So, I did a little math and figured out that u-haul move to Seattle would cost about $1.3k, not including meals, time off, or lodging along the way. (nor including some hang out time in Minneapolis, and some potential camping experiences along the way). But if I could find someone to share the move with, that would be the clear financial winner.
Otoh, if I let door-to-door moving deal with it all for me, that’s 1.4k (for one container, which would require me to pare my stuff down alot). Problem #1: I can’t have the moving container on the street here. So, I’d have to uhaul my stuff out to their facility out by O’hare. (easily $100, plus, it’s the worst part of a uhaul move anyway). Or, I could pay $300 / container (estimate) to have burly men do that part for me.
If I go door to door, I can also just hop on a plane to denver for training on april 28, and fly to Seattle on april 30, all on the work dime. Simplicity has its price.
have you checked out something like ABF? You pack it into a truck and they move it for you, and then you unpack it yourself, but it’s really cheap. We moved from NY to Virginia for something like $500, and if you need more space than you estimate, it’s only like $15 for an extra foot of truck space (and however many feet up and across it is). Dunno if it’s what you’d be into, but I’m betting it would be a lot cheaper than what you’re looking at.
Re: ABF u-pack!!!! $6K
I looked at both ABF and Door-to-Door. Door-to-Door came out significantly cheaper for the amount of stuff I needed to haul and the distance I was moving. I ended up getting one D2D container from Austin to Seattle for like $1.2k – I think an equivalent ABF move would’ve been around $2k. I think that part of it had to do with with the fact that for the amount of stuff I was moving, ABF wouldn’t let me pack it on a trailer – I think you have to use a minimum of 12′ or something. That made it a choice between a more expensive ABF container that had terribly dimensions (it was tall and narrow), or a less expensive D2D container.
In general these things vary a lot with the exact end points, though, so it’s best to look around. VA to NY is actually a pretty short haul relative to Chicago to Seattle.
Once used a moving service. (Not available in your area)
Some of the best money I ever spent. Those “burly men” are also men who have years of experience moving stuff in awkward places without damage or breakage in a fast and efficient manner. No damage to my stuff or either place. If you are not worried about money, it is money well spent.
1. Sorry I didn’t comment earlier, but congrats on this move! Sounds very exciting, and hopefully the catalyst for change you’ve been looking for?
2. Having moved more times now than I have appendages on my body, I can say, even with my limited resources, that WHATEVER funds it takes to make the move as easy as possible, it is money well-spent. Just MHO. 🙂
Good luck!!
ABF u-pack!!!! $6K
I think our move from PIT-SEA was around that or less. Including 4 nights hotels, 6 days of food, gas for our civic. And ABF’s customer service rocked. The deal is they drop off a trailer, you pack your stuff into it as small as it can go, and seal it with their wooden divider. They charge you per linear foot. I think we squeezed into 12 feet, and we had a LOT of stuff.
Then they come take it away and drp it off wherever you tall them, etc.
My recommendation is to look at Door-to-Door, ABF and possibly PODS (though PODS didn’t have anything remotely small enough when I looked). It’s a long drive – I really enjoyed the drive from Austin, twice, but neither time was in a U-Haul. Chicago is a little closer, but not much. Don’t underestimate gas, hotels, and pain. I *like* driving, but I wouldn’t want to drive a U-Haul for that kind of distance.
Also, you seem like the kind of person that could easily pull off what I did: when I left Austin, I just shed most of my furniture and a lot of random junk. A lot went to charity. I pared down to one Door-to-Door container worth of stuff and re-bought in Seattle. Which, y’know, may not have been cheaper in the long run, but it was certainly satisfying as a rebirth of sorts.