Thinking of moving to California - What are some options for getting my stuff there?
 

Originally I was thinking of moving to NYC but after visitng beautiful San Fran this past weekend I am serious considering moving there instead. Jobwise it seems just as hopeful as NYC. So the question is how do I get my stuff there? What kind of options do I have? I preferably would like the cheapest most reliable options. Right now the only furniture I have is a bed, bookshelf, a jerker desk(which I don't want to get rid of), and some racks. Plus I got clothes, my computer, tv, microwave, video games, and dvds etc..

UHaul always served whatever purposes my dad had. I'd call them and ask how much they'd charge for a rental in one town and a drop off in the other. Tack that on top of flat daily rental fee + mileage fee, and figure out if a professional moving company is more or less.

I haven't used them myself, but I have had a colleague use them. There's more than one company out there with a deal similar to this

U Pack It

Basically, they drop a big ass container off at your location, you pack it up, you do all the grunt work yourself. Then when you're ready - -they'll drive it to where you are moving to.

They'll drop the container and you are responsible for unloading it.

Option 2
It doesnt sound like you'll have a full truck, if you aren't in a rush, some moving companes (Grabel I know does) will often share trucks. If there's someone else moving to California around the same time as you are... in a close enough location, they will often double up the truck. And put two sets of stuff inthe same truck

Not overly convenient but saves some money.

Option 3
UHaul

sell & leave what you are not in love with & can repurchase once you arrive in SF.

you can put books & such in the USPS 3rd class.

we moved from indiana 20 yrs ago. fortunately my husband's hiring company footed the trucking bill. our things were on a truck w/two other families'.

if someone else hadn't paid the trucking fees, i probably would have left behind lots more than i did. cuz most of it was just "stuff" easily replacable.

if you're driving a car out, i'd pack all your irreplacable photos & sentimental stuff into your car as much you can.

From where are you moving? Distance is an important factor. If doing it all yourself, you'll have to factor in possible return trips, mileage for UHauls, cost of moving company, freight shipping, etc. I agree with Bernadette though, take only what you need, off the rest, and rebuy whatever you can't live with. Might not be a bad idea from a decorative standpoint anyways.

when i moved from LA to NYC I moved with a few boxes that got shipped an a couple suit cases.

inside the few boxes was my bread and butter computer equipment.

the rest... I reaccumulated.

I had given away EVERYHTING that I had and just rebought new things when I arrived over the years. It took time but was much cheaper in the long run. I did keep my music, video game collection and other things that I could not replace.

Hey JP, I'll see you out there. I should be moving to the Bay area in about a month.

I'm going to sell all my shit before I move out there... but I understand wanting to keep your things. Do you have a place where you are living now where you can leave the stuff you don't want to get rid of? Could you leave it at a friend or relatives house for a few months while you look for a job?

Crap, hit quote instead of edit. Sorry everyone.

Thanks guys. I live in PA. So it'll probably be pretty expensive renting a Uhaul and driving cross country. I guess I could leave some of my stuff at my parent's house.

Personally I would never use U-Haul to move across the country. It's probably the cheapest option (if you're going to drive a truck), but the trucks are crap. They don't take care of them at all. I wouldn't trust one on a long trek like that. I moved up the east coast once from FL to NY and used Penske and was very happy with that.

If you can leave your stuff in PA somewhere I would do that. That would suck to move to San Fran, find out that you hate it for some reason and then you have to move everything somewhere else. I'm wishing I would have done that when I left FL. I ended up carrying all my stuff up to NY and then to Los Angeles and now I'm going back to FL in the fall. Grrr.

As someone who was born and raised in California may I extend the following... "Welcome to California, now go home!"
Just kidding, but do be aware, the cost of living here is a whole heck of a lot higher than where you are living now. I would think about where you're going to live and what kind of job you want before you get here.

Other than that, U-haul or some such company where you pack, drive and unload is always the best. I have heard too many stories about moving companies telling you one price when you leave and then have a totally different price when and if your stuff arrives. They then just take off with your stuff until you decide to pay it. Dateline did a whole hour on it about a year ago. After seeing that I am always going to just do it myself.

California is expensive, can have some pretty harsh laws, although is beautiful and "fresh".

