Moving across the country - advice, stories, etc.

That's a GREAT idea! Thanks!

 

Unfortunately they don't cover ... protection. Which is a shame, because, well, no one wants to miss the first day of work with a bad case of deer herpes.

 

I will third the idea of labeling boxes and what's in each box. There are few things more frustrating than getting all the boxes into your new place, then looking for an item and realizing you have no clue which box it could be in.
When we moved back to the NW from the Midwest, it was on our dime (plus sending a car, as we towed the other behind the truck. We asked what size truck and the Penske people told us a 16' truck would be fine for what we had. Everything just barely fit, minus a couple of things we broke trying to shoehorn in there.
Um, the truck didn't work. It was a bit too weighted down in the rear and too light in the front. Four times we nearly flipped. We finally limped to Lincoln, Neb. and traded up to a 26' truck since they didn't have anything else in between. It was much better.
Of course, a huge thanks to my boss for being too cheap to cover any costs. Once when I worked for him before (I think this was around 2000 or so) he agreed to pay half the moving costs for a new employee moving up from California. He ended up having to pay all of it so he decided to never again help with moving costs.

 

Take this opportunity to pare down your possessions by taking a hard look at what you really need.

That twin bed you've had since you were in elementary school? You're not 8 anymore; get rid of it and get a big-boy bed.
That old couch? Doubtful — especially if it was used for sloppy, drunk sex with more than one partner.
The coffee table you've had since college? Nope.
Almost everything in your junk drawer that you haven't needed in more than a year? Gone.

I've moved five times in the last six years, and I got rid of shit during every move. And even today, I only have two pieces of furniture I have to move: the solid oak corner book case my dad made me the year before he died, and the desk made by my dad's uncle before he died in the 1950s. Everything else I can live without.

Joe

Edit: Keep the duct tape.

 

I had my car shipped for one cross-country move (moved from one coast to the other only to get laid off less than two years later, but whatever). Car was late getting there by a few days so I had to rent one at the airport.

The driver called me up when my car finally got there. They couldn't navigate the parking lot of the apartment complex in the truck, so they went ahead an unloaded it nearby. In the giant shopping center plaza parking lot across the street? No. On the dusty, quiet side road adjacent to the apartment place? No.

The dude unloaded my car in the center turn lane of one of the city's busier roads. So, yeah, that was fun, playing Frogger to get to my piece of shit car that was blocking traffic.

 

I have old, beat-up coffee table in my office at home.
I love that coffee table. I will never get rid of it.

 

Hey, if you want your TV cart back, you'll have to come get it your own damn self.

(Kidding, of course. We've moved four times since then and purge the same way you do. Everyone should.)

 

had some folks in hawaii that wanted to hire me many years back. read a book about moving to hawaii. two lines from that book always stuck in my mind. it went something like this: why pay to move your old, used shit, when you can buy someone else's old, used shit once you get there. sell your old, used shit in a garage sell, then go buy "new" old, used siht.
great advice.

 

As a hiring manager, I think your answer is right here.

_ Moving companies ONLY do full-service moves. If they move you, they charge you by the volume of your stuff but they always pack for you because of insurance reasons. Your company doesn't pay for full-service moves, so they're obviously expecting you to UHaul it.
_ If they're offering a $500 lump sum, then they're not expecting your moving itemization to come in much higher than that. A full-service move will be a couple thousand, and you'll get off on the wrong foot with your company if you offer those kind of receipts to them. They're expecting you to use good judgment.

Congratulations on the job!

 

Did the Uhaul thing last time two times I moved. The first time, my brother tagged along and helped me load and unload at both ends. The second time, I hired movers at both ends, which was nice because I was solo and also moving from an upstairs apartment to an upstairs apartment. Think it's like a two-hour minimum.

 

Agree, if the cap is $500 then they are not covering all the costs of a moving company doing an interstate move.

Also agree that moving is the perfect time to throw out almost everything you own. I am appalled every time I move how much crap I've accumulated since the last time I moved.

Don't pack your box cutter (assuming you are driving and not flying to WI).

 

Good advice on the box cutter! (Not flying.)