I'm planning on moving 2000+ miles away in about 6 months (within US), but there are so many things I'm having a hard time figuring out...
1. How do you find a place? I'm only looking for a 1br to rent, but do I need to fly out and see them in person, then fly back home to start packing? seems like it adds a lot of extra expenses.
2. I have a lot of money saved, but most rental places will want proof of income for you to move in. How can you show proof of income if you don't already have a job in the new place you are going? I need a job to get a place, but I need a place to get a job.
3. What type of moving company is ideal? I've been looking at PODS, but they are starting to quote around $5k, while the stuff I'm taking is only worth maybe 7-8k, so I don't know if its worth it. maybe I could prioritize the more valuable, important things and find a smaller mover...
4. Lets say I get a shipping container that takes 10 days to transport, while I can drive the distance in about 4 days. what do I do for the almost entire week with none of my stuff?
5. Any tips on driving with a cat? she hates car rides, and peed on me the last time I took her for a 15 minute ride. Now I'm looking at a 30+ hour journey...
Any advice or tips is appreciated... It's going to be a huge nightmare, but I'm committed.
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I moved from MI to TX (~1400 miles) a few years ago and then the opposite a few months ago. Had to deal with all that twice shit sans the cat, it's not easy.
1. I looked at several places online and then flew down to have a realtor show them to us a few months before moving there. If my gf didn't also have a meet and greet at her new job then I don't know if it would have been worth flying there and back just to look at a few places, I would probably recommend staying at a hotel or airbnb short term when you first get there. It is pretty important to see what the neighborhood and general vibes are in person before being locked into a one year lease, places can look super nice online but be in sketchy/noisy areas.
2. Why are you moving that far without a job lined up first? I can understand wanting a fresh start but it could take a while to find something decent and you may be forced to take a shitty job just for practicality. I can't speak on how to get a place without a job, I suppose if you're moving with a friend/partner they could be the one on the lease
3. On the move down I packed up most things into a Ubox and brought the small/valuable stuff down in our car. I think it was around $2400 to ship it but it got delayed so many times we didn't have any furniture or basic kitchen stuff for an entire month. Uhaul has some of the worst customer service I've experienced, it's cheaper but not worth it unless you're fine with not getting your stuff for a month or more. On the move back to MI I just rented a Uhaul truck and drove it up, total cost was $1700. It honestly wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, I hate driving and was intimidated by driving a big truck but it went by smoothly in no time.
4. If you initially stay at a furnished place like a hotel or airbnb while finding a place this would actually be a benefit as you won't have to worry about storing your shit while you look. If not, drive it there
5. Just lose the cat man
Why are you brown?
Don't lose the cat she loves you
1) apartments.com most places have virtual walk throughs
2. you show them your last paycheck or income.... duh
3. None sell all the shit you don't need and be the butthole at the airport for a day with 10 bags Uhaul is insanely expensive now
4. You pack what you need till you wait for it....
5. grow up and ditch the furball
>SighSeeners say to abandon loved pet because it's not a heckin' dog
demonic energy, as usual. This place is evil
disregard the advice of these subhuman Black folk. abandoning your pet because you're moving is fricking moronic. just ask your vet for something to calm them down a little bit. stop halfway at a pet friendly motel. give her lots of treats.
anyone who suggests abandoning their pet for a simple move should have been aborted
absolutely disgusting and shameful losers indeed.
Imagine having to move “stuff.” Fricking sell it.
Stay in an Airbnb until you get a job then take 2 pay stubs and get an apartment. That’s what I did
>imagine being a fully actualized human being
>you don't want to live in pic rel? REEEE normie!
ah, always wondered why I see so many homeless people in the USA with piles and piles of possessions. Their self-worth is tied up in retaining control of a pile of possessions.
Most of that is stuff they accumulate while homeless, either because it has some function, some sort of comfort value, or as a bartering chip.
god damn that looks frickin mint
>Why are you moving that far without a job lined up first?
This was my first question as well
I've done this often, most recently from New England to the west coast.
> 1. How do you find a place?
Spend your first lease with a corporate landlord. They'll have websites to view the rooms, reviews, a phone number to call for questions, etc. You'll probably have to do it sight-unseen, but as long as the price makes sense and it's in the part of town you want to be in, it's the easiest option. Once you get settled you can be feet-on-the-ground to find better apartments if your first one doesn't work out.
> 2. I have a lot of money saved, but most rental places will want proof of income for you to move in. How can you show proof of income if you don't already have a job in the new place you are going?
Talk to the landlord/property manager. In most cases they'll approve your application if you have the full lease term (or some multiple) in cash and can provide bank statements showing that.
