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The 1,700 Mile Move: 5 Lessons I Learned

July 15, 2014 By MelissaB 5 Comments

I come from a family of non-movers. For example, my mom, once she married, became listless and lost her appetite and quite a bit of weight.  The doctor diagnosed her with homesickness.  She had moved less than five miles from her family home to her home with my dad.  (Yes, this is a true story!)

We moved one other time less than a 1/2 mile away, and even that was traumatic for her.

I have ventured farther in my lifetime, going 400 miles away to graduate school, but a 1,700 mile move is something else entirely.

While long distance moving companies can help ease the process, here’s what I’ve learned so far as we prepare to move from the Midwest to the Desert Southwest:

1700 mile move
How do you estimate costs for a long distance move?

1.  We had way more “stuff” than I thought.  I knew we had a lot,
but wow, I didn’t know how much.  We’ve sold, thrown away, or donated at least half of our stuff.  Every time we think we’re almost done packing, more “stuff” seems to appear.  I wonder if we’ll ever be done!

2.  Plan for a long-distance move as early as possible.  We started selling our stuff back in early May, and so far, that stuff has brought in over $1,000.  However, even though I started selling items 8 weeks in advance of our move, it still wasn’t early enough.  We’re less than 5 days away from our move, and I am still waiting for our treadmill, file cabinet, and office desk to sell.

I was surprised to see that sometimes listing things to sell on eBay, Facebook, and Craigslist is like planting seeds.  I’ve listed some things, and there was no interest.  But then, say two or three weeks after I listed them, someone discovers the listing and buys the item.  Allowing enough time for things to sell is essential.

3.  Exercise equipment has no resale value.  Many people want to buy exercise equipment, but selling that equipment later is difficult.  Luckily, I bought our treadmill second hand for less than $100 a few years ago.  I don’t think it’s going to sell before we leave.  I think I’ll be taking it out for trash pick up.

4.  Moving 1,700 miles is expensive!  Luckily, my husband’s employer is paying for our move.  Still, even though we’ve seriously pared down our belongings, the move is going to cost over $6,000!  (We’ve paired down so much that the mover estimated two other families’ household goods could fit on the semi-truck with our small load.)

If my husband’s new employer wasn’t paying, I think the smartest financial decision would be to sell everything before we move and buy used once we’re in our new location.

5.  Determining the cost of living in a new location isn’t easy.  Since Tucson, Arizona (where we’re going) has a lower cost of living than Chicago, Illinois (where we’re leaving) and my husband received a substantial raise with his new employer, we thought we’d be in a better position financially.  That’s before we looked at the new company’s health insurance plan and saw how much worse it is than our current plan.  Most of my husband’s raise is going to cover the difference in the cost of insurance.

Have you moved a thousand or more miles away?  If so, what lessons did you learn?

MelissaB
MelissaB

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.

www.momsplans.com/

Filed Under: General Finance, ShareMe Tagged With: move, moving, moving expenses

The Power of Facebook When Planning a Cross Country Move

June 5, 2014 By MelissaB 1 Comment

Are you on Facebook?  Most everyone seems to be.  After all, Facebook is a great place to catch up with old friends, share photos of your kids (and see friends’ family photos), and even look up what old flames are doing now.

However, have you ever used Facebook as a tool to help facilitate a move?

Remember that cross country move my husband and I considered but didn’t think would actually happen?  Well, it’s going to happen.

This summer, we’ll be moving nearly 2,000 miles from Illinois to Arizona.

In the midst of all of our planning, I’ve been amazed at how Facebook has helped me to both sell stuff and learn about the new city we’re moving to.

Selling Junk Stuff

Cross Country MoveI love dressing my kids in Gymboree clothes that I buy for a steal when they’re on sale and I have a coupon.  A few years ago, I had good luck selling them on eBay after the kids had outgrown them, but now, the market is saturated.  After eBay and PayPal fees, selling there is really not worth my time.

I found that there are several Gymboree groups on Facebook.  Since I have about three years of my daughters’ outgrown clothes to sell, this was a great find.  The first week I listed clothes on the Facebook groups, I earned over $200!  I still have about half of the clothes to sell.  Thanks, Facebook for giving me cash and reducing the “stuff” I’ll have to move.

Making Connections to the New City

Many Facebook groups let you ask off topic questions, so on one of the homeschooling Facebook groups I belong to, I asked an off topic question about the city we’re planning to move to.  Two women who live there responded and told me I could send them private messages about my questions about the area.

These women went above and beyond in answering every question I had.  In fact, one of the women, Donna, invited me to visit her when we took a preliminary trip to Arizona before my husband signed his contract.  We talked with her for over an hour at her house, and she gave us great information about things to do in the city, what she likes and dislikes, etc.

When we make our final move there, she’ll also be an excellent resource as we search for new doctors, dentists, car repair shops, etc.  Plus, it’s nice to have someone that we already know once we get in town.

How to Make Your Own Connections on Facebook

Have you harnessed the power of Facebook?  Doing so is easy.  If you haven’t done so yet, you may want to join some Facebook groups for activities and hobbies you’re interested in.  Finding one group initially is hardest.  Then, once you find a group you like, you’ll see on your sidebar other similar groups that you can join.

Many towns have Facebook pages or swap pages where you can sell and buy items from members in your local community.  Other groups like the Gymboree ones focus on people who like to buy and sell particular brands of clothes.

If you need to move or just to declutter your house, Facebook can be a great resource.

Do you use Facebook for more than just the basic social connection with friends and family?  If so, how?

 

Original photo credit: Gordon Joly on Flickr

MelissaB
MelissaB

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.

www.momsplans.com/

Filed Under: Frugality, ShareMe, Travel Tagged With: facebook, moving

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