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Alex is the founder of 9Kilo Moving, which he started to help people easily find and choose the right moving company to make their move as stress-free and seamless as possible. He has spent over 20 years working in the moving industry, so he knows every aspect of the business and uses his knowledge to write about the industry and give moving advice. More on about us page

Long Distance Moving and Relocation FAQs

What is the Average Cost of Moving to Another State?

Moving from one state to another state costs more than moving a few blocks over in the same neighborhood. The American Moving and Storage Association released a study that stated on average; homeowners spend about $5,600 for a move that covers 1,200 miles and carries a load weighing 7,100 pounds. With 50 states in the equation, you will experience vastly different moving costs. For example, a move from St. Louis, Missouri across the Mississippi River to Collinsville, Illinois will cost significantly less than an interstate move from Southern California to upstate New York. In addition to weight and distance, other factors that determine interstate moving costs include packing supplies and whether you opt to rent a self-storage unit.

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How Much Does it Cost to Move Furniture from One State to Another?

The cost of moving furniture across one state to another state depends on four primary factors. First, you have to consider how far you plan to move. Whether you move yourself or hire a licensed mover, you will pay for fuel, as well as the wear and tear on one or more vehicles. Second, you have to factor in the total weight of the furniture. Third, the cost of packing supplies and whether you want to store some of the furniture at a storage facility contribute to the final moving bill. The most affordable way to move furniture from one state to another requires you to decide which pieces you can afford to leave behind. You can also hold a garage sale to unload some pieces of furniture and raise cash for the move at the same time.

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How Can I Move to Another State Cheap?

Start by renting a portable moving container. By using one or more portable moving containers, you reduce the costliest item on a moving bill: Labor. Restaurants and grocery stores are ideal spots to find free moving boxes. Perform extensive research to choose the most affordable mover, if your move requires the expertise of professional movers. If your employer is the reason for your relocation, then ask the company to take care at least some of the costs associated with moving to another state. You can also ship your things, especially heavy furniture that quickly ramps up the final moving bill. By recruiting friends and family members, your labor costs will include a few pizzas and maybe a couple of cases of soda and beer. Be a smart moving shopper by taking advantage of moving company discounts, which often appear during the off-peak moving season between Labor Day and Memorial Day.

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What Do I Need to Do When Moving to Another State?

The first step is to create a moving budget that factors in how far you plan to move, as well as the entire weight of the cargo you will bring along to your new home. Make sure to reduce the amount of furniture and electronics to maintain a reasonable cargo weight. Holding a garage sale is an effective strategy to lower cargo weight and generate cash that defrays the cost of an interstate move. Visit the city in the new state where you plan to move a few months before the relocation. You can tour the new neighborhood, as well as enroll the kids in school. Perform thorough research on moving companies that specialize in interstate moves. Customer reviews and the rating handed out by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) are excellent research tools. Update all your financial accounts, if you plan to change banks and/or establish new accounts in the state where you plan to move. Finally, don’t forget to leave a forwarding address with friends, family members, professional peers, and the post office.

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How Do I Prepare to Move to Another State?

The first order of business involves visiting the new city at least one time before searching for a place to live. You want to discover where the local amenities are located, as well as choose the best school district for your kids. After returning home, create a rough budget that includes two moving scenarios: hiring a moving company and performing the move on your own. You can find the list of top out of state movers here. The budget should include estimates for fuel costs, as well as how much a mover charges for different loads. Utilize the Internet to develop a short list of potential new homes. Visit the city yet again to finalize housing plans and enroll the children in school. By this time, you have to decide on whether to hire a mover. There are less expensive ways to move, including packing your stuff in a pod and sending it to your home. Cancel your current utility arrangements and set up new utility arrangements in the city where you plan to move. The last item on your moving preparation to do list is to forward your mail to the new address.

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How Do I Sell My House and Move to another State?

First, select the best real estate agent that will help sell your home quickly, without caving into price requests. Prepare your house for sale by listing what needs to be repaired, as well as what furniture you want to sell at a garage sale. Make all the home improvement repairs on your list to bolster the value of your home. You can also increase the value of your home by enhancing curb appeal, which is what potential buyers see when they drive by your house. A clean home sells faster, which means you need to take the time to thoroughly clean the kitchen and bathroom, as well as steam clean the drapes and carpet. When the home is ready for sale, ask for a certified appraisal to help you accurately price the value of your house. With a growing number of homebuyers using the Internet to gain first impressions of homes, it is important you present a series of pristine photographs of your home online to generate interest. Have at least one open house to seal the home sale deal.

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Is it Hard to Move to a Different State?

