Need some tips on moving?

[bradedit]

I'm so nervous, we will be going to North Carolina at the end of the month. DH has an interview at Pitt County Memorial(its taken forever)it looks very promising but we won't know till we go.

If things go well, we would probably be moving right after Christmas and I need some tips about moving to an area that you know nothing about. They would give $3000 in moving expenses, is that enough for a professional mover??? What is the best way to pack?

My mind is in overdrive and I just can't think of the things that I know I should be looking for!

[Tiggers Lady]

Tami - don't do it!!! Don't go!!! j/k

I can't really help you here - the last time we moved we had such a terrible experience, I won't even tell you. Just be sure that you get a very reputable moving company that has lots and lots of trucks! (ours was a local small company, we were not moving far and they just didn't show up - it was awful)

Also, you will want a system to mark the boxes for moving so you can find stuff pretty fast!

Good luck!!!

[tlspiegel -Closed]

Hi, Good Luck! I moved from Pittsburgh PA, to Phoenix AZ a little over 3.5 years ago. I knew not one soul and I'm an old woman who was alone. I found a few things that made my move easier and cheaper that might apply to you. I interviewed 2 major moving companies, and made sure my move was not to be brokered out to some other firm. This is very important. The 2 companies knew they were in "competition" for my businsess. I picked Mayflower, but... don't go by what I did. The first thing I did, was fly out to Phoenix and find a house. That done, I went back and called the moving company to deliver me all the boxes they thought I'd need and I would do my own packing and marking. I also got boxes from everywhere I could. I sold tons of clothing and furniture and things not necessary for the move. My move cost a little over $3,000. I used one room to put all the boxes and let the movers pack and crate things like my giant aquarium tanks and my cement monkey. (Don't ask!) I now use the crates for storage, because they were built to last. The utilities should be turned on where you move to - a few days prior to your actual move. Make sure you have everything turned off a day after your intended leave date. Open up a checking/saver at the new place before you move. Try to use a larger bank. Have the locks changed on your new place before you move. Keep in touch on a frequent basis with the movers as to your move date, how long the move will take and when you can expect your stuff to arrive. Get a cell phone, if you don't have one. For me this was a lifesaver, because I had no phone service for 6 weeks after my move. Stay calm and if you want I can help you along the way with more advice and hints. Just email me. My move was delicious and easy. I'm have a planner/analyzer personality - which can be a huge helper. lol

[Trace30]

I've never done a huge move before, but I DO know how to pack! lol! The way I do it is I label each box with the room it goes in and an idea of the contents (i.e. - Alli's room/toys or Master Bedroom/knick-knacks). Anything not necessary to live (knick-knacks, extra bedding, out of season clothes, dishes not needed, etc.) can be packed well in advance.

I also packed some things that I knew I want to get rid of in Garage Sale/Storage boxes. Now, all we have to do (if I can ever get Mark out there!) is get the boxes out of storage and price them.

If you want to get really detailed, you can choose a color/# system for your boxes. Color = room/# = typed list of contents. This is a little more than I would do, but....you might want to. I might would do it if I were moving a long distance. Make sure you have a complete count of boxes, so you'll know if any are missing. If you DO have a typed list/# system, then you would also know what items were in a missing box.

Just a few ideas......have fun! Hope you enjoy your new home!!

[Ttulipss]

Good luck to your dh for the interview and with your intended move. All my moves have been local, so I really don't have advice to movers, costs, etc. I did almost move to Colorado in '93. My friend's parents were moving there and we thought we'd follow about 6 months later. We were in our early 20's and thought this be a great opportunity just to make a change - plus the move was going to be cheap! We packed up most of our stuff and sent it on the moving truck with her parents. Well needless to say, we didn't make the move.....we each met up with our future husband within just a couple of months.

Anyway, we didn't mark our boxes as to contents...we used the first letter of our name and then a number. This way, we know who the box belonged to and how many boxes we had. I even had made a list as to the general contents of the numbered boxes for quick reference. Maybe you could devise a similar system to work for you as to which room, etc without blatanly marking your boxes with "jewelry" or other valuables.

