Questions about Moving

[cmoney]

I am moving to a new place which is like 5 miles away. Even though I hate moving, I have always done the whole process myself minus the big items that need a larger truck. No idea why I have continued this into my 30s as it has always been a huge pain in the ass and takes up a large amount of time and energy.

My goal for this move is to do absolutely nothing. In fact, I want to simply take all my expensive stuff out of the house, the safe, paintings etc, go out of town and have everything packed up at one location and setup at the new location. Any ideas on the best way to do this? Do moving companies generally do both packing and unpacking? Would they even setup all the electronics, tv, stereo etc?

One thought was to hire one of my friends to monitor the packing and unpacking to make sure shit goes in the right spots. At this point in my life, I would pay a premium to deal with as little of it as possible.

Any ideas?

[chinamaniac]

I am moving to a new place which is like 5 miles away. Even though I hate moving, I have always done the whole process myself minus the big items that need a larger truck. No idea why I have continued this into my 30s as it has always been a huge pain in the ass and takes up a large amount of time and energy.

My goal for this move is to do absolutely nothing. In fact, I want to simply take all my expensive stuff out of the house, the safe, paintings etc, go out of town and have everything packed up at one location and setup at the new location. Any ideas on the best way to do this? Do moving companies generally do both packing and unpacking? Would they even setup all the electronics, tv, stereo etc?

One thought was to hire one of my friends to monitor the packing and unpacking to make sure shit goes in the right spots. At this point in my life, I would pay a premium to deal with as little of it as possible.

Any ideas?

You can get a moving company to do all of the packing and shit but obv costs more but would prob be worth it for you. It may take them 2 days to do though. As far as electronics you would prob have to hire an additional outsider to come and do all of that

I hired a company once to do everything and in order to get it all done in one day I had to help them pack everything.

Best bet is to find the best moving company in the area and have them do everything over a 2 day period or 1 if they can do it

[Dan Druff]

I would avoid letting them pack the really small stuff because it can take A LOT of time, and they will probably work slowly (packing every spoon in its own bubble wrap), racking up a huge bill.

Whenever I move between secret locations, I move all of the small things myself, leaving the big, heavy items to the movers. I usually get away with paying $300 or less, and it saves a LOT of hassle and potential back injury from lifting up big couches, beds, etc.

Also keep in mind that it's tough to prove that they damaged or lost your stuff. For that reason, it's also best to move your own small/medium stuff.

There is also variance in the cost of movers. Call around and hire the cheapest one that seems legit. Regardless of who you hire, be prepared for very shady-looking dudes to enter your home, as many of them have prison records (and look like it). The moving industry itself is actually shady, which is why some states have declared moving a "public utility" and attempt to control this, but like many well-meaning attempts by government to fix situations, they just made it worse.

I actually knew a girl about 15 years ago who was moving from college back home. Her parents just let her hire movers, and agreed to pay. She let them pack everything, and by the time they finished everything, the bill was like $1200. This was a move about 50 miles away, so it's not like the $1200 was for a cross-country move.

BTW, if moving cross-country, you can find companies that specialize in long-distance moves for cheap, especially if your dates are flexible.

[Deal]

I don't understand why cmoney doesn't have any bitches hanging around that would love to do this for him.

[abrown83]

If you are willing to pay, the solution is an Interior Decorator.

Give her an extra couple g's and have her fix up the windows and any other misc stuff she thinks of, and then have her stage everything for you.

The moving company then just needs to get the shit to the destination.

[ErickAA]

I have hired movers twice to move a three bedroom house a few miles in the last 5 years. What Druff said is dead on. Unless you do not mind paying $100+/hr for guys to needlessly wrap all your stuff in tape and bubble wrap I would suggest putting everything in boxes yourself. Also, for any odd shaped stuff that is not too valuable or hard to move, I would suggest doing it yourself. For example we have a weird stand up lamp that branches out like a tree. The fist move we let the movers take care of it and they must have wasted 15 minutes and $20 in materials wrapping it up. The second time I threw it in the back of a pickup and moved it myself, no problem.

Also, I am pretty sure you have to be present during the move, as you have to sign a bunch of legal documents at the end confirming the movers did not steal or break anything.

[4Dragons]

Moving from Detroit to Florida I didn't raise a finger. Company came in with 3 guys and packed everything up, met them there a week later and i pointed and they put shit down. Cost a bunch but whatever.

[John Stamos]

I would suggest flying these guys over from Japan

http://thechive.com/2013/02/25/in-ja...-an-art-video/

[tony bagadonuts]

I am moving to a new place which is like 5 miles away. Even though I hate moving, I have always done the whole process myself minus the big items that need a larger truck. No idea why I have continued this into my 30s as it has always been a huge pain in the ass and takes up a large amount of time and energy.

My goal for this move is to do absolutely nothing. In fact, I want to simply take all my expensive stuff out of the house, the safe, paintings etc, go out of town and have everything packed up at one location and setup at the new location. Any ideas on the best way to do this? Do moving companies generally do both packing and unpacking? Would they even setup all the electronics, tv, stereo etc?

One thought was to hire one of my friends to monitor the packing and unpacking to make sure shit goes in the right spots. At this point in my life, I would pay a premium to deal with as little of it as possible.

Any ideas?

You should be able to negotiate a deal on packing based on what you have, not necessarily how long it takes. Check Angie's list and other review sites and you'll be good to go. Movers that are experienced with corporate relocations are used to doing everything.