How can I minimize the cost of moving my family across the country?
May 21, 2013 12:07 PM Subscribe
My wife and two kids (and our two cats) and I may soon need to move from Maryland to Seattle. What's the cheapest way that we can move ourselves and our stuff across the country?
We may be moving if I accept a job offer. They are offering some reimbursement of moving expenses, but we would still need to afford it up front.
We'd be moving a 3BR house, but I am willing to sell furniture and get rid of as much of my unnecessary crap as possible to make the load lighter. I'm working on convincing my wife and kids to do the same.
At the moment, it looks like renting a Penske truck and driving our car across in tandem seems to be the cheapest option. The Penske is only a 3-seater, and we'll have four people, so towing isn't an option, unfortunately. It looks to total around $5K, including gas and tolls for both vehicles, and hotels. If you have any insight into doing something similar, I would be extremely grateful for any alternate suggestions you might have, or any tips on minimizing our expenses.
We may be moving if I accept a job offer. They are offering some reimbursement of moving expenses, but we would still need to afford it up front.
We'd be moving a 3BR house, but I am willing to sell furniture and get rid of as much of my unnecessary crap as possible to make the load lighter. I'm working on convincing my wife and kids to do the same.
At the moment, it looks like renting a Penske truck and driving our car across in tandem seems to be the cheapest option. The Penske is only a 3-seater, and we'll have four people, so towing isn't an option, unfortunately. It looks to total around $5K, including gas and tolls for both vehicles, and hotels. If you have any insight into doing something similar, I would be extremely grateful for any alternate suggestions you might have, or any tips on minimizing our expenses.
Best answer: You do not want to rent a truck and move across country.
You DO want to look into ABF U Pack.
Also, for the love of all that's holy, GET AN ESTIMATE FROM A MOVER. You may be pleasantly surprised at how inexpensive and how much easier it will be for you to have professionals do it.
Now, ruthlessly get rid of anything that can be re-purchased. The cost to move and the cost to re-purchase is pretty much the same. As for beds, you don't want your beds to be in a truck with potential bed bug carriers. Ditto upholstered furniture.
Shipping books may be cheaper if you send it media mail through the usps.
Have a few yard sales.
I cannot urge you strongly enough NOT to freaking drive a rental truck across these United States. Just. Don't.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:24 PM on May 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
You DO want to look into ABF U Pack.
Also, for the love of all that's holy, GET AN ESTIMATE FROM A MOVER. You may be pleasantly surprised at how inexpensive and how much easier it will be for you to have professionals do it.
Now, ruthlessly get rid of anything that can be re-purchased. The cost to move and the cost to re-purchase is pretty much the same. As for beds, you don't want your beds to be in a truck with potential bed bug carriers. Ditto upholstered furniture.
Shipping books may be cheaper if you send it media mail through the usps.
Have a few yard sales.
I cannot urge you strongly enough NOT to freaking drive a rental truck across these United States. Just. Don't.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:24 PM on May 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
What are the terms of the reimbursement? Do they cover up to a certain amount? Do they contract with a particular moving company? If the employer will pay to move your furniture, then selling it doesn't make sense because you'll be the one who has to pay to replace it.
posted by payoto at 12:27 PM on May 21, 2013
posted by payoto at 12:27 PM on May 21, 2013
Response by poster: mareli -- PODS seems much more expensive for anything that isn't a local move, unfortunately.
Ruthless -- what has you so set against renting a truck? You didn't really give any reason. I appreciate the Media Mail suggestion, though. I was thinking about that, or shipping some items via Greyhound.
payoto -- They will reimburse up to a certain amount, but if we can't afford the moving expense in the first place (we don't have much in the way of savings), then we won't be able to take the job, and there won't be any reimbursement. Personally, I'm kind of discounting that in the equation since they aren't paying for it up-front.
posted by mboszko at 12:35 PM on May 21, 2013
Ruthless -- what has you so set against renting a truck? You didn't really give any reason. I appreciate the Media Mail suggestion, though. I was thinking about that, or shipping some items via Greyhound.
payoto -- They will reimburse up to a certain amount, but if we can't afford the moving expense in the first place (we don't have much in the way of savings), then we won't be able to take the job, and there won't be any reimbursement. Personally, I'm kind of discounting that in the equation since they aren't paying for it up-front.
posted by mboszko at 12:35 PM on May 21, 2013
Best answer: Per the people I know who've moved cross country on their own dime, U-Pack Moving and Greyhound PackageXpress were the way to go.