> 3. What type of moving company is ideal?
None of them are ideal, really. If you hire another company it's going to be a few thousand dollars no matter who you choose, there's not a whole lot of wiggle room for these distances since it's hiring someone full time "just" to drive your stuff. PODS is fine if you only have 1br worth of storage. If possible, try to get rid of as much as you can, or ship smaller things via Fedex/UPS/etc ahead of time so that every inch of your UHAUL or car is filled up with no overflow. I practiced filling up my boxes a few weeks before I left town so that I knew exactly how much space I'd have.
> 4. What do I do for the almost entire week with none of my stuff?
Unironically, sleep on the floor and go outside. Drive around. You'll find things to do, especially if you want to explore town.
> 5. Any tips on driving with a cat?
Not for cats specifically, but if you get a crate most pets typically sleep for the majority of the drive.
Sell or toss out anything that you don't absolutely need. If you haul a mattress, couch and television in a Uhaul, you end up spending thousands of dollars on old shit. You can break even by not getting a Uhaul and just buying new, better things. Same goes with your clothes. If it doesn't fit in your trunk or back seat of your car, sell it or toss it.
When I moved across country, I booked my first apartment sight unseen. I called around and researched apartments until I found a person on the phone I trusted at a place that had decent reviews and I signed the lease over email. It turned out to be a great unit.
For the cat, get a bucket seat cover for the back seat or just crate her.
ignoring all the morons in this thread, I was also planning to move across country with a cat
1. Probably a good idea to visit a place before you move there
2. Try and get a co-signer if you can. If not, look at room rentals on craigslist/facebook
3.I think uhaul is the easiest and cheapest method. If you have a hitch, you can rent a trailer for under $1k
is your cat leash trained? And you might want to talk to your vet and see if you can get sedatives for the trip
We have moved cross country many many times with cats. Here are some things we have found helpful.
>1. Apartments.com & Craigslist are your friends here. Corporate places with leasing offices have the most choice with pets and have lower deposits than Mom & Pops but you will pay more in rent. You will never see someone from the leasing office after you move in so you can totally tell them you don't have a pet. Just make sure your complex is pet friendly.
>2. Get an AirBnB or VRBO place for a couple weeks and put that address on your CV. Don't tell them you have a cat or you will have limited choices and pay more. All you need to get an apartment is a job offer, get any job offer and you qualify for a place. Most places won't rent to you unless you make 2.5x the rent though so keep that in mind.
>3. ABF/UPack is the only way I will move. You either take your stuff to a terminal and pick it up @ the terminal or get a trailer dropped at your driveway. You load it, and pay for only the space in the truck trailer you take up. Uhaul is only for local moves. Upack will cut your moving costs in half or more.
>4. You stay in an efficiency motel or AirBNB until your stuff arrives. Upack will hold your stuff until you need it, preferably after you find a place.
>5. Cats will zonk out when in the car. If worried, you can get some gabipentin from the vet to conk out the cat. Get a small dog crate/carrier for the back seat, put a tarp under it, get a disposable cat box and try and let your cat out of the carrier when you stop. Preferably you will have someone drive with you to watch the cat while you are in a rest area/gas station. Stay in Baymont, LaQuinta, Townplace Suites properties while on the road which are cat friendly and have free breakfast. Even Motel6 is cat friendly. Get food for your trip ahead of time. Just grind the road out, put the cat in hotel room and go find a decent place to eat dinner. Sleep, rinse, repeat.
Good Luck.
What is PODS
OP here
Here's what I've put together.
1. I've spent months looking at every apartment on zillow, comparing prices, quality, crime areas, etc. Then I reached out to someone I know nearby and had them drive through and send me videos in person. I think I should be fine without flying out to see it myself.
2. Technically, I do have a job. It's a remote, work from home job, that is also under the table. I wondered if I would have a hard time proving income (since I don't get pay stubs), but it looks like they will also accept bank statements.
3. PODS is around 5k, but looking around at other companies, UPack looks to be around 3k for a bit smaller, so that might work.
4/5. Me and my cat can find a spot near my current home to stay a few days while all my stuff is packing up and shipping. then I will head out and catch up past the movers.
Thanks for this thread OP, I mostly am in the same boat.
But I am wondering, how do you settle on the city/metro area you move to? Obviously things like cost of living and your job influence it, but in my case I work retail and can transfer to any of their stores.
>why do I want to move then?
Mostly because I'm currently stuck in the south and want to live closer to my family in the Northeast. But my options to be in the same town are either NYC which, no way could I afford that, or bumfrick Upstate NY where I won't be happy at all.