LONG DISTANCE MOVES
Exciting. Scary. Packing up and moving to a new town is always an adventure. While a long-distance move has some things in common with an in-town move, it also comes with its own set of unique challenges. But long-distance moving doesn’t have to be a nightmare. You can experience a relatively stress-free move with a little bit of care and pre-planning. Here are our expert tips for making your long-distance move a success. Make sure you check out our other articles for moving advice too, since the advice in those articles applies to you, too.
COUNT COSTS, THEN COUNT THEM AGAIN
There’s just no doubt about it—long distance moving can take a bite out of your budget. This is a time to count every penny, even if you’ve received a relocation budget from your employer. After all, anything that goes over budget comes out of your own pocket. And showing up broke is a very stressful way to arrive in any new city.
DOUBLE YOUR BUDGET
You’ve got a to-the-penny budget worked out? Double it to stay on the safe side. There are a thousand unexpected expenses on the way. Your child’s new school might require uniforms, even though your old school district didn’t. You’ll get to your new place only to realize you have to replace all of your spices, condiments, and cleaning supplies. Gas prices will go up. And for some reason, the amount you pay for your hotel room is always $10 to $30 higher than the amount that was quoted online.
Accept that some things won’t go according to plan.
Your plans weren’t bad plans. There are just a lot of variables when you embark on a long-distance move. Add more variables if you’re moving with kids, pets, or both. You’re also exhausted, which means you might open up a suitcase to discover that you added five pairs of pants to a suitcase but neglected to add any shirts, which means having to buy new shirts you didn’t really want while you’re out on the road. You might discover that your pets can’t tolerate rest areas, which means your grand plan to save money by eating packed picnics on the road just went out the window—and now you have to figure out how to eat without leaving your car, since you can’t leave your pets unattended.
Pack properly.
A few packing mistakes aren’t so bad when you’re moving across town. You might not damage anything even if you do make a few errors here and there. Packing mistakes are a huge problem when you’re moving across the country. Just imagine your items hurtling down the interstate at 70 mph, shaking, rattling, and bouncing about. Packing mistakes mean replacing more items then you care to
Steps To Make Long Distance Moving Easier
Moving from one residence to another is a part of life, it is unavoidable. Sometimes this means moving with your family, sometimes it means moving out of your parent’s house, other times it means nothing more than moving from one bedroom to a different one. Regardless of where you are moving or why, all moves have one thing in common, its level of difficulty. Moving is often a stressful event because there are so much to consider and so many things to prepare
If you are in the middle of preparing to move, you have probably found yourself in a position of feeling overwhelmed. Do not be concerned, this is completely normal and thankfully, there are ways to ease a great deal of the stress. While there are many ways to combat the stress of moving, it is important to have a starting point and a place to focus. That is what you will find here, a starting point that will alleviate stress from one of the most difficult parts of moving, packing
Invest in a good label maker or at least create your own, homemade labels. You will be surprised how much this will help in the overall process of the move. When you are labeling your containers, there are few things to keep in mind. First, if you have children, do not let them label boxes unless you are certain they are mature enough to do so without playing any pranks or purposely mislabeling something. Many children, particularly younger children, enjoy playing what they see as harmless pranks, thinking that everyone will find it funny. Many times it is harmless and even amusing, but when it comes to reducing the stress of a move, it can be catastrophic. For this reason, it is often best to handle this particular task on your own or with another adult. When deciding exactly what to put on each label, it is best to be direct without being overly specific. For example, when you are packing up items from the kitchen, each box should have two labels. The first should say “kitchen” to indicate the room where the items will need to go upon arrival at your new location. The second label will be one or two words detailing what is being stored in that particular box. In the example of the kitchen, one box may be labeled “pans” while another might be labeled “small appliances”. This same method should be used in each and every room. If you have items that are supposed to go on a particular shelf or in a particular cabinet, consider adding that to the label. Again, it should be simple, “curio cabinet” or “living room bookshelf”
This second step goes hand in hand with the first and provides an extra layer of organization. All you will need for this step is a spreadsheet program on any device. Using a spreadsheet will allow you to keep track of how many boxes there are all together as well as for each room. It will also help you keep track individual items and where everything is packed. For example, you may be packing large items and certain boxes in a moving truck while other items are going into your vehicle or on a trailer. Using a spreadsheet will allow you to easily know where each box is packed so that you do not have to worry about finding specific items upon arrival. The labels that you applied during the first step will help immensely with this step. This is also where you can store information about the moving company or truck company that you intend to hire. If you are hiring long distance movers or just need a small moving truck and other similar information.