Moving anywhere can cause considerable stress and anxiety, but moving to another state can trigger extraordinary stressful issues that start with homesickness. Unless you are familiar with the new city, you can expect at least a short term difficult adjustment period to your new surroundings. The amount of miles you travel to a different state also plays a role in determining how hard it is to relocate to another state. A move from Miami to Seattle is more challenging to make than a move from Houston to New Orleans. You can simplify a move to a different state by thoroughly preparing for the move. This includes researching moving companies, as well as deciding which furniture and appliances to bring along for the interstate move. You should also prepare a comprehensive list of the packing supplies you need to make the move to a different state as smooth as possible. Click here to get the list of best interstate moving companies in US.

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What is the Best Way to Move out of State?

Money by far is the most important factor that determines the best way to move out of state. If you are on a restricted moving budget, then going with a do it yourself mover will save you a lot of money. By packing your stuff and loading it into a truck yourself, you reduce the most costly item on a moving bill: labor. This is especially true for interstate moves that exceed 500 miles. You can eliminate labor completely by renting one or more vehicles to haul your things to another state. When you do everything yourself, then you have to account for expenses such as fuel and hotel reservations. Moving companies that transport pods from one state to a different state can save you money as well. If your moving budget doesn’t limit your options, then consider hiring a licensed professional moving company to handle every step of the move to another state.

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Is Moving to another State a Good Idea?

If your employer offers you a better job and a higher rate of pay, moving to another state is a great idea. You will have to adapt to a different lifestyle, as well as a culture that vastly differs from what you have grown accustomed to over the years. Another good reason to move to another state is to maximize your comfort during retirement. Years of hard work pay off in the form of a relocation to a warm and sunny climate in Florida, Texas, Arizona, or Southern California. You might be attracted to a certain region of the country because of a geographical preference such as living near mountains or an ocean. However, moving to another state might not be a good idea if you are raising a family and your kids are still in grade school. Moreover, the lack of finances makes moving to another state cost prohibitive.

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How Do You Cope with moving to another State?

Moving to another state can produce an unbearable fear of the unknown, as well as anxiety caused by moving away from friends and having to make new friends. Coping with the fear and anxiety triggered by an interstate move starts by visiting your new city and researching the different cultural amenities. Meeting your new neighbors breaks the ice, as does having a positive attitude that includes making the relocation a life-changing adventure. Lean on a strong support system, such as your immediate family and the relatives living in your current city. After you settle in your new home, join local clubs offering activities that interest you. Meeting people with like-minded interests is an effective way to develop friendships. Spend plenty of time with professional peers off the clock to cultivate long-lasting personal relationships. Make sure to get your children involved in organized activities at school and the community.

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How Do I Find the Best Moving Company?

Start by performing online research. Customer reviews on sites like Yelp and Google give insight into the performance of a moving company. Weed out moving company candidates that have compiled numerous negative reviews and stick with companies that shine in delivering outstanding customer service. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) rates each business in its directory. Movers that have earned the highly coveted A+ rating from the BBB should move to the top of your list. Word of mouth referrals matter for choosing the best moving company. Ask friends, family members, and professional peers for references. After you have created a short list of moving companies, visit each mover’s website and meet with company representatives at the place where they conduct business. Finally, make sure the services offered by any mover under consideration falls within your relocation budget. Check out the list of top 10 national moving companies in USA>

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Do Moving Companies Pack for You?

Moving companies make money by offering extra services that include packing your things. Full-service movers that provide a packing service typically have a national presence by specializing in interstate and cross country moves. When you discuss a move with a moving company, ask the company if it bundles services like packing into a discounted rate. Many movers shave a few bucks off moving costs to entice consumers into signing up for more services that include packing. Remember that movers do not automatically pack customer possessions. It would help if you asked for packing as an add on service that increases the cost of any move, whether you move across town or cross country. Movers will not pack potentially dangerous items such as gasoline, lighter fluid, and propane cylinders. Besides, you should ask a moving company if it packs items like food and sensitive business documents.

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Who is the Largest Moving Company?

Defining the largest moving company involves considering three essential metrics: the number of agents, the number of locations, and the number of states served. Although a mover does not have to rank first in each of the three metrics, the company should find its way into the top three. Mayflower Transit represents the only mover that ranks at least third in the number of agents, locations, and states served. The worldwide moving company has more than 500 agents working at nearly 700 locations. In business since 1927, the moving company offers cutting edge technologies that maintain accurate inventory accounts, as well as provides customers with real-time tracking information. As a full-service mover, Mayflower Transit packs, loads, unloads and unpacks customer possessions.

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How Much Do Moving Companies Cost?

