I have to move cross country, any advice?
 

Hey guys,

My term here at Michigan State is ending, and it's bittersweet. I got my degree, and I'm ready to start a life, but there are also a lot of things that make me want to stay here. So here's my question for you.

I need to move about 6 big boxes full of stuff across the country. I've considered driving it, but a U-Haul is $1300. I've looked into some rental cars, like Dollar, and while they are a better deal, it's still gonna be a major hit to my wallet.

Has anyone else ever moved across country before? What are some of the cheaper ways to do it? Any help appreciated...

find a friend with a large vehicle who's willing to go on a road trip, granted you'd pay for gas (and gas for his/her trip back, supposedly).

6 big boxes is all? Look into how much is would be to ship them UPS ground (probably in smaller boxes).

Even if it is several hundred $$$, it is still cheaper than a UHaul.

Sometimes you can find a moving co. or freight company that already has a shipment going that direction and they have extra room in the vehicle. They might be willing to give you a highly discounted rate to truck it for you. A friend of mine did this when she moved from Ohio to NC. Can't hurt to ask around.

You might also want to check out the LTL (Less than Truck Load) carriers, ie Yellow Freight, ABF, Werner etc. Most of these can be very reasonably priced.

If any of that is books, movies, or CDs (or I suppose records, but thats pretty unlikely) you can pile it into some boxes and send it US Media Mail. It takes a week or two but its dirt cheep. (I think you can ship like 200lbs for $84

US Media Mail? That's a good idea! I'll check that out.

how about just don't leave teh great state of michigan? that's probably cheapest.

I'm assuming that since you're talking about renting a truck or car that you're vehicle-less.

Either way you're lucky you don't have a house full of stuff to move. It's still not going to be cheap. If you're going to be starting a career with garunteed income, you could always buy a car on a first-time grad program. That way you've got moving taken care of as well as locking in your transportation for the first few years.

Take a good look at what you are moving. I have a lot of stuff, but none of it means anything. If I had to, I would just pick up a watch I got from my dead grandfather and leave the rest behind.