Rather than doing the moving truck/car tandem thing, they packed and shipped 100% of their belongings using one of the above methods, sold their cars, and then simply flew to their final destinations with carry-on luggage that contained only clothes and toiletries. To them, it wound up being much cheaper to sell an old semi-beater car in their old home city and buy a 'new' semi-beater car in their new home city than it would have been to drive the old car from Point A to Point B (wear & tear, gas, tolls, possible unexpected emergency repairs, etc.), especially as accompanied by a rented moving truck... which also means the rental company will be tacking on usurious fees because it's a one-way trip.
The person I know who moved cross-country on his employer's dime stood back and idly watched as highly trained, ridiculously efficient moving professionals tidily and safely packed up all of his worldly possessions in clearly labeled boxes and safely transported them to his destination, a rental house his employer had already procured, at which point the boxes were placed in the allotted/labeled rooms. He, in turn, had over a week to take a leisurely drive across the American West -- no hassle, no worries. It was a fairly turnkey operation. So first, figure out which option your employer would prefer you to take based on their reimbursement levels.
If it's the latter, you really have nothing to worry about.
If it's the former, and your car is reliable and mostly-new, I'd recommend packing and shipping everything you want to keep except for the barest essentials, which you should keep in your car along with a cooler of drinks/snacks to minimize food-based pit stops. Then drive your family from MD to WA in your personal vehicle, camping/car camping/cheap hotel-ing it along the way -- there will be so many fantastic little rest stops, RV parks, adorable motels, and beautiful campgrounds just off the interstate, especially once you cross the Mississippi. You could use Freetrip or MyScenicDrives to plan the route, and a conjunction of FuelEconomy.gov and AAA's TripTik can help you minimize your gas expenses. So much of America is insanely, ridiculously, overwhelmingly beautiful -- I can't recommend a cross-country drive enough.
posted by divined by radio at 12:39 PM on May 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
Rather than doing the moving truck/car tandem thing, they packed and shipped 100% of their belongings using one of the above methods, sold their cars, and then simply flew to their final destinations with carry-on luggage that contained only clothes and toiletries. To them, it wound up being much cheaper to sell an old semi-beater car in their old home city and buy a 'new' semi-beater car in their new home city than it would have been to drive the old car from Point A to Point B (wear & tear, gas, tolls, possible unexpected emergency repairs, etc.), especially as accompanied by a rented moving truck... which also means the rental company will be tacking on usurious fees because it's a one-way trip.
The person I know who moved cross-country on his employer's dime stood back and idly watched as highly trained, ridiculously efficient moving professionals tidily and safely packed up all of his worldly possessions in clearly labeled boxes and safely transported them to his destination, a rental house his employer had already procured, at which point the boxes were placed in the allotted/labeled rooms. He, in turn, had over a week to take a leisurely drive across the American West -- no hassle, no worries. It was a fairly turnkey operation. So first, figure out which option your employer would prefer you to take based on their reimbursement levels.
If it's the latter, you really have nothing to worry about.
If it's the former, and your car is reliable and mostly-new, I'd recommend packing and shipping everything you want to keep except for the barest essentials, which you should keep in your car along with a cooler of drinks/snacks to minimize food-based pit stops. Then drive your family from MD to WA in your personal vehicle, camping/car camping/cheap hotel-ing it along the way -- there will be so many fantastic little rest stops, RV parks, adorable motels, and beautiful campgrounds just off the interstate, especially once you cross the Mississippi. You could use Freetrip or MyScenicDrives to plan the route, and a conjunction of FuelEconomy.gov and AAA's TripTik can help you minimize your gas expenses. So much of America is insanely, ridiculously, overwhelmingly beautiful -- I can't recommend a cross-country drive enough.
posted by divined by radio at 12:39 PM on May 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: divined -- It's the former. Thanks. Great points.
posted by mboszko at 12:47 PM on May 21, 2013
posted by mboszko at 12:47 PM on May 21, 2013
Ruthless -- what has you so set against renting a truck? You didn't really give any reason. I appreciate the Media Mail suggestion, though. I was thinking about that, or shipping some items vie Greyhound.