Let me just say that no city beats New York. Go to NYC because the warm Californian weather does not offset the poor attitudes (generally!), rude driving, non-existent public transportation, sad streets, and liberal serving of beggers, not street performers (who deserve some change).

NYC/Metro area has everything you could want, including jobs. You'll experience the four seasons, which is far more beautiful than experiencing typically-sunny weather all year 'round.

As already mentioned, you are moving to a place that has one of the highest costs of living in the entire U.S.

If you're worried about the price of moving a few possessions, you probably can't afford the Bay Area. On one hand, I would suggest rethinking your plans; on the other hand, there's no better time to follow your dreams than when you're young, single, and already broke :)

Good luck!

Oh - and to answer your question - I would rent a U-Haul trailer and tow it to Cali with your car.

umm

just out of curiosity, i've been debating on moving to either SF or NYC, depending as well. I had my heart set on SF a few yrs ago bc of the economy and just the artistic slant of the whole city, but it seems there aer a TON of @$$holes there that drive me insane...on the other hand, i just visited manhattan and i was amazed by the incredibly nice people there. admittedly, not as nice and open as in the south, but nice in that, "I'll be nice and warm bc i have to talk to you" sort of way, like people you meet who are doing a job, etc. People on the streets largely ignored me, but that's a lot easier than having 20 million people nodding and smiling and gesturing nicely to each other...

I was incredibly shocked at the nature of NYC considering i was born/raised in the most southern of states that considered anything above the mason dixie line to be akin to hell...

So you say there are actually jobs in NYC? Things that are drawing me there right now are jobs/opportunities, inexpensive public transportation ($70 for metro card per month is ACTUALLY CHEAPER THAN GAS FOR AN ECONOMY CAR FOR ME HERE IN SC...i thought it was expensive to pay $70 for transportation for a month, but then i came back and spent $50 on gas for normal job commute and $50 for insurance per month and $20 for property tax per month)...I also didn't find the winter to be extremely terrible. Summer can't be worse than the 100 deg, 90% humidity here....


sorry for the threadjack

Re: Thinking of moving to California - What are some options for getting my stuff the
 

Speaking as a local, I would strongly recommend analyzing your budget and comparing it to the cost of living here. You'll want to spend no more than one-third of your monthly take-home on rent. If that sounds easy, take a look at the current listings. I don't mean to discourage you, but I'd hate for one of my fellow TPFers to walk in blind.

Parking is tough and varies wildly from district to district, with the Mission and Nob Hill being the worst, IMO. The weather is typically windy and cloudy, although not chilly by PA standards. Freeway commuting can be atrocious depending on which way you're going at what time of day, with the Bay Bridge supposedly the most highly-trafficked one in the nation. I've easily spent over an hour getting from one end of that benighted steel trap to the other, a few times.

That said, it's a funky, busy little city with a beautiful baseball field, parks, great museums, ballet, theater, symphonies, cafes, nightclubs and restaurants; impressive independent book and music stores; and a vibrant creative community of writers, artists, musicians and more.

Ha! When I was in San Fran I didn't run into one asshole. People just seemed more laid back there. Must be the weather. I've lived in the Northeast for 20+ years and have been to NYC countless times and always ran into assholes, well not as much as philly but you kind of expect it. I just don't like the hustle and bustle of NYC. People always in a rush. You can easily run into a million+ people in one day. That's how many people are in NYC. I just need a change of location. I love having the same warm/cool weather all year round in California. The winters here make me depressed.

Are people really nice and open down in the south? How are they towards non-whites?

amazingly, most people in my generation in my town dont' really care about race...

go to the more rural areas and that changes...quite dramatically.

Go to the richer areas and that changes, quite dramatically. that shocked me a bit, i thought richer people would be more cultured, but they are some of the most bigotted people i have ever known in this area. Most of the time, they don't even hide it. Trent lott's comments taht caused him to resign were incredibly mild compared to what i have heard.

a friend of mine put it pretty nicely...southerners are only nice in public, northerners in private...

Hmm...so which would you live in, SF or NYC?

Thanks for your insight about the south. Definitely I would live in SF but right now I'm going through a quarter-life crisis and just following my instincts. SF is calling. I'm not quite sure why.

hah, SF was calling me hardcore when i was 22...now it's...kinda calling but competing wtih NYC..if i visit SF soon, though, i'm sure it would probably win...