Never, ever, EVER pay for storage. Sell it, give it away, leave it, or use it. But don’t ever put yourself in a position where you leave stuff somewhere you are not.
why? storage is fine for a year or two, not for like 10.
i had some shit in storage for a few years, it was worth it.
2 years of storage would run ~$7000 around here.
Yeah, I say that’s a value judgement every time. If you can brutally trim down to crucial stuff and rent (yes rent) space from a buddy, I think that’s the best.
In our case we never expected to move back near our original location, and thus left nothing behind. But my mom is paying $400/mo for a 12x10 locker for all her worldly possessions when we moved her into care. It’s a pricy way to hoard stuff while she’s transitioning down that slope.
oh we just got rid of all my mom’s stuff. she thought it was worth like $50,000.
it was worth like $500. we sold a few things and just junked the rest.
the hard part was sorting out her finances because they were such a clusterfuck. instead of stuffing money in the mattress, she stuffed it across like 35 different bank accounts. which we had to go through power of attorney for every one… that was nuts. and some other weird things that the company wouldn’t pay out what they owed her until we lawyer’d up. shit was wild. no idea how that ever happened, but she was not a smart person. even when I was a child I knew she was bad with money
Moved from Wisconsin to Spokane three months ago. Instead of moving g all my belongings, I sold everything over the internet, in the end I just had a suitcase and a small backpack. I’m a musician, and it turned out to be straightforward to get a new drum kit once I got there. I’ve been playing gigs with a couple of bands, created the contacts beforehand, so I have some cash coming in, it was a good decision because of the spiders, I hate spiders.
How’s Spokane been? Anything better going on there nowadays besides some hipsters?
As I learned, after a devastating fire in 1889, Spokane rebuilt with beautiful brick buildings, giving the city a distinctive architectural character. The nature is overwhelming, night life not so much. It’s affordable. The people I met, they like to dress in jeans with a shirt, are fine, although I’m struggling a bit with the lingo. In summary, Spokane combines the charm of a smaller city with the amenities and natural beauty of a much larger one, all at a more accessible cost. Would you like to know more about a specific aspect of Spokane or get directions? Stupid AI.
Calling out AI slop in your own post is a new tactic. Bravo?
- Get a job first. You might be able to get the company to pay for your relocation.
- If you plan on loading your car up and driving across the country you should get your vehicle inspected first. Know the maximum amount of weight your car can handle and don’t overpack. You don’t want your wheel studs to snap in the middle of nowhere because you packed your vehicle above the weight threshold it could safely handle. It makes for a great story, but will get expensive really quick.
- If you have friends or family nearby it is a plus. Making friends in a new place isn’t easy for everyone, and you will definitely get lonely on your own. That said, get outdoors and do the things you love. That’s the best way to meet new people.
- Rent is expensive. Set real expectations when leasing or buying a home in your new location.
- Explore along the way. Document your trip. It’s a massive change in your life. Make sure to give yourself plenty of time to explore and discover.
It probably helped a lot that I was 19 and had nothing going for me in southern Indiana.
Asked a friend of mine if he was interested in moving too, and he was. I found somebody with an apartment listing on the then-new Craigslist and mailed them a check, then my buddy and I crammed everything we could into my Ford Escort. We stopped to get a little sleep just after Albuquerque.
Advice: don’t make that drive in two days, it should be three. It is so fucking long to drive.
Challenges: apparently Texas’ highway speed limits go down at night, and (at least at the time) the signs don’t indicate this. I got pulled over for going 75 in a 65 at ~2AM, right next a sign that said the limit was 75. Fuck Texas!
Actual advice: spend some time seriously considering what needs to come with. Most things are just things, they can be replaced. Don’t let your things weigh you down.
Yeah the long drives wear on you. I did 700 miles in a day and wished I stopped a couple.hundred Earlier that day.
