The decision has been made: You’re moving thousands of miles from one coast to the other. This could be for a job opportunity, to be closer to friends and family, or for any number of reasons people pack up their entire lives and move away–far away. And once the decision has been made, the hard part begins: trying to figure out the best way to move cross country.
Not that making such a life-changing choice isn’t stressful, but it’s hard enough moving across town to a new apartment or home. Moving 50, 100, or more miles away presents its own set of difficulties. Unless this is a move that has to be made in the middle of the night, it’s best to break things down and prepare in stages.
Best Way to Move Cross Country
In all actuality, there is no one best way to move cross country–it all comes down to how much work you want to do yourself. There are some “all hands on deck” people who like to make the arrangements, pack everything up, and get behind the wheel of the movie truck. Then there are those that get stressed out just reading that last sentence.
So we’ll break down a few different moving options to move you and your family across the country. We’re sure you’ll see yourself in one of these groups, or maybe even a combination of all. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, especially if moving costs or saving money is a concern. But that shouldn’t be the only mitigating factor.
Is Doing it Yourself the Best Way to Move Cross Country?
Perhaps the cheapest way to move across the country is to take it all on yourself. That’s packing everything up, loading the truck, driving across the country, and then unloading and unpacking everything when you get there. Besides all of the work, there are still costs to think about.
You’ll need to rent a truck, get insurance, buy gas, and find accommodations if you plan on making a few stops along the way. With today’s prices, gas is no small expenditure, especially if the truck gets single-digit gas mileage when loaded up with your stuff.
It can also be stressful driving a big rig on the highways and byways of the country if you’ve never done it before. And it will be a much longer trip than just driving your car because moving trucks just don’t have the get-up and go of the standard family car. You’ll probably pay less moving this way, but you’ll pay for it in blood, sweat, and tears.
Not ready to fight with other motorists on the freeways of America? There are several moving services available, to you. This includes moving container companies that will leave a storage container at your home, give you time to load it up, and then take it to your final destination.
Depending on your moving budget and how much time you have to devote to the move, this could be a viable option. Once you have your moving dates, the container can be dropped off weeks before you need it to be moved. Then you can load it at your own pace.
If you have room for a container. We’re sure you’ve seen these on the road–they certainly aren’t tiny. If you’re in an apartment complex or somewhere with limited parking, it could be difficult to find a convenient place to park it. And you’ll still need to load/unload all your belongings.
Hiring Professional Movers for Cross-Country Moving
There’s usually a big life event that necessitates a long-distance move, both good and bad. But even in the best situations, a move can be stressful, especially when trying to remember everything you need to do. By hiring a professional moving company, you take a big part of that stress out of your lives.
While you concentrate on everything else that needs to be done for moving across the country, professional movers like Smooth Move People will come in and pack your belonging, load them on the truck, drive them to the destination, and unload. What could be easier than that?
Whether you’re there to meet us when we arrive or show up a day or two later, the only thing left for you to do is arrange the furniture. You don’t need to return a truck (after filling up the tank one last time) and you don’t have to wait for the storage container people to come to get their box.
Now, there are differences in moving companies, so you want to make sure you choose the right one. For example, your belongings may be shipped along with two or three different households. That’s additional travel time for your stuff and arrival times could be changed with little to no warning.
That’s one of the advantages of working with Smooth Move People. We don’t look to maximize our profits, we look to ensure your move goes as smoothly as possible (it’s in our name after all). From taking apart heavy furniture to wrapping up kitchen utensils, we take great care in taking care of your belongings.
You might be wondering about the cost of hiring Smooth Move People–wonder no more! We offer the lowest possible rates allowed by the state of Oregon. Literally. So when you’re trying to figure out the average costs for each type of cross-country move, you already know where you stand with Smooth Move People.
Other Notes for the Best Way to Move Cross Country
Why Move Something if You Don’t Have to?
This is true for short moves, too. If there’s a piece of furniture that just won’t fit in the new place, get rid of it before the move. Sure, you may have to sit on lawn chairs for a few weeks, but you can save your back for the important stuff.
The same applies to clothes, children’s toys, tools, and anything else that you won’t need in the foreseeable future. If you’re moving to a place where the homeowner’s association takes care of the landscaping, why lug a lawnmower across the country? Have clothes that you don’t wear anymore or the kids have grown out of? There are plenty of places that will be glad to take them.
Get Your New Home Prepared
Even before you start wrapping the fine china and taking apart desks, it’s important to get everything ready on the other side of the move. There is no shortage of people you need to get in touch with to make sure you’re new home is fully functioning and ready to go.
- Internet
- Change of Address Forms
- Cable/Satellite TV
- Primary Health Care Provider
- Veterinarian
- Legal Documents (for taxes and other reasons, especially when moving out of state)
There are other things you can take care of too, such as registering your vehicle or getting a new driver’s license. But you can take care of those items in the following months. But ensuring you have internet access and wifi the second you arrive? Is there anything more important than that?
If you have children, you’ll want to make sure they’re already enrolled in their new school and have their schedules figured out weeks before the move. It’s hard enough going to a new school, but when the kids have to scramble around because they don’t know where to go, it’s even more difficult.
Work With Moving Experts for the Best Way to Move Cross Country
Smooth Move People provides all of the muscle, packing tape, boxes, and delivery for one price. Give us a call for more information about long-distance moves and what we can do for you. Or you can schedule your move right now and we’ll get in touch with you to iron out the details. Whether it’s to a house, an apartment, or even a storage unit, we’ll get it taken care of quickly, safely, and smoothly.
