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How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:39 am
by jarofsoup
I may be moving from the west coast to the east coast. I have absolutely no idea how to do this and I am sure there are people in my situation.
I wanted to begin a thread where people could post names of services that they have used and ways to get their crap across the United States.
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 5:21 am
by Gideon Strumpet
ABF Relo-Cubes work great if you have a typical very small (like studio apartment sized) amount of stuff.
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 5:41 am
by jaydizzle
Awesome thread! I am moving to the midwest, so this is quite helpful. I never heard of that service before. Is it costly?
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 7:45 am
by Gideon Strumpet
jaydizzle wrote:Awesome thread! I am moving to the midwest, so this is quite helpful. I never heard of that service before. Is it costly?
It's reasonable compared with the alternatives; a lot cheaper than movers, and a lot easier and more reliable than U-Haul. You can get a substantial discount (or at least you used to be able to) by picking "off-peak" moving dates and booking well ahead of time.
The way it works is that they drop off a "cube" in front of your place, you pack it up, lock it, and then they pick it up and truck it to wherever you're going. At the other end they can either drop it off when it arrives, or hold it in a warehouse for up to 30 days until you're ready. Then they drop it, you unload, and they take it away. You can get more than one cube if you need more space, although if you need more than two, then it can start to get less cost effective.
There are other companies that do similar things, but ABF seems to be the best combination of price, capacity, reliability, and not-destroying-your-stuff-by-mishandling-osity.
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 7:53 am
by oldhippie
i'm using PODS, same idea, still a bit pricey but beats a lot of truck rental and moving prices...and they were able to store my stuff for the 4 months between renting out my house and moving to the new one out west.
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 11:35 am
by Gideon Strumpet
oldhippie wrote:i'm using PODS, same idea, still a bit pricey but beats a lot of truck rental and moving prices...and they were able to store my stuff for the 4 months between renting out my house and moving to the new one out west.
PODS is another one. Their units are about two to three times bigger than a Relo-Cube, which might be either good or bad. Bad if you're trying to squeeze one onto the sidewalk in a tight city street; good if you have a house in the burbs and a ton of stuff to move. Their storage is probably cheaper than ABF if you need it for more than a month as well, since they're set up for warehousing the pods as a matter of routine.
Only complaint I've heard about PODS is the units can leak when hauled through bad weather, because they move them on open flatbeds. ABF puts theirs inside a regular trailer truck for transport, and the box itself is pretty strong and well sealed, as long as it doesn't have any external damage. I also wasn't that impressed with the toughness of PODS for sitting on a city street with all your expensive stuff inside, since they're plywood and thick plastic instead of all metal like the Relo-Cubes.
If you have your own driveway and a lot of stuff to move, or need long term storage, PODS probably make more sense.
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 11:36 am
by NYC Law
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 11:40 am
by Cupidity
PODS cost $$$$$$$$$$$. Have a garage sale, take what you can in two suitcases, go to an IKEA in your new location.
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 10:17 pm
by schooner
jarofsoup wrote:I may be moving from the west coast to the east coast. I have absolutely no idea how to do this and I am sure there are people in my situation.
I wanted to begin a thread where people could post names of services that they have used and ways to get their crap across the United States.
Do you have any family or good friends where you live now? You could box up the stuff you won't need right away and ask them to UPS it to you when you have your new address. (Cheaper Media Mail via regular postal service for the essential books & papers you couldn't sell/give away.) It might cost $15-25 per each box (the kind you put offices files in) depending on the weight, although prices might have gone up.
If you're moving across country, and moving again after 3 years, it's probably more cost effective to sell off most of your stuff and maintain a minimalist lifestyle while you're going to school. Most of the things that people buy aren't things they really need.
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 10:21 pm
by Renzo
Cupidity wrote:PODS cost $$$$$$$$$$$. Have a garage sale, take what you can in two suitcases, go to an IKEA in your new location.
BY god, yes. I had a 2100sq. ft. house filled with stuff. I sold it all, UPS'd myself the few precious things that were worth it, and went all open-bar on the local Ikea (supplemented with some Overstock.com action).
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 11:01 pm
by Flips88
When I checked last month a Penske truck was $215 and now it's $509.
One of those Relo-Cubes would still run me $831 so no thanks.
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 11:09 pm
by FantasticMrFox
Cupidity wrote:PODS cost $$$$$$$$$$$. Have a garage sale, take what you can in two suitcases, go to an IKEA in your new location.
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 11:14 pm
by Flips88
FantasticMrFox wrote:Cupidity wrote:PODS cost $$$$$$$$$$$. Have a garage sale, take what you can in two suitcases, go to an IKEA in your new location.
Eh, I feel like I already have all the furniture I need and it'd cost just as much to refurnish an entire place as it would to move stuff. I'm talking about versus a moving truck though, not a pod/cube thing.
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 11:31 pm
by dr123
FantasticMrFox wrote:Cupidity wrote:PODS cost $$$$$$$$$$$. Have a garage sale, take what you can in two suitcases, go to an IKEA in your new location.
TCR or go to a place like the Salvation Army if you're an a budget
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 5:31 am
by Gideon Strumpet
Flips88 wrote:FantasticMrFox wrote:Cupidity wrote:PODS cost $$$$$$$$$$$. Have a garage sale, take what you can in two suitcases, go to an IKEA in your new location.
Eh, I feel like I already have all the furniture I need and it'd cost just as much to refurnish an entire place as it would to move stuff. I'm talking about versus a moving truck though, not a pod/cube thing.
Depends on who you're renting the truck from. PODS are gigantic, so they tend to cost accordingly, but the cubes are small and can be competitive with a truck rental from a decent company. I think when I priced them, they were the same or cheaper than a Penske or Budget truck of the same capacity for two of them.