Bonus points if anyone has advice for cross country movers
In my experience, it’s easier to deal with local movers completely separately from the shipping service. The one time I was on a time crunch and hired an “all-in-one” service, all they did was get local guys giving them the cheapest quote anyways.
When the movers showed up, they claimed they hadn’t been told about “all the extra stuff” and quoted me literally double the price to pack it up. My wife and I had padded every number we gave to the moving company (e.g., room was 12’ x 15’ and we’d just say 15’ x 15’ and full of stuff) beforehand to avoid this, but they still tried to gouge us. I was able to negotiate them down by about 30%, but I was going to be on a plane in less than 24 hours; so they had me over a barrel. They would have been perfectly fine leaving me high and dry if I didn’t shell out the cash either. It’s an industry with a lot of predatory practices.
Meanwhile, every time I’ve just hired local guys on both sides and dealt with shipping separately, it’s been cheaper (still not cheap), and I sleep better at night knowing that way less money is going into the pockets of middlemen.
That’s brilliant! Have you had good experience with any shipping companies?
I’ve had good experiences with ABF Freight, but it might not work for everyone. They drop off the back of a trailer at your place, let you load up, then you call them to pick up the trailer and tell them where it’s going. They charge by the square foot of the trailer that you use, so there’s some more savings there. They provide bulkheads that you use to seal off “your section” of stuff in the trailer, and they’ll fill the rest with other stuff going to the same place.
Biggest downsides are that you need to have the space to put a 30+ foot long trailer (usually street parking unless your driveway is long and straight) for at least 2 days, and I would recommend that you have storage on the other side for your stuff even if you don’t yet have a place because the one time that I had to pay their trailer storage fee, it was quite pricey. Also you gotta be flexible on delivery (don’t pack anything you can’t survive a month without) because occasionally, their drivers get rerouted or delayed.
I did that once, over a thousand miles
If the quote seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Photograph/log everything you pack, then photograph/log again as you unpack.
Expect to wait for your things so long you wonder why you even bothered.
Most places have some subculture of locals who hate migrants. Shunning the outsider is just a part of human nature. Don’t let it bother you. They don’t speak for the majority
I don’t get why people think moving is a challenge to overcome. You just… move. It’s not a big deal. Maybe it’s scary for folks who never did it? My family moved 3 times when I was a kid.
I moved internationally. You just sell/throw away most stuff, keep what you really care about/need, and then ship it or hire movers. It’s annoying, but I didn’t find it difficult or strenuous. Then you do the same thing if you move back or again. It didn’t seen any different to me than going to college.
Done. I notice people make a big deal about moving for jobs on online dating profiles, it’s so weird to me.
I agree with you but people want to hear it’s hard or difficult because in their instance, it is. Either they have baggage, or friends and family or there’s some other anchor but to them, it’s very hard and we shouldn’t demean that experience for them. I am like you, have moved across the world and throughout countries without a problem but I don’t have those ties and my friends and family will visit no matter where I am but that’s not everyones experience.
But once they move once, they’re more free to explore further so we should encourage that sense of wander.
You guys are so weird.
But I understand for some folks ordinary life is some horrible challenge and every basic function and day is very dramatic and stressful for them. I dont’ live my life that way, and that’s a deliberate choice I have made. Because my family is like that, and they are miserable people and I don’t want to be miserable like them, or anyone else who thinks basic life tasks are this horrible burden. and yeah, it’s the internet where having to tie your shoes is some huge cognitive burden for a lot of people here, and the autistic types who can only wear Velcro shoes think those of us who wear shoes with laces are some sort of cruel superhuman conspirators… but that’s because they are incapable of thinking of anything other than from their own incredibly narrow perspective, where every shoe should be Velcro because anything else is too much for them.
But also those folks need to understand that life isn’t necessarily like that. That their over dramatization of ordinary humdrum stuff, is why they are so miserable. If having to call a few vets offices to see if there is an opening for your dog is ‘traumatic’ for you, you need serious help, and you should get it, and you should no longer find calling a vet’s office to be as about as ordinary of an experience as taking a piss or eating a sandwich. Because it’s literally minutes of your time to do any of those things, they are not difficult.
