What is a Cheap/Reliable Way to Move Out of State?

July 22, 2009 9:04 PM

I will soon be moving from Southern California to Spokane, WA to attend Law School. I am looking for a good (cheap reliable) way for my wife and I to move some of our belongings up there.

We don't have too much stuff; bed, a couch that is 7feet long and 2 50"tv's as well as a variety of boxes containing clothes and things.

We have looked at Uhaul and also getting one of those pods that you can pack yourself but they both would end up costing around $2000 from the few estimates I've gotten.

If anyone has a cheaper way, company or idea, or can just recommend some information from past experience that would be a huge help!

Thank you very much!

posted by mephesta to travel & transportation (11 comments total)

Pods is expensive, but ABF's U-Pack is significantly cheaper and just as convenient. I've used them twice, both for coast-to-coast moves. You can either have a door-to-door move or a terminal-to-terminal, which is nice if you don't want to park a 28' trailer in your neighborhood for a day.
posted by tybstar at 9:24 PM on July 22

How much are the bed and couch (and any other large objects) worth? They probably cost more to move than the difference between what you could sell them for and what it would cost to buy comparable used ones in the new location.
posted by winston at 9:27 PM on July 22

I've had good experiences w ABF too. My cube was about $1300, but it was going all the way across the continent, like 3000 miles. Going from SoCal to Spokane might be cheaper.

(Anyway, I don't have a better option than that to offer. Good luck.)
posted by Naberius at 9:28 PM on July 22

Thank you so much! I will be calling ABF tomorrow morning and check out their quote. I'll post back to let everyone know what happens.
posted by mephesta at 9:42 PM on July 22

By not trading your car for a pickup truck you are passing up the opportunity to experience almost the entire length of US Hwy395! Having a truck as the family car is fairly common in that locale and the only idea I have to offer.
posted by hortense at 10:39 PM on July 22

I would seriously consider selling all your furniture on craigslist, packing your car to the brim and mailing the rest. The 2 TVs are all that might prevent you from doing it or if you have valuable furniture. I swear you'll save 1keasily and be able to buy yourself a nice couch and bed off craigslist when you get there. I've done that with every cross country move I've done (and there have been 3 or 4) and this last time was the only one I didn't. Even though my company paid for the movers it was such a hassle and I was nearly ripped off at every turn I really wish I'd just asked for $1500 cash from them (it cost 3-4k to ship my bedroom, I had no living furniture) sold everything I couldn't put in a box, shipped the rest, and made a big trip to ikea when I got here. Would have made the move SO much more pleasant.
posted by whoaali at 11:29 PM on July 22

I, too have used ABF for a coast-to-coast move and it was great.
posted by The World Famous at 11:39 PM on July 22

I'm another that has used ABF for a coast to coast move, and they were wonderful (they even were extremely nice and helpful and accommodating when I needed them to deliver the cube to me in a snowstorm, in the morning before my thesis defense that afternoon, so I wasn't exactly the calmest person in the world). They even stored my stuff for a month for a pretty reasonable fee (I can't remember exactly what it was, though...) Tie stuff down better than I did though, everything will bounce around in there! In contrast to what tybstar said, if the cube is being delivered somewhere relatively flat, they can just leave the cube, not the whole trailer (though they had to leave the trailer during the snowstorm because the forklift couldn't drive in the snow), which fits in a normal parking spot.

Regardless of what you do, if one of you has both been employed in Southern California and will be employed in Spokane, the moving costs will be tax-deductible, including the price of whatever boxes you buy and stuff, so keep your receipts!
posted by brainmouse at 12:44 AM on July 23

Another recommendation for ABF's U-Pack. I used them once to move coast to coast and it was much cheaper than hiring movers. Your things are likely to rattle around the container, so be sure to pack them well, especially those TVs.

But for large furniture you aren't particularly attached to, selling on Craigslist may be the most sensible option.
posted by Loudmax at 12:53 AM on July 23

The cheapest cross-country move I made was when I got rid of almost everything and used a drive-away car to haul what I'd kept. I had to buy new things when I got to my new home, but that still was cheaper than shipping my old, rather worn-out stuff.
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:13 AM on July 23

Just to post my follow up, ABF answered all my questions and had a really nice price of $1200 with a loose delivery date or $1500 for a firm date. They will be delivering it for me tomorrow so I can pack over the weekend. Thanks for all your responses they all really helped!
posted by mephesta at 7:41 PM on July 23