If you have done a big move in the past couple of years then you understand just how stressful moving can be. Moving across town is one thing but moving across the country presents a whole new set of difficulties. You will need patience, fortitude and to work with a great moving company. Despite having the best movers to help you, you will still need to do some work to on your end to simplify the process.
Five Tips to Make Your Long Distance Move Easier
- Get the dates straight. This may seem pretty obvious and it should be but it still requires some coordination. Find out your first available delivery date, moving companies use this date to coordinate routes and schedules. They want to be able to deliver your goods as quickly as possible, and having keys ready and utilities turned on ahead of time makes the process go much smoother.
- Understanding the bill for a long distance move. Short moves across town are usually charged a flat rate or a per hour rate, typically there are very few extra charges. Long distance moves are very different and you will need to understand the fee structure. You may see charges for stair fees, storage fees if goods couldn’t be delivered right away, extra stop fees and long carry fees. Long distance moves are typically billed according to weight or the amount of cubic feet your goods take up in the truck instead of per hour. When checking for estimates make sure to ask about additional charges and make the moving company aware of any issues that may affect the final price.
- Get your own dedicated truck. A dedicated truck means that only your things will be transported in the truck. Often moving companies will combine multiple moves into the one trip. This will cost you an additional fee but it will make your move more convenient and stress free. Your items won’t be waiting in the truck while others are being unloaded, there will be no mix ups with other peoples things.
- Consider expedited delivery, all this means is that your things will arrive on a specific date. Your furnishings can arrives up to 30 days after the first available delivery date but with expedited delivery they are contractually obligated to show up on a specific date. Yes, expedited delivery can and will cost extra but it is much better than sitting in an unfurnished house for two weeks waiting for your things to arrive.
- Plan, plan and the plan some more. Planning is the key to making the move go smoothly, but it should include some help from your moving company by way of a moving consultant. If this is your first long distance move then there will be things that you overlook or are just unaware of and this is where the moving consultant should step in to offer some advice. They can help you with details like finding schools, connecting utilities, and mundane things like getting rid of the items you won’t be taking with you. Give yourself at least two months to make sure all arrangements are made and the details are all sorted out.
These five tips should help your long distance move run smoothly with little or no problems. Now you just need to work with the right moving team to get you to your destination, get as many quotes as you can before choosing.