Not directed to me, but to give you just one (crazy) example, my partner and I moved last year when the derecho pounded West Virginia. Since we were of course insanely busy the night before and hadn't been watching the news, we had no idea a huge storm had pummeled West Virginia, much less that every single rest stop and gas station on the road, across the state, was closed because everything was out of power. Yeah. You couldn't even stop to pee. We came close to running out of gas and I had to call the non emergency police number just to find out when we'd be able to get gas. We would never have made it across the state in a moving truck, and you definitely don't want to be stranded on the side of the road in any vehicle, but especially not a moving truck. In our case, with our dog, and in close to 100 degree weather.
posted by nakedmolerats at 12:52 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Not directed to me, but to give you just one (crazy) example, my partner and I moved last year when the derecho pounded West Virginia. Since we were of course insanely busy the night before and hadn't been watching the news, we had no idea a huge storm had pummeled West Virginia, much less that every single rest stop and gas station on the road, across the state, was closed because everything was out of power. Yeah. You couldn't even stop to pee. We came close to running out of gas and I had to call the non emergency police number just to find out when we'd be able to get gas. We would never have made it across the state in a moving truck, and you definitely don't want to be stranded on the side of the road in any vehicle, but especially not a moving truck. In our case, with our dog, and in close to 100 degree weather.
posted by nakedmolerats at 12:52 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I moved from Minnesota to Maine on a tiny budget two years ago (me, a cat, a few other hard to ship items, but no kids). I sold or donated nearly everything I could, mailed all my books (a small book box via media rate ran me somewhere between $10 and 20 depending on actual weight, and held 20-40 books, depending on size/type)
I then packed all the stuff I couldn't ship into a rented car, sold my existing car (which was old enough and lacking AC enough that it would not have made a cross-country move in August), and drove with a friend (because I had things in the car that could not be left long enough for lunch in hot weather).
All told, I think it was just under $2000 for the move itself (not counting stuff like deposit on the new apartment, etc.) - about $750 for the car rental, a couple of hundred mailing things, and the rest in gas/hotel rooms in transit, etc.
In terms of reimbursement, two things that helped me:
1) The reimbursement payout was *really* fast once I turned in the paperwork - under two weeks. If the timing's an issue, ask about it when you discuss whatever offer: they should be able to tell you.
2) I was moving for an academic library job, and the credit union associated with the university offered an interest free loan to cover moving costs and that gap until the new paycheck started. It wasn't huge (I think I'd have gotten $3K at most, and I took less than that), but it was a huge help and if I hadn't been able to repay it within those three months, the interest was very reasonable. It's possible there's something of the kind available to you, maybe. (Call local credit unions and banks? It's a pretty cheap way for them to get a loyal new customer.)
posted by modernhypatia at 12:55 PM on May 21, 2013
I then packed all the stuff I couldn't ship into a rented car, sold my existing car (which was old enough and lacking AC enough that it would not have made a cross-country move in August), and drove with a friend (because I had things in the car that could not be left long enough for lunch in hot weather).
All told, I think it was just under $2000 for the move itself (not counting stuff like deposit on the new apartment, etc.) - about $750 for the car rental, a couple of hundred mailing things, and the rest in gas/hotel rooms in transit, etc.
In terms of reimbursement, two things that helped me:
1) The reimbursement payout was *really* fast once I turned in the paperwork - under two weeks. If the timing's an issue, ask about it when you discuss whatever offer: they should be able to tell you.
2) I was moving for an academic library job, and the credit union associated with the university offered an interest free loan to cover moving costs and that gap until the new paycheck started. It wasn't huge (I think I'd have gotten $3K at most, and I took less than that), but it was a huge help and if I hadn't been able to repay it within those three months, the interest was very reasonable. It's possible there's something of the kind available to you, maybe. (Call local credit unions and banks? It's a pretty cheap way for them to get a loyal new customer.)
posted by modernhypatia at 12:55 PM on May 21, 2013
Best answer: Almost forgot about the kittens!