There are some truck companies like U-Haul that may seem cheaper up front, but they will screw you over every time by booking the truck at last minute rates to someone else, or renting you a broken down P.O.S. with holes in the roof and a bad tranny. A truck also gives you a limited window to load, drive, and unload in, and requires you to drive it the whole way, which means you can't fly, or if you own a car, will need someone else to drive the car.
If you're still in the phase of life where everything important to you fits in a suitcase, then just dumping all your stuff at Goodwill and buying new at the other end might make some sense. But some people have more furnished lives by the time they start law school, so moving is less trouble and expense than starting over.
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 7:23 am
by GATORTIM
jarofsoup wrote:I may be moving from the west coast to the east coast. I have absolutely no idea how to do this
Just do the exact opposite of what these people did
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 7:50 am
by yinz
GATORTIM wrote:jarofsoup wrote:I may be moving from the west coast to the east coast. I have absolutely no idea how to do this
Just do the exact opposite of what these people did
srsly
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 11:50 am
by Flips88
Gideon Strumpet wrote:Flips88 wrote:FantasticMrFox wrote:Cupidity wrote:PODS cost $$$$$$$$$$$. Have a garage sale, take what you can in two suitcases, go to an IKEA in your new location.
Eh, I feel like I already have all the furniture I need and it'd cost just as much to refurnish an entire place as it would to move stuff. I'm talking about versus a moving truck though, not a pod/cube thing.
Depends on who you're renting the truck from. PODS are gigantic, so they tend to cost accordingly, but the cubes are small and can be competitive with a truck rental from a decent company. I think when I priced them, they were the same or cheaper than a Penske or Budget truck of the same capacity for two of them.
There are some truck companies like U-Haul that may seem cheaper up front, but they will screw you over every time by booking the truck at last minute rates to someone else, or renting you a broken down P.O.S. with holes in the roof and a bad tranny. A truck also gives you a limited window to load, drive, and unload in, and requires you to drive it the whole way, which means you can't fly, or if you own a car, will need someone else to drive the car.
If you're still in the phase of life where everything important to you fits in a suitcase, then just dumping all your stuff at Goodwill and buying new at the other end might make some sense. But some people have more furnished lives by the time they start law school, so moving is less trouble and expense than starting over.
I mean a Budget moving truck for my move is $440 while a Relo-Cube is $831 so that choice seems clear. Plus, I already have a bed, couch, bookshelf, dresser, tv stand so I think I'd spend more refurnishing than I would if I just brought everything.
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 12:35 pm
by swilson215
Flips88 wrote:
I mean a Budget moving truck for my move is $440 while a Relo-Cube is $831 so that choice seems clear. Plus, I already have a bed, couch, bookshelf, dresser, tv stand so I think I'd spend more refurnishing than I would if I just brought everything.
Yeah, but that's just the truck rental. Those things get TERRIBLE gas mileage (mayyyyybe 12mpg), and you're responsible for your own fill ups. If you're going more than 800 miles then the costs become more comparable.
Just my $.02.
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 12:43 pm
by Renzo
swilson215 wrote:Flips88 wrote:
I mean a Budget moving truck for my move is $440 while a Relo-Cube is $831 so that choice seems clear. Plus, I already have a bed, couch, bookshelf, dresser, tv stand so I think I'd spend more refurnishing than I would if I just brought everything.
Yeah, but that's just the truck rental. Those things get TERRIBLE gas mileage (mayyyyybe 12mpg), and you're responsible for your own fill ups. If you're going more than 800 miles then the costs become more comparable.
Just my $.02.
That's what I decided. It was going to cost me well more than $1000 to move all my stuff, once I factored in truck rental, gas, and cheap motels on the way. Unless your stuff is far nicer than the average law student (meaning recent college grad), you could probably sell it on craigslist, take the proceeds and your savings from moving, and get yourself some fine clever Swedish furniture once you get where you're going.
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 1:36 pm
by swilson215
Renzo wrote:
That's what I decided. It was going to cost me well more than $1000 to move all my stuff, once I factored in truck rental, gas, and cheap motels on the way. Unless your stuff is far nicer than the average law student (meaning recent college grad), you could probably sell it on craigslist, take the proceeds and your savings from moving, and get yourself some fine clever Swedish furniture once you get where you're going.
This is the approach I've decided to take, too. I've made $250 on CL in 3 days...
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 4:10 pm
by Borhas
jarofsoup wrote:I may be moving from the west coast to the east coast. I have absolutely no idea how to do this and I am sure there are people in my situation.
I wanted to begin a thread where people could post names of services that they have used and ways to get their crap across the United States.
a man with no furniture has no roots, but at least he has his freedom
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 4:27 pm
by Chupavida
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Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 5:43 pm
by Flips88
Borhas wrote:jarofsoup wrote:I may be moving from the west coast to the east coast. I have absolutely no idea how to do this and I am sure there are people in my situation.
I wanted to begin a thread where people could post names of services that they have used and ways to get their crap across the United States.
a man with no furniture has no roots, but at least he has his freedom
--ImageRemoved--
Re: How to Move Cross Country for law school?
Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 7:28 pm
by Flips88
I just ran the numbers on a moving truck versus buying stuff from IKEA:
Depending on gas mileage (could be 6mpg to 10 mpg according to the website), it would run me $722-909
To buy new stuff from IKEA (bed, mattress, couch, desk/dinner table, couple chairs, dresser, and a bookshelf) would be $730-907
So it's basically a push. Not sure what to do. Though, if I spend more on furniture it'd mean upgrading to a queen sized bed which would be very appreciated.