler space or lets you hitch a car to the rv?
• Have you come across any good deals or discounts on movers, the pod thing, or the like?

I'm thinking of either renting an rv with some other friends with kids and turning the move into a National Lampoon vacay OR driving my car (or selling it and renting a minivan) and camping or staying at cheap hotels along the way. Bad idea? Workable?

I realize it's early yet, but I know August will be here before we know it (I still have no frakking idea what happened to 2011) and the magnitude of this move is really starting to dawn on me.

Any helpful advice or personal experience stories would be GREATLY appreciated!

[Perdevise]

I'll be moving across the country too, so I think a general omnibus thread would be helpful.

I am moving with an SO, and I think we will take a U-Haul and hitch our old car to it (car is in good enough condition to last a few more years of light driving, but I think a cross-country drive would overtax it.) Probably stopping with extended family in the Mountain West halfway through.

[crumpetsandtea]

I'm moving across the country as well, but with no other people and probably just 1 cat (although my dad is already starting his campaign to make me leave my cat behind because he <3s the kitteh XD). I also have no intention of taking my car with me (lol expensive parking).

My biggest worry is transporting all my stuff, otherwise I'd just fly over there with no trouble. An RV thing actually sounds like a LOT of fun, if I could get others to drive up with me.

[accidentalhippy]

If I end up on the East Coast, I may sell my car, which would both complicate and simplify things, I think. Complicate because I have never NOT had a car with my munchkin and little beasties, but simplify because there would be no car insurance or car repairs... hmm, the midwestern school has ZipCar, so maybe I'll sell my car anyway....

But I REALLY like the RV vacation idea. It's just hard to get any info online without actually hitting up each RV company, and I don't have any idea which ones are genuinely reputable. I also have never driven one before and despair of being one of "Those People" as we cruise through Yellowstone. Ya know?

It's also tempting to adopt out my cats, but two (the old one and the annoying one) have been with me for going on 12 years and my daughter absolutely loves the old one, who still seems to tolerate the annoying one. Of course, the housing situation (whatever that turns out to be) will determine a lot.

It's enough to make me wish there were such a thing as a reputable on-line law school with full tuition scholarships!

[masked kavana]

Depending on what happens as far as WL/holds it looks like Midwest or east coast from California for me. I'm renting a u-haul and hitching a car to it and my best friend and I are going on the road. After unloading and setting everything up my fiancée and daughter are flying in. But plans may change that RV idea sounds amazing!

[rinkrat19]

I'm leaning towards movers, but I won't be taking much, if any, furniture (doing a massive Ikea delivery when I get there), so I should have minimal stuff.
I just can't face moving shit up a highrise from the street/loading dock in downtown Chicago myself. Moving in the suburbs is bad enough.

How much is the one-way rental charge on an RV? I know they're pretty gruesome on rental cars and even U-Hauls.

[OSUDEVIL]

bump

[gaud]

bump

Great idea OP! Thanks.

[Tiago Splitter]

I will be selling my car and most possessions. I should be good to go with a couple of big suitcases. Anything else I need I can buy or have shipped out.

[accidentalhippy]

bump

Great idea OP! Thanks.

My pleasure. I'm hoping to find time this week to go ahead and call some RV rental companies to price things out. But I also just got admitted to UW, which might end up changing my plans. Regardless, I'll post whatever I find out, in case someone else can use it.

[rinkrat19]

Best way to move a flatscreen TV (for which you don't have the original shipping box)?

U-Haul sells TV packing kits, but is sure to clarify that they aren't intended for shipping, just protecting the TV while being moved by hand.

My TV is pretty much the reason I'm thinking about movers instead of freight. Everything else could be shipped, if I really felt like it.

[crumpetsandtea]

^ Similar Q: Is there a good way to transport a bike? I dont mind taking only a few suitcases of clothes/etc at first and slowly moving the rest of my stuff, but I would REALLY like to have my bike around.

[rinkrat19]

^ Similar Q: Is there a good way to transport a bike? I dont mind taking only a few suitcases of clothes/etc at first and slowly moving the rest of my stuff, but I would REALLY like to have my bike around.

I keep forgetting about my bike! That too, definitely.

There are special boxes to take a bike on an airplane, but lord knows how much they charge for it.

[annyong]

If I decide on Stanford I'll also have a cross country move - so this thread is a great idea!

It's possible that my family and I will drive, we have a large suburban and can load it up, they drop me off, and come back - make a weeks+ vacation out of it or something. I wouldn't plan on bringing any furniture aside from things that could fit in the truck, though, and hopefully a bike as well.

[franklyscarlet]

I'll be driving from Texas :-/ But, I'm only taking what can fit in my car and my mom's jeep. everything else is getting sold/donated.

[horrorbusiness]

tagging this thread for future reference. if i end up choosing cornell, southern california -> ithaca is gonna be one hell of a move. i guess i'll just have problems with my desktop PC, 22" monitor, and my .22 (not even sure if i can take that out of the state ). besides that i really only own clothes and books, and will probably just sell my crappy integra and get a truck there..