[g]

Do you need to use a moving company? Or can you move yourself and then put your stuff in storage?
We have moved from Maryland to Texas to North Dakota to Louisiana to Florida in the past five years!!
Being military that happens. If you have specific questions, post or please e-mail me!

[PiercedGecko]

I noticed you said Pitt Memorial Hospital, and I'm in Greenville too...atleast until December. The people here are really friendly and down to earth for the most part, so you should have no problem. I just wanted to be the first person to say "welcome to NC!"

[cashhound]

Tami, I've made several business trips to Greenville (BMW plant..woohoo.) I have to say that the folks there are very friendly. The mall wasn't that great, but otherwise...

And it's very pretty there. Seems like a good economy and the cost of living didn't seem out of line.

I know you'll love it.



No moving advice. We seem to botch up every time we move

[jimandaun]

What a great post. And so timely for me too. As I have posted before dh was transferred to Atlanta about 6 weeks ago. Our house is on the market but no takers yet (really depressed about that). We have had 3 moving companies come and give us quotes. I haven't got them back yet though. However, what I did was ask them to quote the whole kit and kaboodle (pack, move, and unpack everything). Then they will give us a detailed quote with a price for each service and I can choose what we can actually afford. DH's company is giving us 3500 for the move which I'm sure won't be enough. I am soooo ready to move. I'm so sick of seeing him only one day a week. I'm so tired of being this strong parent for the girls. Ooops, I'm whining again aren't I? Sorry with all the mess in Afghanistan I jusst feel like my house is never going to sell. Keep me posted about how your move goes and I would love to hear more tips from others.

Andrea

[bradedit]

DH would be working for the Trauma Unit at Pitt County. I've moved so many times but only once with a professional mover and they were horrible, they packed and moved but didn't unpack! Their method of packing was bizarre! This would be about the same distance as when we moved from Pittsburgh to Evansville, Indiana and then from Evansville to New York, but it just seems different this time! I'm more nervous, I think because I do not know Anyone at all!!!

We are going down(we think) on the 29, 30,31 and 1st of this month to look around and for my DH to interview.

Cashhound, right now our mall consists of K-mart, Joannes, a payless shoe store, a card store, radio shack, CVS, Big Lots and Fashion Bug and 2 banks. Is it bigger than that???

PiercedGecko, what are some nice area's there?? We would probably be moving right when you are leaving!

Hopefully they offer him the position at the right salary! As soon as they and us decide, I think I will start throwing things out(maybe I should rent a garbage dumpster, lol)

Anyone who lives in NC, what are the taxes like there??

[bonniejeanne]

Do get several different movers to give you estimations of moving costs. Usually, the movers charge extra for packing materials and the packing itself. We got boxes from neigborhood grocery, drug, and book stores. Use the smaller boxes for books as they are heavy. Label all sides and top of box, so that no matter how they are stacked, you will always know what's in them. If there are certain things you need right away, make sure you label exactly what is in the box, other than just kitchen, bedroom, etc. If you have children and they are old enough, let them pack their own stuff and label it. The color coding is a good idea as it helps you to recognize things fast. I used towels to wrap my plates and other breakables in, that way I conserved room in my boxes. Find a bank that has lots of locations, especially ATMs if you use them a lot. Check to see if the city has a website on the internet before you move. It might give some good information. If you're using a real estate person, they probably have an information packet they can give you. When you get there make friends with a neighbor, and see if they will show you around town. It's always good to know where the local discount stores and malls are. LOL.

[bradedit]

My first priority is to find a house to rent.

