OT: Moving expenses

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by Louis

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

I’d rather mitigate the risk and go ride my bike while others do the carrying

I moved myself once in NYC and roped a few buddies in. I vowed to never do it again, especially the friends piece. What a cruel move to leverage their good will.

[mhespenheide]

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...

PODs are a little more expensive than a Penske truck rental or the like. And their sizing is a little more limited; you might end up needing 1.5 PODs but be forced to pay for two of them. But they're a good option.

They really come into their own when you need to store stuff in between moving out of one house and moving into another. We did that when moving back to Seattle this time, and for that specific case, they were great. They store the POD indoors but will bring it out for you with a day's notice. Over ~3 months of storage for us, I accessed the POD five or six times. They didn't bat an eye.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by mhespenheide

PODs are a little more expensive than a Penske truck rental or the like. And their sizing is a little more limited; you might end up needing 1.5 PODs but be forced to pay for two of them. But they're a good option.

Another thing about the pods that attracts me is that you can pack or unpack them at your leisure - no need to rush and do it in just one afternoon or day.

[mhespenheide]

Originally Posted by Louis

Another thing about the pods that attracts me is that you can pack or unpack them at your leisure - no need to rush and do it in just one afternoon or day.

I think they give you ... 3 or 4 days? I'm sure you can pay for longer than that, though.

[HamFisted]

We did the UHaul version of the PODS when we moved from WI to CA a few years back. As others have said, they're nice because they can be stored at the destination until needed and then unpacked at your leisure. Also noteworthy is that they can be packed at your leisure, something we found beneficial so as to help lessen moving stress. Cost was < $3000.

[45K10]

Another vote for Pods if you have a place to put it at both locations. I have used Pods several times. Once from Tallahassee to Vancouver, BC. Then again from Vancouver to NC and finally NC to Boston.

I got really good at packing that thing full with no empty space.

It was also about half the price of going with a traditional moving company.

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by Likes2ridefar

I’d rather mitigate the risk and go ride my bike while others do the carrying

I moved myself once in NYC and roped a few buddies in. I vowed to never do it again, especially the friends piece. What a cruel move to leverage their good will.

I’ve roped friends and relatives as well, but generally only for an item or two that I can’t move by myself.

Due to my job I have moved often in the past 20 years since returning from living in Europe, I now live in the Chicagoland area and moved into my townhouse in October of 2019 and got some relatives to help with a mattress and a sofa that are 2-3 person lifts. Otherwise I was able to do it all myself.

Hopefully done with moving for a while now because I’m not changing employers anymore hopefully and I actually kind of like where I live.

[Ken Robb]

Some thoughts from watching MANY move in my 37 years as a Realtor: If you have an HOA be sure to check the rules/time limits for having pods in the community. Carefully compare paying to move your old stuff vs. selling at least some of it and buying new stuff for your new home. Some old stuff is irreplaceable but quite a few folks found that the furniture they moved cross-country for $$$ really didn't suit their new place.

[batman1425]

I've moved a fair bit in the last 15 years - 5 times, shortest distance was 400mi, the longest about 1100 and ranging from me and a truck through the white glove treatment paid for by an employer.

My 2c:
1. Move the really important and or fragile stuff yourself if possible.
2. We had movers pack our stuff once and the waste it generates is remarkable. It also didn't seem to protect things any better than our own packing.
3. The older I get, the less interested I am in lugging the heavy stuff around. Especially up and down stairs.
4. Don't undervalue your time. It will always take longer than you think it will.