[cinephile]

I rented a van and drove up with my mom and my two cats. It took about two days driving 8 hours a day (not including breaks). It was pretty much a disaster. The van wasn't insured, and then there was an issue with that. And traveling with the cats wasn't that easy either (I needed to bring a crate for them to stay in for the hotels - and cat friendly hotels were hard enough to find). Anyway, if I could do it all over I would've checked 1 bag of clothes, flown with my cats as a carry on, and just bought everything else here (I already had some furniture, but really buying new stuff at Ikea was cheaper than transporting it). Alternatively, if you can't part with your possessions, I'd suggest hiring a professional. It's just too stressful otherwise.

[dingbat]

tagging this thread for future reference. if i end up choosing cornell, southern california -> ithaca is gonna be one hell of a move. i guess i'll just have problems with my desktop PC, 22" monitor, and my .22 (not even sure if i can take that out of the state ). besides that i really only own clothes and books, and will probably just sell my crappy integra and get a truck there..

You'll need to get a license in NY State before coming here.
Also, don't plan on driving with your gun. Then you'd have to figure out gun laws in every state you pass through

[Killingly]

crappy integra

Had an Integra for a few years before it died and some guy bought if for parts. Cried. It was my first car and I felt like a badass driving it around.

Rinkrat, thanks for posting about the tv. Mine is the one possession that I'm worried about getting from where I'm at to where I'm going.

[outsidethescope]

Be sure to check out uship. It's like the eBay of the shipping world. I've used it to haul a small tractor from Idaho to Texas and it was easy and cheap. The guy was super nice.

[EMZE]

In the last 5 years I've moved from NY-Oklahoma-Georgia-Colorado, so I consider myself somewhat well versed in cross country moves. Not sure yet where I will end up for school, but it will require a move regardless. Since I own my home, and plan on keeping it, I won't be moving a lot of furniture, but the large items that I do not want to be responsible for breaking I will hire a moving company to move for me. Everything else, to include a dog and cat, will ride in my (small) 4dr sedan. That will probably just be clothes, guns, and small electronics.

[J-e-L-L-o]

Well for the RV questions you can rent them: --LinkRemoved--

[accidentalhippy]

Well for the RV questions you can rent them: --LinkRemoved--

Oh I know one can rent them; I was curious if anyone had, particularly for a one way rental. Jello, have you rented with Cruise America?

I've been pestilential this week, but I will finally make a point to contact all of the national rv rental companies and compare their offerings.

[accidentalhippy]

Sometimes, thinking about the logistics of moving 2100 miles with my significantly pared down belongings, my toddler and our two cats is enough to drive me nuts!

At the very least, it explains the insomnia.

Anyway...
So far I have found that going the U-Haul option won't work for us, because I won't have another car and car seats in the front are not workable. Plus...7 days in a small cockpit with a toddler and two angry, crated cats...
Though the rental rate is not bad for the second smallest truck, the gas mileage fully loaded would likely only be 5-8 mpg, quickly raising the total moving costs (including lodging and food) to the cost of hiring a moving company and flying to MI.

The PODS people don't have PODS anywhere near the small country town where I live, and even though it is on I-90, there is no way I can have one delivered here.

Ditto for ABF/U-Pack. If I want to drive 200 miles to the nearest terminal with all of our crap, then fill up the ReloCube(s), then it/they could be delivered to the door of our new place. But I REALLY don't think I can pull that all off during one day.

Going with the trailer space rental with U-Pack will cost $2450 for 7' linear space (that includes the $50 student discount). This includes a bulkhead and a loading ramp (I moved to WA back in 2005 with a company offering a similar service, but that DID NOT include the loading ramp...let me tell you that was AWESOME as I lived in the frickin' woods). I'm a bit nervous about the prospect of my stuff ending up filthy from whatever gets hauled in the rest of the trailer (that's another awesome thing that happened in 2005). But, I may not have much of a choice, as so far, this option is coming up the cheapest AND I may be able to reduce the linear space needed by bringing only a few pieces of prized furniture (I LOVE my bed), my dd's most popular toys, my books, bike and only 1 large box of kitchen stuff (seriously a sacrifice as I LOVE to bake and cook...and eat).

And the RV vacation option...crazy spendy. Much more spendy than just booking two tickets and paying the pet fees the airline charges. Cruise America's rates are $129-$159/night ($900-$1115 for us) + $0.32/mile ($675 for us, assuming no side trips) + $300 one way drop fee + taxes + gas.

Yeah...someday...

Anyhoo, this is where things stand for me and my particular situation.

The only other option I have not looked into yet is trying to find someone else moving east from Washington state to see how we could coordinate a move with shared moving expenses for a rental truck (assuming that person has a car...or I might rent one). If anyone reading this might be interested, PM me. I'd like to move August 3rd or 4th.

[horrorbusiness]

since i decided on cornell, i'm gonna be moving from southern california->ithaca. right now i'm seriously considering selling my integra, getting a subaru forester, and driving my small amount of things across the country in it. seems like an awesome car to have in ithaca too since it's 4wd, and the big interior will nice too.