When we moved to Evansville, we were going to stay in a townhouse(we only had one child at that time). My brother and husband went before us with a U-haul and we had a 5 car caravan moving there. Well my DH and brother get there and the place that we were to move into had apparently been broken into and feces was all over the walls and urine soaked carpets, PLUS they were dredging a lake because a child had drown. I refused to move into that area. There we where with a uhaul and noplace to move, found a realtor on GOOD FRIDAY who took us everywhere and finally we found a house that was pretty darn nice, it was in the historic district and we really didn't know anything about any of the areas. I think I cried so much on that Thursday, it was an experience that now we laugh at but I don't ever want that to happen again.

I just sit here and look around and go OMG, there is so much STUFF, where did it all come from?LOL

[tlspiegel -Closed]

Originally posted by bradedit
My first priority is to find a house to rent.


I just sit here and look around and go OMG, there is so much STUFF, where did it all come from?LOL

First, Don't Panic. Let DH go on interviews, keep your fingers crossed and then systematically do things. Baby steps will accomplish a lot more a lot faster, than bungee jumping! Marking all sides of the boxes is such a good idea, packing books in small boxes and getting all your sheets, towels and soft clothing to pack around fragiles. It's amazing how much you can find to pack in those boxes for dishes and glassware. Clothing, coats, anything that can be wrapped around, in between and along bottom, sides and top of box. Be sure to get FIRM quotes on what it will cost w/moving companies. Give them 1/2 before and 1/2 after. FIRM up the price. Do NOT let them broker it out to anyone other than who you choose. As for finding and making friends, that's the easy part. If you have kids, or are in the market for making kids eventually (LOL), keep in mind school districts. I had to worry about bus transportation because I don't drive, and even that worked out. Realtors can be invaluable and turn into good friends/helpers. Mine turned into one of my best g-friends. Keep posting all your questions and we'll help you through it. I also make lists all the time. Get a large 3 ring binder and lots of paper. Get a nice size metal tape measure and start measuring sizes of rooms/your furniture/ make notes of what you have and what you'll need when you move, and take the tape measure with you on the house hunt.

[lauseng]

I just moved from Jacksonville, NC (near Greenville) to South Dakota 2 weeks ago.

How much stuff do you have? We moved ourselves in a 15 foot Ryder truck for $1000 in rental fees and about $400 in gas. We towed our one vehicle. Granted, we're military and still technically newlyweds who have been anticipating this move for awhile...and we still gave away tons of stuff.

According to mostermoving.com and other similar sites, a professional mover would have cost us approximately $4000. You may also want to look into places like U-Pack and such. They deliver huge crates, you pack them full of your boxes. They pick them up and deliver them to your new address. Pricewise it's in between the two extremes, though I don't recall how much. Check with mostermoving.com

NC taxes? 6% sales tax. 7% prepared food tax (hot food from the grocery store, restaurant food, fast food, etc.). The tax on groceries varies from county to county. In Charlotte, NC it was 6% but I think it's gone up to 6.5%. In Jacksonville, NC it was only 2%. I think it's 2% for the statewide and any additional is a county tax. I'm not sure what the % is for income tax, but it's never been a large amount for my small income....and hubby retained his SD residency through his military service so he's never paid state income tax. I'm sure you can find out that info online.

I'm not too familiar with Greenville, but it's a college town that is often frequented by military members from the coast on the weekends. In fact, many of the clubs there won't allow Marines anymore. So, we never visited. But I've heard it's a nice place to live.

Some websites for you:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now] (Greenville Newspaper)
[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]
[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]
[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]
[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]
[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now] (Pitt County links)

Also, I seem to remember that the eastern NC coast website was cityjunction.com but I can't get it to work right now.

Hope that helps. Feel free to PM me if you have more questions.

Jackie

[eaparham]

we moved from Louisiana to Charleston Sc almost 2 years ago. Hubby's new company paid for the move (after the fact) and for a househunting trip. We packed all our own things, and loaded a truck from ABF......once we were done, the company came to get the trailer, and we had it within a couple days of our arrival at the new house. We also did preliminary house hunting via rent.net or rent.com (can't remember which), and then came here and looked. The ABF deal was great....we didnt have to drive a big old nasty UHaul or tow a car, and the cost was comparable.