Advice re moving out of state/security for a vacant home
After more than 30 years in the Bay Area, we are moving out of state. We are pretty clueless re the whole process and would like opinions re doing it ourselves vs a moving company vs shipping freight (or any combo in between). We are not taking a lot of furniture, and what we are taking is not particularly valuable, so that's not really a consideration. Mostly personal items.
Also - our new house will be vacant for a while til we get there, as well as off and on while we travel. Assume we need a security system - should we also consider some sort of management company while the house is vacant? It's all pretty overwhelming. Thanks for any/all advice.
Nov 25, 2016
Parent Replies
We moved cross-country and had a pretty good experience with U-Box (a service provided by U-Haul). You rent a box (like PODS) from them, then you bring it home (you rent a trailer from them for $15) and fill it yourself (or they have an online marketplace where you can hire local movers to bring the box home for you and/or load/unload), and then U-Haul will ship it to wherever you want (even internationally!). We needed two U-Boxes for a two-bedroom apartment. It was pretty inexpensive, and it took ~2 weeks for them to move it cross-country. You rent the box by the month, so when it arrives at the destination it can sit at the U-Haul location for as long as you want (I think about $100/month/box).
Sounds like a moving pod would be perfect for you. They bring a moving pod to your home, you load it, they haul it, you unpack it, and they haul it away. Not sure what the costs are but seen several people use them.
There are several companies offering this service price shop before contracting.
PODS, SmartBox, PackRat, Door to Door are just a few.