
The day you were waiting for has finally arrived: you attend your closing ceremony or sign your new lease, get the keys, and now itโs time to go from your old home to your new one. With your new lease or deed in your hands, you take a look around your current dwelling and start to internally catalog whatโs going with you and what you want to leave behind. Itโs exciting! Itโs also stressful and more often than not, incrediblyย expensive!
So, how do you move? What are your options?
Related: Why Co-Ops Sucks | If Youโre Single, Should It Stop You Buying a Home | Moving Cost Calculator | Does It Make Financial Sense to Buy a Home
1. Doing It Yourself

This option isnโt always available depending on various factors like vehicle space as Bergen-based moving company, or if youโre in a city like New York with low car ownership, having a friend who drives and can help you out. But if you can drive and comfortably handle really large vehicles, and arenโt opposed to doing a ton of heavy lifting and packing yourself, DIY is the way to go. Itโs likely to be your preferred option if youโre not moving a ton of stuff and your new home is pretty close to your old home.
My first major move was this exactly. I was renting a room in a ramshackle rental hut near the subway,ย my dad happened to be in the neighborhood with the car, and time was of the essence so whatever didnโt fit in the trunk or backseat got left behind. The guy who lived downstairsย had fallen on hard times and became prettyโฆunhinged. Iโm all for treating drug addiction like a sickness and not a crime, but when youโre threatening me over something you THOUGHT you saw?ย Itโs time to GTFO. I was just glad I found a vacantย rent-stabilized studio on my second try without having to wade hip-deep through Craigslist scams!ย So we drove across town to my first real apartment, and I was stoked about getting actual furniture for it after I unpacked my scant carload.
But if youโve got a lot more stuff that needs far more than your car plus a friendโs, youย can rent a truck from a company like U-Haul, fill it up, and drive it to your destination. Itโs the way to go if you have to move furniture and other bulky items from inhabiting a larger space for a longer time.ย You specifically want to use a moving company rather than a rental agency such as Avis if you donโt have a vehicle or yours is insufficient to get the job done. This is becauseย moving companies offer liability coverageย designed for DIY movesย such as U-Haulโs SafeMove plans that insure your cargo, the vehicle, and a small amount for medical bills if youโre injured during the rental period.
Enhanced policies such as SafeMove Plus will also include collision coverage and tire damage, as most peopleย donโtย regularly maneuver vehicles this large short of being a professional truck driver. Not to mention driving in an area youโre not used to navigating can be a scary prospect: I havenโt driven a car since Buffy the Vampire Slayer went off the air, and the thought of having to drive a 20โฒ truck through those gut-lurching New Jersey jug handles or down the pothole-ridden Cross Bronx Expressway where my exit is always backed up like a Starbucks bathroom at rush hour? Well, that prospect makes my knees buckle like a freaking straitjacket.

And trust, the car was NOT this neat when that happened. It was more like, โScrew it, weโll put the lamp on top of these trash bags of clothes then poke the neck through the window, and just hope for the best careening down Boston Road!โ
While keeping your move small and without having to rent aย truckย presents an excellent opportunity to dump a whole bunch of crap you donโt need,ย loading up your own car still has risks. If something fragile breaks in transit, you just cut your losses. This isnโt a big deal if you have the resources to get new stuff and that item didnโt hold a lot of sentimental value. Butย you might not feel that way about that vintage china your grandma smuggled on the boat to America, or the twoย Mac monitors you need to make a living. Youโll also have a harder time keeping this stuff safe from thieves if youโve got a long-distance move and need to keep your vehicle parked outdoors at points. Theft or an accident can mean a minor inconvenience or it can mean suddenly having to replace several thousand dollars worth of your belongings.
Having that insurance coverage with renting a moving van or truck becomes an appealing prospect as a result. However, U-Haul and other companies try to entice you with the promise of flat-rate pricing thatโs anything but that. The larger the vehicle, the more itโll cost you. Same goes for the longer your move will take if youโll need that vehicle for more than 2-3 days. Between insurance, mileage, and taxes plus the gas and tolls youโll have to pay regardless, itโs always going to be a lot more than the sticker price plastered all over these companiesโ websites.ย The estimated U-Haul cost for moving from New York to Florida renting a 10โฒ truck and traveling about 1,365 miles is $2,298.
I donโt know about you, but I got sciatica just looking at the table in the link above.
2. Getting the Professionals to Do It

Iโll cut right to the chase: if youโve got more than a carload and have the funds to hire professional removalists, DO IT.
My first move was easily done by car. Second move? Not so much. I literally spent my entire twenties in this apartment and accumulated things like furniture, real appliances, home office gear, and my adorable toad plus her three foot longย Exo-Terra hutch that was so heavy I had to hire a courier service with at least twoย liftersย to place it on the setup I built.