I’ve moved like a dozen plus times in my life, not once was it every super dramatic of awful of stressful. At worst it is mildly annoying when there is a delay, but equating it to something like being in a car accident or dealing with the legal system or other crap that is legitimately difficult and dramatic, is straight up pathetic. I think it also speaks to how wildly spoiled and entitled a lot of folks are.
If having to call a few vets offices to see if there is an opening for your dog is ‘traumatic’ for you, you need serious help
I’m curious where that comes from, because I did mention being unable to find a vet where I’m moving, but you may have made up the traumatic part in your head? It would explain a lot of things about interactions you’ve had here. Unless you’re referencing something else?
My bro has moved-house 46 times in his life(10 before college). 5 countries, at least, each with their own language and pitfalls. I think even he approaches it with a little less nonchalance than you - and us an army family who runs it all like a move mission!
some countries are for sure a huge pain the ass in terms of paperwork and visa and all that. others, not so much.
but it mostly depends on how much time you have. military moves might not give you 6 months notice, for sure.
and yeah, if you have to move in 30 days or under duress, that is difficult.
I’m about to move and it’s such shit it’s making me depressed. I can’t find anyone to rent my current place so I might be stuck paying for two places. Packing everything takes so much time. Cleaning up whatever shows behind the furniture for whoever comes next, cleaning up the place we’re moving to, disassembling and reassembling some of the larger furniture. Losing whatever few friends I managed to make in a city to go somewhere where I know nobody. Losing access to all the cool places I knew about to go somewhere that seemingly has none of them. Dealing with changing the address on every place that might send me mail, knowing I won’t get everything and I’ll have to deal with trying to find lost mail after. Trying to find a new vet for my senior dog who needs monthly injections when none of the vets take new clients. Moving is shit.
Do you not normally clean under your furniture or something?
Sounds like you just don’t like being an adult. Do you also hate having to go to the doctor or something?
Also, if it’s so awful and terrible and miserable, why he hell would you move?
You’re being kinda rude. Those are legit problems. My move put me in a clearly better place but it took a lot.of work
You realize everyone has to do this shit when they move? Right? Or do you think your circumstances are particularly difficult and special?
I’ve done all that, and way more, but I don’t regard it as depressing or difficult. But I also don’t catastrophize ordinary life events either.
They’re not being kinda rude they’re just being rude lol.
“Don’t like moving bro? Just pay people money to move your stuff bro, it’s so easy and simple are you dumb or something? I did it just fine so that means I’m smart and you aren’t.”
Like 5th grade level shit
that’s a lot of projection, bro.
it is easy and simple, and you don’t need to hire movers unless you have shit you can’t move yourself.
you’re the one trying to ‘own’ me with memes my man.
think about the absurdity of that, or don’t. just reply again with another meme and project more about how i’m fighting with you and how i’m flexing on folks, if it makes you feel good i guess.
we all need our jerk off material.
I rarely pull out the oven, fridge, dishwasher, dryer and washer to clean under or behind them, how often would you do it?
I love to go to the doctor but I only get to see them when my health issues get me hospitalized. Last time it was over a hundred gallstones and pancreatitis, doctors told me it was stomach acid until I turned visibly yellow.
And I’m moving because my partner finally found a near minimum wage job in his industry after years of research.
Yeah being an adult kinda sucks.
I rarely pull out the oven, fridge, dishwasher, dryer and washer to clean under or behind them, how often would you do it?
you should be doing this every few months, especially to prevent mice/bugs. I deep clean my home every 4-6 months. It’s like 4-6 hours of work.
I love to go to the doctor but I only get to see them when my health issues get me hospitalized. Last time it was over a hundred gallstones and pancreatitis, doctors told me it was stomach acid until I turned visibly yellow.
you should be going once a year at a minimum, more if you have chronic health issues.
