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Best Way to move 3,000 miles?

B

boredhokie

Senior member
Hello friends,

I'm moving from Richmond, VA to San Francisco in a couple months - whats the best way to do it?

I have a car and can just manage to fit all the crap I have into one carload (will buy furniture or store the rest).

I could go with the standard moving service, or even drive myself, but both options are expensive - in the 1,000-1,500 range, although having it shipped is less of a strain on the car (and my ass).

Anyone have similar experiences?
 
I'm in MD and I have a friend who has done that move to SF from here. He's actually done it twice (for school) and he drove the whole way. He enjoyed doing it and I think he took his time accross the country.
 
I did that last summer

Richmond, VA to CA

We sold or gave away most of our furniture/clothes and packed the remaining stuff into 2 cars and drove
 
I have done cross country moves myself 3 times. I will never do it again. (Actually, the chances are I won't move again, but if I do, I will pay a moving company.)
 
I've done the move from CA to FL, FL to CT, CT to CA, CA to VA and VA back to CA when i was in the Navy over a period of 6 years.

The first time, I had my car shipped by Semi and Train. Was the most painless of the moves. All i had to do was pickup the car from the movers office. However, I think after all was said and done, it costed the most.

The rest of the moves, I enjoy driving long distances, so it was fun. Gave me a chance to see the country, and to reflect on certain things. The Final trip back to California was the most harrowing though. I did it in the middle of winter, my car was falling apart, and I had no heat.

My final move was just recently in 2005. I moved to Alaska from CA driving up in the middle of November. Again in winter...which was kind of harrowing. I was racing the weather and driving on snow is very stressful. Since you'll be driving around the summer, you shouldn't have any troubles. Just make sure your car is ready...fresh oil, tires, get a mechanic you trust to give a good look-over of your car.

I don't regret driving in any instance when I moved. Most driving were highway miles so I don't think the wear and tear on the car was a big deal. I have some great memories of driving, and I wish at the time i had more time to take pictures...there are some beautiful states in the country.
 
Did that many moons ago - sold all my furniture and packed all my belongings into a car and drove from Northern VA to my new job in San Diego, CA. You should definitely do the cross country drive at least once in your life if you haven't. The landscape sure got interesting once I hit the Texas desert (clocked 120mph in the wide open space).
 
Originally posted by: TXHokie
Did that many moons ago - sold all my furniture and packed all my belongings into a car and drove from Northern VA to my new job in San Diego, CA. You should definitely do the cross country drive at least once in your life if you haven't. The landscape sure got interesting once I hit the Texas desert (clocked 120mph in the wide open space).
Click to expand...

West Texas is fast, but I-8 from Tucson to San Diego is faster.
When people are blowing by you while you are doing 90-95 it is kinda scary.
 
This is how I did it

1. Sell everything you own
2. Give away whatever you couldn't sell
3. Pack all the clothes you can into three suitcases
4. Book ticket on airline that allows three bags
5. Move
6. Buy all new stuff... Costco Couch - Bed, K-Mart Kitchen in a Bucket, New Car.

 
Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
This is how I did it

1. Sell everything you own
2. Give away whatever you couldn't sell
3. Pack all the clothes you can into three suitcases
4. Book ticket on airline that allows three bags
5. Move
6. Buy all new stuff... Costco Couch - Bed, K-Mart Kitchen in a Bucket, New Car.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but you were just too lazy to drive...and too cheap to drive on MY bridge...😉

Don't try to load your car and have it shipped. MOST auto-shippers won't accept them that way.

Sell what you can, keep what you have to, (family heirlooms and such) and take the IMPORTANT stuff with you...(papers, documents, family "treasures," guns, and jewelry.
If you have a house full of new furniture and/or antiques that you don't want to part with, then consider hiring one of the moving companies to haul it for you. MOST are pretty good...although there are some horror stories about the process.

Rent a decent quality truck if you have more than will comfortably fit in your car.

Pay close attention to where you park the rental truck along your drive...many places have "gangs of theives" who seem to specialize in stealing loaded U-Hauls from motel parking lots...it happens in my town quite frequently...BEWARE!
 
Originally posted by: BoomerD
Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
This is how I did it

1. Sell everything you own
2. Give away whatever you couldn't sell
3. Pack all the clothes you can into three suitcases
4. Book ticket on airline that allows three bags
5. Move
6. Buy all new stuff... Costco Couch - Bed, K-Mart Kitchen in a Bucket, New Car.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but you were just too lazy to drive...and too cheap to drive on MY bridge...😉
Click to expand...

I couldn't hold my breath that long... 😛
 
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