My baby in her travel tank the day we moved into our new condo! Oh I remember when those countertops were totally bare.
There was no way my father was in physical condition to help me with this and while some of my friends got cars, this was WAY too much for a car. Oh yeah, and my closing date was literally New Yearโs Eve and my lease expired January 1.ย I already told the landlord I wasnโt renewing so just like last time: time to GTFO and FAST, this time keeping Yael the toad safe and comfortable! In a brutal New Yorkย winter no less, not a very amenable time for a toad in need of warmth.
Whether youโve got pretty short notice or time to plan so you can get a few quotes, you make an appointment with the company and they take inventory of what youโre taking with you. After factoring in insurance, mileage, the type of property youโre moving to, and sundry, they give you a quote. You should always leave at least 25% wiggle room in this quote. This is in case you decide to take more things with you, plus itโs customary to tip the movers 10-20%. Whatโs awesome about professional movers like Move my stuff is that they also offer packing and unpacking services, so if youโre in a bind like having to vamoose because your lease is up you donโt even have to worry about ensuring youโve got boxes or put the physical and mental energy into packing. This is also fantastic if you have terrible spatial reasoning like I do.
Some professional movers also offer auxiliary services like furniture assembly and handy work includingย installing shelves, TVs, and air conditioners. Others willย clear out your old place and take things to the curb or charity for you.ย I used Flatrateย and paid about $3,500 total after tip to go from the west Bronx to the southeast Bronx which is about six miles. I didnโt just get all my stuff transported though, that fee included packing, unpacking, building new furniture I had waiting in my new place, and reassembling the pieces I had transported.
Whether youโre busy, disabled or suffer from chronic pain, or just donโt want to think about it: it is some of the best money youโll ever spend.
The drawback with this though is that you can have less control over when the movers come and go and itโs a lot hairier to do this for long distance moves. If youโre moving into an apartment building that has limited hours when youโre allowed to move in and out, this can be a real problem even when you tell them in advance. My condo didnโt really enforce this rule and my new neighbors didnโt care, we showed up well after 4PM when youโre supposed to be done, but others could give you a problem and get you off on the wrong foot.
You also might have things you donโt want the movers to see, like your anime pillow or the contents of your nightstand drawer if you hired them to pack for you. Trust, theyโve probably seen a LOT worse on the job! But itโs understandable, so try to pack those items on your own then leave everything else to them.
3. To Ship or Not to Ship?

If youโre going long distance, canโt or donโt want to drive that far, and professional movers are out of your price rangeย you might want to look into shipping containers.
Companies like Pods and United Mayflower bring a small shipping container to your current home, you fill it, then they pick it up andย deliver it to your new home. This can be a fraction of hiring professional movers as a drawback is that youโll have to do all your own packing and unpacking, but you also donโt have to take the risk and expense of driving your own U-Haul. Itโs a wonderful option for cross-country moves, though depending on the franchisee rules where you are some container models are only allowed for in-town moves due to insurance rules and local ordinances.
These containers can also serve as temporary storage units that can be held at your current location or their facility until itโs go time, which makes them an attractive option if youย donโt want to stay anchored to one area like a standard storage facility would call for. Of course, the drawback with this plan is that you can be totally screwed if your street or development doesnโt have sufficient space for the container. Ditto for where youโre headed: Iโm getting nauseous thinking about trying to park this puppy somewhere with really narrow streets like Chinatown and the ungodly tickets from meter maids with nothing better to do.
But if youโre going somewhere with open space where no one cares? A moving container might be for you! All you have to do is pack and unpack, though some lesser knownย companies may offer โwhite gloveโ packing and unpacking services to differentiate themselves from the competition.
4. Gimme a Ticket for an Aeroplane

Going cross country is always going to be more difficult and expensive than going across town if youโre taking a lot of stuff with you. But if youโve got a carload and no car yetย not enough stuff to warrant a moving container,ย have youย done the math on taking things on the plane with you?
Itโs definitely worth looking intoย seeing how muchย you can fit into large suitcases even if you donโt get free bag checks from airline cards or anything.ย Always check the airlineโsย baggage policies first thenย weigh your bags on a bathroom or luggage scale, as 50 pounds is usually the limit to avoid excess baggage fees.ย Even when youโre up to $150-200 for that third bag, it might be worth it to finish the move in one shot instead of mailing several heavy packages to yourself. This is not the time to try shoving everything humanly possible into your carry-on to avoid that fee.
Moving is as physically and financially exhausting as it is exciting. But when you know your options and got time on your side, you can mitigate those physical and financial risks to your best ability.