Here are some good resources to help you move your beloved furballs cross-country; they let you see all of the pet-friendly lodging available along your proposed route:
Trips With Pets - Search By Route & Go Pet Friendly
Also, here is a list of pet-friendly hotel chains. Motel 6, La Quinta, and Best Western are the budget hotel chains I know of where all of their properties allow pets; other chains tend to have pet rules that are set by each individual property.
posted by divined by radio at 1:04 PM on May 21, 2013
Here are some good resources to help you move your beloved furballs cross-country; they let you see all of the pet-friendly lodging available along your proposed route:
Trips With Pets - Search By Route & Go Pet Friendly
Also, here is a list of pet-friendly hotel chains. Motel 6, La Quinta, and Best Western are the budget hotel chains I know of where all of their properties allow pets; other chains tend to have pet rules that are set by each individual property.
posted by divined by radio at 1:04 PM on May 21, 2013
If the only thing doing you is needing cash upfront, see if your employer would be willing to pay a moving company directly. Or front you part of your first paycheck. You could also try a personal loan or a credit card with a 0% intro rate (make sure you understand what you're getting into). But don't make yourself and your family miserable when you don't have to.
Also, look into shipping your car if it isn't a beater. My boyfriend looked into shopping his from sf to Chicago, so not as far but close, and it was only 800 or so. If you fly on a weekday, the price difference may not be that much and you'll have that much more energy for the new job.
posted by matildatakesovertheworld at 1:16 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Also, look into shipping your car if it isn't a beater. My boyfriend looked into shopping his from sf to Chicago, so not as far but close, and it was only 800 or so. If you fly on a weekday, the price difference may not be that much and you'll have that much more energy for the new job.
posted by matildatakesovertheworld at 1:16 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
There's a reason Uhaul's slogan is Adventures in Moving.
First of all, those rental trucks are really uncomfortable to drive and sit in. Secondly, they are abysmally maintained. There are stories of people stranded on the side of the road with blown tires, bad engines, no a/c and other horrors. Also, a lot of these beasts don't go above 60 MPH. You won't like that. Especially if you're on I-90. Also, the gas milage on the truck is about 10 mpg. That's not cute.
Also, mileage. Yeah. That.
Here's a blurb about that.
Also, if you compare a pack-it-yourself cube, with the hassle, gas, and drudgery of driving a rental truck across the country, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how much easier it is.
A family drive across the US can be fun and adventurous, even with your kitties. It is NO FUN AT ALL in a horrible rental truck.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:54 PM on May 21, 2013
First of all, those rental trucks are really uncomfortable to drive and sit in. Secondly, they are abysmally maintained. There are stories of people stranded on the side of the road with blown tires, bad engines, no a/c and other horrors. Also, a lot of these beasts don't go above 60 MPH. You won't like that. Especially if you're on I-90. Also, the gas milage on the truck is about 10 mpg. That's not cute.
Also, mileage. Yeah. That.
Here's a blurb about that.
Also, if you compare a pack-it-yourself cube, with the hassle, gas, and drudgery of driving a rental truck across the country, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how much easier it is.
A family drive across the US can be fun and adventurous, even with your kitties. It is NO FUN AT ALL in a horrible rental truck.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:54 PM on May 21, 2013
Oh yeah, and one other thing.
What do you know about driving a truck? What do you know about driving a truck across country?
When I was learning to drive, and pretty much anytime I'm on the road, if my Dad sees a Uhaul, he'll point it out and say, "Steer clear of that guy, he doesn't know what the fuck he's doing."
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:03 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
What do you know about driving a truck? What do you know about driving a truck across country?
When I was learning to drive, and pretty much anytime I'm on the road, if my Dad sees a Uhaul, he'll point it out and say, "Steer clear of that guy, he doesn't know what the fuck he's doing."
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:03 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I've moved almost all the way across the country a couple of times in the last couple of years and ABF U-Pack was both the cheapest and sanest option when priced every time. Those trucks are scary to drive and consume an insane amount of gas, in my experience, so I wouldn't use them for any move that couldn't be easily completed in a day. ABF has been, in my experience, also uniformly kind and easy to work with (do not work for them, have moved with them 3+ times very long distances and referred friends who have also had good luck). Tip: The option to take up part of a truck rather than use a pod thingee is almost always both substantially cheaper and easier.
posted by eleanna at 2:09 PM on May 21, 2013
posted by eleanna at 2:09 PM on May 21, 2013
I once drove a U-Haul trailer from NYC to Denver, and over the course of the trip, each of the tires on the trailer went flat. One of those flats hit us after dark, on I-80 west of Des Moines (in other words, sparsely traveled.) This was before cell phones, on a dark interstate, and not clear how far the next service station would be. Let me tell you sitting in the dark by the side of the interstate in the middle of nowhere is not a fun time. That was without kids. With kids? No freaking way.
