have you moved yourself long distance?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-21-2004
have you moved yourself long distance?
26
Thu, 06-23-2005 - 10:28am

Single people- have you moved yourself long distance, like interstate?

See I think hiring movers is kind of an extravagence, so I'd rather not do it. But, not having a "partner" I don't quite know how to manage lifting things like couches. I'm moving to another state, and I won't know anyone in the destination state, so I can't recruit any friends or family members to help. Has anyone else done this? Am I missing any solutions? For some reason I keep thinking that I should be able to do on my own without hiring movers, like there must be a way...

Pages

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-01-2004
Thu, 06-23-2005 - 10:50am

I moved myself to Chicago from Atlanta several months ago, I had a UHaul trailer so it was about a 13 hour drive. My brother and dad helped me load my trailer in Atlanta but I knew nobody in Chicago so once I got there I had scheduled movers to do the physical labor portion, I found them on EMOVE.com. It's a pretty self-explanatory website and you basically get quotes from movers that will do the physical labor part for you. I would go ahead and do this about a month before you move so you know you definitely have the help.

Again, the website is Emove.com. Alot of people who move themselves through UHaul use them.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-21-2004
Thu, 06-23-2005 - 1:33pm
hmm thanks.
I have thought of this, but I'm wondering if the cost of the movers plus the cost of the uhaul would be just as much if not more than just getting movers the whole way. I'll have to investigate. thanks.
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-01-2004
Thu, 06-23-2005 - 1:38pm
For me it was considerably cheaper to move the stuff myself with a trailer and if you don't know anyone to actually help you move once you arrive I think hiring movers would be your only other option?
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-21-2004
Thu, 06-23-2005 - 1:47pm

Did you have to have a hitch on your car to rent the trailer? Do you have buy one of those? Because right now, looking at the uhaul site, it seems my options are a truck and an auto tow, which would run me $1188 before gas.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-21-2004
Thu, 06-23-2005 - 3:51pm
Can you put your things in storage and rent a furnished apartment while you're there?

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-21-2004
Thu, 06-23-2005 - 3:52pm
nah, I hate furnished apartments. i couldn't live in one for 2 years.
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-28-2003
Thu, 06-23-2005 - 6:27pm

heck, I used movers!

What's better than me being able to point to where I want my couch and having two guys put it there?!

Save your money or whatever and use movers... they come and pack up your stuff in the truck and then you have a great drive to your destination. When they call you, they're ready to deliver your stuff where you are and you're all set to go! All you need to do is re-arrange as needed and unpack a few boxes.

I did this 5 years ago - one morning 2 guys showed up and packed up my boxes and furniture and my stuff.... 7 days later I was 2500 miles away and my new place was ready for furniture -- these guys called and showed up and they did all the heavy work.

I bought them lunch and tipped them and viola! I was moved in to my new place with my new life and all was well :)

If you can avoid all the hassles, hire somebody to do it for you! Otherwise, it's pretty easy to find young guys who are willing to move some furniture onto a truck for you (but be ready to pay them).

Good luck! What a fun adventure you're in for!

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-13-2004
Thu, 06-23-2005 - 6:55pm

Is there a high school in the community? I know ours maintains a list of kids who're looking for jobs. Cheap labor for you; cash for them = a win-win situation. If you choose that route, I'd tell you to ask for only the names and numbers of the most reliable of the bunch and when you've found what you think is a workhorse, ask him/her to recruit however many reliable friends you think you'll need to get the job done. I've been amazed how some of these kids take the ball and run w/it. If you want to pay less than minimum wage, it helps to offer to feed and water them (decide your parameters there, first).

Caution: this route requires you maintain contact w/your chief and inquire about the crew so you don't arrive at the destination only to find they've all chosen to go to the beach that day! Avoidable if you can connect w/your chief's parent(s) to review the terms of employment.....if there's a breakdown in the crew, the parent(s) will usually step in to ensure their Johnny/Johnnyette fulfills the obligation.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-21-2004
Mon, 06-27-2005 - 5:27pm

update-

so i've gotten estimates from movers and that's out- it's way, way too expensive. So now, my dad says I'm "not allowed" to move myself (I was going to get a uhaul, tow my car behind me, and hire some kids once I get down there to unload the truck). My dad says that one girl will never be to do that alone. So he is trying to force me to sell all my stuff and buy all new stuff once I move. I don't want to do that! I don't know the area well enough to be able to shop for the best deals on good stuff, and I don't want to wait weeks for my furniture to be delivered! I don't know what to do! do you think one girl can drive a truck from boston to durham, NC, towing the car behind them?

Avatar for cl_shywon
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Mon, 06-27-2005 - 5:59pm

I think that if your dad doesn't like your idea, he needs to buckle up and help you himself- or help you find someone who can.

Pages