A moving company to get from Chicago to Boston.

October 22, 2012 9:03 AM

Asking for a friend: What's a good moving company to go from Chicago to Boston with the contents of one bedroom apartment? (Clothes, kitchen stuff plus dining table, bedroom furniture, living room stuff like a big couch and some chairs, a bookcase etc. Might also include the moving of a Honda Civic.)
posted by CrazyLemonade to Travel & Transportation (7 answers total)

While they don't have an office in Chicago, I would call Gentle Giant in Boston to see if they would handle the move. I used Gentle Giant for two local moves in Boston and an interstate move from Boston to Virginia and had very positive experiences all three times. I recently used another company for a local move in VA to save some money and, while it was overall a good experience, it wasn't worth the savings.
posted by backupjesus at 9:11 AM on October 22, 2012

I also came in to recommend Gentle Giant.
posted by Perplexity at 9:19 AM on October 22, 2012

I used U-Pack for a cross country move. They bring the truck to your house, you load it, and then you call them when it's ready to go. This allowed us to drive at our leisure to our new home in our own car. Only tricky part was securing the gate in the back of the truck when it was done, but otherwise this worked fine. It saved a bunch of money. Moving your own furniture is a pain, so if you don't want to do that, this isn't for you.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 9:55 AM on October 22, 2012

Response by poster: Yeah, moving her own stuff is not an option for my friend as she's a petite 30 year-old with a time consuming job so she very much needs the extra hands.
posted by CrazyLemonade at 10:25 AM on October 22, 2012

I could ask my aunt: she moved from near Watertown Place to Kenmore Square about ten years ago.

A crew of Ooompa-Loompas came into her place and everything went into a semi truck, ending with her car. When they got to Boston the next day, eeeeeeverything came right back out in reverse order. It was like magic. They even built crates from 1"x4"s around her framed pictures and stuff. (And wonder of wonders, they got that truck down the tiny side street in Boston!)

She brought out a five foot-tall Poppin' Fresh Pillsbury Doughboy doll for me my kids, which they set in the seat of the car as though it was driving. Those guys seemed pretty cool.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:17 PM on October 22, 2012

Whoever your friend uses, make sure the moving company gets a city street occupancy permit for the moving truck. (the permit is a dated no parking signs posted on the street)
The movers we used for a VA to Boston move did not get one (despite our specific request!!) and the truck had nowhere to park near the house. Double parking blocked the entire narrow strreet. And it rained.
posted by natasha_k at 1:14 PM on October 22, 2012

I just used 2 men and a truck from a local Chicago suburb to Chicago proper, and they did good work. I know they do cross country moves as well.
posted by garlic at 1:46 PM on October 22, 2012 [1 favorite]