Invest in sturdy storage containers and copious amounts of bubble wrap. The most common thought when moving is to save as much money as possible. This generally means boxes discarded by the local grocery store and newspaper for wrapping. While this method works, it does not provide great protection for your items. Investing in better containers and bubble wrap will provide protection for the travel. It is inevitable that items will knock together and some boxes may even turn over while traveling. When this happens, precious items can become broken, often severely. One of the biggest stress factors when moving is the fear of items becoming lost or broken. While this step does not guarantee that nothing will be broken during the move, it does reduce the chances greatly.
Checklist For Moving Long Distance
At times, moving from one home to another can be a rather complicated process due to the great number of factors that are affecting the house move at the same time.
The move distance between the two homes is one of those factors that will definitely play its role in determining not only how you organize the entire relocation, including the packing task, but also how much you pay for having your possessions transferred successfully to your new house or apartment.
Move distance. Although the longer distance to your new home will increase the final moving cost in direct proportion, there’s nothing you can do about that move distance as it remains a constant value. As a result, you should invest your efforts in the rest of the long distance moving factors in order to move house for less money.
Easiest way. The easiest way to move long distance for you will be to hire one of the best long distance professional movers and let them handle all aspects of your relocation. However, there may be two possible reasons why you choose not to use professional moving services: 1) you can’t afford the price, and 2) you just don’t know which long distance mover is good enough.
Cheapest way. Contrary to popular belief, the cheapest way to move long distance is not, at least in most cases, the option of renting a moving van and summoning up your friends to help you move. Self-moving attempts are usually cost-effective only when you’re moving short distance – across town or to a neighbouring city in an adjacent county.
Local vs. Long Distance Moves
All movers are not created equal and there are many differences that separate local from long distance movers. If you are planning to move it is good to understand the difference between the two. Most anyone that uses movers will hire the services of local movers. These types of movers handle moves from city to city. Far moves of more than a hundred miles or cross state lines are long distance moves. These types of moves require different permits and license for the moving company to own and operate within. Depending on the type of move that you are going to make here are some things to consider.
Local Moves
Local movers cover a range of up to 100 miles or more from your move location. Some will go further although the moving service is likely to charge more after a certain distance. With local movers the average rate for a two man moving team can run upward of one hundred dollars an hour. Most companies also charge for any additional movere if you require more than a two man team. Local moving companies also often charge at least 1 hour of travel fees as well.
Long Distance Moves
If you are dealing with a move that is much more than 100 miles or crosses over state boundaries you need to begin looking for long distance movers. The prices for long distance moves is usually determined by the total weight of your move as well as the distance that will be traveled. Unless you have a bit of a background or a very small amount of household items these are the kinds of moves best left to professionals. Trusting a reputable insured and licensed mover for long haul moving is worth the stress relief alone.
Additionally, in the case of both types of moves book your move as far in advance as you can reasonably plan. This will allow you more time to pack your home in advance saving on stress. In the case of local moves it will also save you money. If your move is local and within short drive you might also save a few dollars and leave the furniture and appliances to the movers while you take a few trips with smaller household items.
Researching any movers that you are considering, this can not be stated strongly enough to avoid surprises and scams. No one wants surprise fees or damaged household items on moving day. Moving day can be a happy exciting time with proper preparation and planning.
LONG DISTANCE MOVING
help you with moving any way we can. Whether you are moving a short or long distance, we feel honored that you would trust us with your belongings. While we are skilled at both types of moves, long distance moves are different from local moves. Long distance moving is our specialty
Careful Planning and Packing
Plan and prepare for a successful and safe long distance move. First, check out our moving prep checklist. Next, pack with a plan because your items will be traveling far and there is greater opportunity for your items to become damaged. Packing is charged by hour plus materials for most honorable moving companies.
Packing and Moving Secrets
These packing and moving tips are not a secret. In fact, we want to share our packing and moving tips with anyone and everyone, regardless of how they choose to move. Putting as much information in the hands of our clients as possible and our commitment to transparency have enabled us to assist in thousands of successful moves
From thinking of moving as a game of Tetris to using different colored painters tape – this will save time and money in the long run. However, this is not the most important ling distance moving secret! If you want to get the best value for your move, let the movers pack all the breakable items because they are liable for things they pack only. So, why pay to have movers put linens and easy things in boxes.
The Cross Country Move – Moving Secrets
When moving a long distance, you should distinguish between which particular items you will need upon arrival and items that are not immediately necessary. Think of moving much like packing for a trip and leave out enough clothes, toiletries and other necessary items to last the duration of your journey to your new home.