OK, you hate being an adult. That’s cool. I don’t. I love it. I like cleaning under my fridge because I take pride in having a clean living space.
Keep shadow boxing comments to feel good I guess. And make sure you never stop trying to brag to strangers online about how cool and smart and “adult” you are. And yes, all the people who downvoted you are wrong and you are right, but I’m sure you already knew that ;)
the fact you think i’m bragging about basic adulthood is just wild, and very telling about your mentality. nobody said it was wrong or right, either, you brought that binary to this.
but pretty classic. fedi users seem to think having to like pay for a video game, is some violation of their rights as human beings, so it would track they think basic functioning as a human adult is also a violation of their rights.
Got a job, then realtor, took 3 weekend trips, got a uhaul. It ain’t rocket science.
I give away, donate or throw away everything. In the end its cheaper to buy it on the other side then pay movers. I load up whats important, maybe rent a small trailer and bounce.
I’ve moved far away (500m+) at least 2 dozen times and this holds true.
If you have inexpensive shit. Nice shit most certainly isn’t cheaper to replace.
This is highly situational.
Ky to GA to Il to Co to Il in 20 years.
This is the answer, depends on what part of life you are in as well. Generally its been uhaul < rebuy < movers.
Do not kill your back trying to save a couple of bucks on a move.
I’ve moved far away (500m+)
A whole 500 meters?! That could almost be another street :p
I believe they meant 500 Mi.
500 Michigans?? That’s quite a bit longer!
500m is enough reason to buy another air fryer
Advice: keep going to another continent.
More seriously, make sure you’re aware of time periods to change your car’s registration and license, differences in driving laws, any insurance differences, taxes, and voter registration.
Done it a few times at multiple scales. The challenges are mostly how to deal with crap you think you need and then don’t.
First, shed as much as you possibly can. Then shed more. If you genuinely can’t move all your stuff yourself, then suddenly you have added layers of logistics and expenses.
Second, I agree with finding a sublet or AirBnB for a landing place. The worst mistake I ever made was renting a place sight unseen. The only places that desperate for tenants are one’s that will make it hard to leave. 3 months in a shithole while you learn the right neighborhood and find a good place is with it long term.
Good luck!
I was living in a place I grew up, and didn’t really like. My wife had moved there, and she didn’t like it either. But I kept getting better and better jobs, so we couldn’t leave.
Then I became self-employed, and could work anywhere. We also got a small inheritance that gave us a temporary cushion. We took a small vacation to Florida, and decided that we could live on vacation for the rest of our lives, so we moved.
Since then, Florida has become MAGA HQ, and the state government is psychopathic, so now we’re thinking about leaving, but it was okay for about 20 years.
Florida is the only place I’ve ever been someone tried to start a fight with me at a bar, more than once. Like, comically insecure middle aged dudes who thought I was trying to ‘steal their seat’ when I was standing ordering a drink. This also happened at a hotel bar that was like near-empty, which made it even more weird.
What a shithole. I’m so glad I never have to go there again. I used to go once a year for work until recently.
I went a couple of time in the early 2000s, and seemed way more chill back then. but so was the entire country.
If it was at a hotel isn’t it likely the other person was also a traveler???
Arrange work (and, ideally, housing) in advance.
If you’re moving for a job, stick your stuff in storage,. Find a room to rent or get an Airbnb or long-term stay hotel. Experience the place and job for a bit before fully committing to it so at least that way you have an easy exit if you want to move back.
Don’t leave too much shit behind, get a uhaul even if you gotta fly 2 states over and drive your car down seprately. Everything from.furniture to $30 appliances are expensive to replace
What I can’t replace is my wrecked spine. So we hire the gorillas and the truck.
Even for this last move, which was 2 doors and 80m down the road, they packed, drove for 4 seconds and unpacked, and I wasn’t broken more after than before. Woo!