A few years ago my mother in law downsized and shipped out a big pod of stuff via Door-to-Door, which was pretty competitive with ABF U-Pack, so I'd pare it down to the minimum and ship it that way, rather than renting a truck.
posted by ambrosia at 3:01 PM on May 21, 2013
A few years ago my mother in law downsized and shipped out a big pod of stuff via Door-to-Door, which was pretty competitive with ABF U-Pack, so I'd pare it down to the minimum and ship it that way, rather than renting a truck.
posted by ambrosia at 3:01 PM on May 21, 2013
I used ABF U-Pack to move from Oklahoma City to Portland in 2001. It was really easy. They parked a trailer and I bribed friends with pizza to help me load our stuff up. My wife and daughter then flew to Portland and I drove our car up to meet her. ABF dropped off the trailer after four or five days and we unloaded it. It was easy and it cost about $1200 for a family of three.
Now I have a family of seven and a lot more crap, so I don't know how cost effective it would be.
posted by tacodave at 4:29 PM on May 21, 2013
Now I have a family of seven and a lot more crap, so I don't know how cost effective it would be.
posted by tacodave at 4:29 PM on May 21, 2013
Best answer: If your aim is to do it as cheaply as possible, repurchase as little as possible, and you have the time: Rent something. Be aware that the gas costs will be a large portion of the total.
I recently did this with my own things (though much smaller) and it saved me a lot of hassle. I brought EVERYTHING, including such items as laundry baskets, buckets, drawers with contents still inside, bathmats, dodgy ikea furniture, etc. These things would have been an absolute pain for me to go and repurchase, given how busy I was after arriving & I had no car for shopping. Had I paid for movers, most of them would have been thrown out.
If you're ok with throwing out the things that cost less to replace than move, and you'd rather avoid the hassles of driving, then make sure you're ruthless with throwing things out.
Something major to pay attention to for rental trucks: occasionally more people want to make a 1-way trip in one direction than the other. When this happens, you can occasionally get the hire extra cheap in the unpopular direction (or free, or with included gas.) I only know how to find the ones local to my country, but look for 'relocations' on vehicles. I used this for my move - it cost me about $40 for the entire hire + gas, rather than ~$900.
posted by Ashlyth at 4:41 PM on May 21, 2013
I recently did this with my own things (though much smaller) and it saved me a lot of hassle. I brought EVERYTHING, including such items as laundry baskets, buckets, drawers with contents still inside, bathmats, dodgy ikea furniture, etc. These things would have been an absolute pain for me to go and repurchase, given how busy I was after arriving & I had no car for shopping. Had I paid for movers, most of them would have been thrown out.
If you're ok with throwing out the things that cost less to replace than move, and you'd rather avoid the hassles of driving, then make sure you're ruthless with throwing things out.
Something major to pay attention to for rental trucks: occasionally more people want to make a 1-way trip in one direction than the other. When this happens, you can occasionally get the hire extra cheap in the unpopular direction (or free, or with included gas.) I only know how to find the ones local to my country, but look for 'relocations' on vehicles. I used this for my move - it cost me about $40 for the entire hire + gas, rather than ~$900.
posted by Ashlyth at 4:41 PM on May 21, 2013
Response by poster: Thank, everyone! Lots of good points to consider, all around.
posted by mboszko at 9:44 PM on May 21, 2013
posted by mboszko at 9:44 PM on May 21, 2013
If you rent a truck, go with Budget (Ryder), not U-haul. I rented a U-haul and it was in such bad shape that I unloaded it and took it back (and got a Budget). On one move, we bought a truck and sold it after we arrived (we didn't have housing lined up, so we could leave it packed up as storage). That's very risky, since, if the motor blows up half-way, you're stuck.
posted by 445supermag at 10:08 PM on May 21, 2013
posted by 445supermag at 10:08 PM on May 21, 2013
We did ABF U-Pack. And we had surprisingly pleasant stays at La Quintas with our dogs.
posted by radioamy at 7:06 AM on May 22, 2013
posted by radioamy at 7:06 AM on May 22, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by mareli at 12:18 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]