I'm moving to California soon but I haven't yet figured out how to get there. I'm selling my car before I leave so I'll either ship everything and fly, or rent a moving van and drive.

Which sounds like the better option? If I drive I'd love to make stops along the way (such as Nashville and Vegas) so that is making me lean towards the road trip.

7/30/2012 1:32:14 AM

The next time I move I'm selling all my shit first and just packing my car with the essentials (dog, laptop, couble of suitcases of clothes). It's either that or hire a moving company. Moving yourself sucks ass, driving a U-haul cross country is a nightmare.

7/30/2012 1:38:37 AM

While you could do one of those PODs or whatever, pack it up yourself, then unpack it once you get to your destination I don't think they're very cheap. Moving van may be your cheapest option (or very similar to those shipping container things) but god knows that's a long distance to drive, worrying about your shit the entire way. I'd just say if you do that make sure you get an obnoxiously difficult to cut/break lock.

7/30/2012 2:05:44 AM

I've always heard buying yourself an older-ish panel van, filling it completely up with your stuff, and then selling the van once you arrive at your destination (for basically what you bought it for) is good if you dont have TOO MUCH crap.

7/30/2012 7:07:21 AM

Yeah I wouldn't want to drive a moving van that far. First they only get like 4 gallons to the mile and as someone else mentioned, it would be a headache/nightmare worrying about it the entire way. Making sure any hotel you stop at has room for your truck and hoping someone doesn't break into it at night and steal your stuff makes for restless nights.

I've used some moving pods (upack from ABF) a couple of times and they were far cheaper than going the uhaul route when you factored in mpg of the moving van.

7/30/2012 8:52:41 AM

Traditional moving companies are hellishly expensive. Don't go that route unless your company is footing the bill. As has been stated, I wouldn't want to drive a Uhaul cross country--won't be cheap at all when you factor in gas, plus if you turn it into a "road trip" you're going to have to keep the thing for a couple of weeks. Again you're looking at a couple thousand probably plus the worries listed (not getting your stuff stolen, damaged in transit from shifting, and a giant u-haul being your only vehicle)

A pod of some sort might be your best bet, then either fly or rethink selling the car (unless you'e not confident it will make the trip).

7/30/2012 9:01:06 AM

you should just take the money from a palestinian and buy a ticket. I mean, I think that's legal.

7/30/2012 10:05:34 AM

You're gonna have to go online and cost out each item.

I had a friend move from Miami to California a couple months ago, and it was cheaper to hire a moving company than to ship a POD over, for whatever reason.

I'd imagine a UHaul would come out just as expensive and way more of a headache. But a lot of the decision depends on personal preference and how much free time you have.

7/30/2012 10:38:02 AM

I moved from Boston to San Francisco last year. Paid $1600 after shopping around to some 3rd party moving company, which ended up great. They moved all my stuff without breaking anything or missing items. I just packed essentials into my car. Took 2 weeks and drove cross-country stopping by places I wanted to see. Definitely recommend this route.

I looked at te pods and it was like $3k. How are these thiefs still in business? Uhaul, penske and other were $2k-ish.

7/30/2012 11:24:53 AM

^ask yourself how much gas you will use to go across the country. Uhaul doesnt pay your gas.

7/30/2012 11:48:29 AM

^^ It probably just varies depending on where your moving from and moving to. I moved from NC to KS a few years ago and just moved back to NC last year. I used ABF's Upack pods and they were far cheaper than any traditional movers I could find. I think it cost me ~$1500 each time and the cheapest movers I could find were almost $2500 and some went up to almost $4000

[Edited on July 30, 2012 at 11:51 AM. Reason : ^]

7/30/2012 11:50:46 AM

^^^That's a damn good price. I moved from Hickory, NC to outside of Fredericksburg, VA earlier this year and $1600 was the cheapest quote i could find...and that was just moving, not packing.

I really think a POD, or similar, would be the best choice for the OP.

7/30/2012 4:57:25 PM

Quote :

"^ask yourself how much gas you will use to go across the country. Uhaul doesnt pay your gas. "

really? you mean i could have taken the plane? it just happens that i actually decided to take two weeks off and drive to see the country. is that clear enough?


^trust me. pods are THE most expensive way of moving.

[Edited on July 30, 2012 at 5:16 PM. Reason : f]

7/30/2012 5:15:37 PM

^What company did you use?

8/6/2012 12:52:39 AM

damn, when i moved across the country every quote was 6k plus for a small amount of stuff. i ended up working down to 5k. how the hell did someone move from boston to san fran for so cheapp?

8/6/2012 2:42:38 AM

I found a company to do it for $800. 10 day delivery, and even offered 30 days of free storage since I didn't have a delivery address to give them yet. I'm selling my car and flying.

8/17/2012 2:39:37 PM

I sold all my furniture and moved 47 boxes from Raleigh to San Francisco for $600 .

8/18/2012 1:19:57 AM

selling your car and flying when you have the perfect excuse for a road trip???

8/18/2012 7:42:40 AM

I moved to California from Greensboro last year and ABF UPack cost me about $1500 for one pod to ship my stuff. Sold most of my furniture and just packed up the rest of my wife's and my stuff. Moving expenses included a flight ticket so we didn't drive. I had my car shipped too. About $1000 if I remember correctly.
I didn't have a whole lot of time so these options worked out best for me.

8/18/2012 10:44:19 PM