Since the size of a home and the services signed up for play a significant role in determining the cost of a move, several standard cost structures should provide you with insight into the cost of your move. The average rate per moving professional is about $25 an hour. You can expect to pay two local moving professionals nearly $200 for a move out of a studio apartment that takes between three and four hours. The price jumps to between $800 and $900 for a move out of a three-bedroom apartment or home that takes the same amount of time. Live by the rule that the larger the house, the larger the moving bill. Extra services such as packing and loading typically run between $25 and $35 per hour. Standard tipping for a job well-done runs around 15% of the total moving bill.

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How Far in Advance Should I Book Movers?

Booking a moving company well in advance of a relocation goes a long way towards ensuring the move goes as smoothly as possible. You enjoy the peace of mind knowing you have hired a professional team of moving experts. Many moving companies reward customers that book months in advance with discount services or services added to a moving job that does not cost you a thing. Although there is not a consensus number of months in advance to hire a mover, a good place to start is at least two months before a move conducted during the off-peak moving season between Labor Day and Memorial Day. If you plan to move during the summer months, you should reserve your spot on a moving company’s itinerary at least four months before the move. Most moving companies allocate a few spots for last minute moving requests that are as short as one week.

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What is the Cheapest Way to Move Cross Country?

The cheapest strategy for moving cross country involves renting a portable moving container. Instead of paying for labor and cargo weight charges, you save money by packing and unpacking your stuff from a portable container. Costs depend on the amount of time you expect to rent a portable container. A well-planned move that requires renting a portable moving container for a week can cost you as low as $500 to $750 Compare that to a weeklong move with a full-service company that costs between $1,000 and $1,500. Highly rated companies offering moving containers include PODS, Go Mini’s, and U-Haul U-Boxes. You can decrease the cost of renting a portable moving container by renting the unit during the off-peak moving season running from early September through late May.

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What is Long Distance Moving?

Defining a long distance move is often in the eyes of the beholder. You might think a 50-mile move is considered long, while the company moving your stuff considers the move short because you are moving from one state to an adjacent state. A good rule of thumb is to define a long distance move that takes more than one day to complete. As with other types of trucking companies, movers must abide by federal rules that limit the daily amount of time spent behind the wheel of a rig. For example, if you plan to move from Charlotte to Denver, you can expect the caravan to make a stop at night, which extends the move to a second day. You can find the list of best long distance movers here: https://9kilo.com/national-moving/the-5-best-long-distance-moving-companies-movers-us

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How Much Does it Cost to Move Cross Country?

The cost of moving across the United States depends on either the number of rooms in your current home or the amount of square feet for the entire house. According to Homeadvisor moving cost guide, the average cost of a cross country move is $3,498. You can lower the cost of a cross country move by selling some of your furniture and electronics to lighten the cargo weight. Moving cross country from a three-bedroom home in a high cost of living city like San Francisco can set you back as much as $10,000. Savvy homeowners load and unload all their stuff into portable moving containers to help defray the cost of making a cross country move. If you go the full-service route, you can expect to exceed the $10,000 threshold.

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What’s the Best Way to Move Cross Country?

There are two schools of thought when it comes to deciding what’s the best way to move cross country. For homeowners operating on a tight budget, renting a portable moving container is much more affordable than going with a full-service mover. You pack, load, unload, and unpack your stuff on a more relaxed moving schedule. You can send most of your stuff days in advance of a move to alleviate the stress caused by a tight moving deadline. On the other hand, if you want convenience and can afford to operate on a generous moving budget, then hiring a full-service mover is the best way to move cross country. A full service moving company does all the hard work, from packing your possessions into boxes to unloading the boxes from a jam-packed moving truck.

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How Do You Prepare for Your Cross Country Move?

Start by organizing your things into two piles: the stuff you plan to take with you and the stuff you want to leave behind. You can sell most of the things in the leave behind pile to generate cash that helps reduce the cost of a cross country move. Research movers that specialize in performing moves from one side of the United States to the other side of the country. Decide what services you want a mover to provide, from supplying packing materials to loading the moving truck. You can select from the top 10 cross country movers list here. Making a cross country move requires you to plan the trip carefully, which includes where to get off the road and stay overnight. Do not forget to forward your mail and change the address listed on all your financial accounts.

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How Do You Pack Clothes to Move Cross Country?

Organize clothing by season and by each family member. You can neatly pack pants, socks, and short sleeve tees inside tightly sealed boxes. Another option involves leaving most of your clothes in the dresser drawers you use to store the garments. Many movers specializing in cross country moves offer customers portable clothes racks, which secure dress pants and shirts, as well as casual long sleeve shirts and all-purpose recreational apparel. Vacuum seal the off-season clothing you have packed well in advance of a move to prevent moisture from degrading the fabrics. Use luggage to haul the clothes you plan to wear during a cross country move for quick and convenient access. A good rule of thumb is to pack heavier clothing in small boxes to make it easier to carry the boxes into your new home.

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