Moving from NY to Cali

[flot]

We'll see what the ATOT wisdom has to say about this one.

My sister is moving from New York to California. Unfortunately, she's been out of school for a couple years (and even when she was in school lived off campus) and has amassed a fairly decent collection of stuff. Living/Bedroom furniture, clothes, random crap, whatever. A year ago she moved from PA to NY, and as I recall it was a bit of an ordeal and required a 14 or 17' moving truck. Which, of course, she did not drive, because she's a girl. :disgust:

Now, she has about a month to get her stuff together and get to CA. According to mapquest, this is a 2800 mile trip. That seems like 4-5 days of driving at best, 6-7 at worst. Oh, and she also has her car to get from NY to CA. (and it's practically brand new, so selling and rebuying are out of the question)

I'll admit, even *I* would be in a bit of a quandry as to what to do. She and my parents have no clue. Right now my advice to her is for her to try to sell anything bigger than a microwave, and then rent one of the smaller u-haul tow behind trailers for the trip. (of course, my dad was mortified at the idea that my sister might have to drive a trailer that far... his helpful suggestion was to call UPS... yeah.. right.)

Anyone have any creative suggestions? The one that suddenly occured to me was to use "PODS" to do it, but a quick price quote on that online was $4500. Forget that.

 

[z0mb13]

sell them and buy them again for cheap at ikea

you will lose less money

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Sell the large stuff

How much would a moving company charge? I'm assuming an arm and a leg for it

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Whatever the case, tell her to start selling the large stuff NOW so she can get started on that as soon as possible

 

[Rage187]

I moved from SC to NV, took 3 days of driving.

Uhaul+tow dolly.

 

[faenix]

Sell Sell

 

[flot]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
Whatever the case, tell her to start selling the large stuff NOW so she can get started on that as soon as possible

She's working on it, unfortunately she doesn't really know anybody, and her employer wouldn't even let her put FS ads up in their breakrooms etc. The problem is, the stuff she owns was "medium expensive" which is to say that she paid a decent amount for it, but it is nothing that held any value. So even if she does find buyers, she'll (for instance) probably end up getting $75 for a couch she may have paid $400 for. But as far as I can tell there's just no reasonable way for her to move the bigger stuff. (at the very least she'd need to get one of the biggest u-haul trailers...)

 

[Squisher]

I'd say two trips one for the car and another with a rented moving van.

They have them with automatics, she'll get used to the driving it, but who is going to unload it?

If she doesn't have time for a moving sale for the big stuff, she can always donate it and take the deduction.

 

[NutBucket]

Rent a 20' truck. You drive it. Sister owes you big. (and pays for plane ticket home).

 

[HappyPuppy]

California is a zoo. She shouldn't come here unless she has family and friends, despite the fact that her employer wants her to. You can be employeed one day and then be out of work for the next two years. This is the last place I would live if I hadn't been born and raised here.

Tell your sister to find another job where whe is. Her employoer is going to get her to move and then lowball her when she gets settled in out West. It's a old ploy and some dirty old man is probably trying to get into her panties by getting her away from her family.

Besides, California sucks goat balls. Nobody would live her who had half a brain.

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
California is a zoo. She shouldn't come here unless she has family and friends, despite the fact that her employer wants her to. You can be employeed one day and then be out of work for the next two years. This is the last place I would live if I hadn't been born and raised here.

Tell your sister to find another job where whe is. Her employoer is going to get her to move and then lowball her when she gets settled in out West. It's a old ploy and some dirty old man is probably trying to get into her panties by getting her away from her family.

Besides, California sucks goat balls. Nobody would live her who had half a brain.

I resemble all of those comments.

 

[NYHoustonman]

I just made the move, but it was for college, so obviously it's a lot less work.

 

[JulesMaximus]

When I did it I just sold everything I had, including my car, and shipped the really important stuff like my stereo, road bike etc. The rest I packed into suit cases and they came with me on the plane. That was 14 years ago.

Tell your sister good luck!!! :beer:

BTW-Ain't no fvcking way I'm ever moving back to NY.

 

[shopbruin]

Originally posted by: flot

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
Whatever the case, tell her to start selling the large stuff NOW so she can get started on that as soon as possible

She's working on it, unfortunately she doesn't really know anybody, and her employer wouldn't even let her put FS ads up in their breakrooms etc. The problem is, the stuff she owns was "medium expensive" which is to say that she paid a decent amount for it, but it is nothing that held any value. So even if she does find buyers, she'll (for instance) probably end up getting $75 for a couch she may have paid $400 for. But as far as I can tell there's just no reasonable way for her to move the bigger stuff. (at the very least she'd need to get one of the biggest u-haul trailers...)

tell her to sell it all. trucking it across the country is going to cost too much. even if she does take a loss, it reduces the hassle of trying to move everything (and possibly getting ripped off by a moving company.)

craigslist is your friend.

 

[flot]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Rent a 20' truck. You drive it. Sister owes you big. (and pays for plane ticket home).

This is the answer I don't want - not because it would be that bad (although I imagine it's hell) but because I really don't have the free time...

BTW as I've been looking, there are a few companies out there (one has really good reviews even) that basically let you do your own packing, you load your stuff onto a truck, they pack the rest of the truck with whatever they happen to be moving, and then they show up with it at your destination for you to unload. Oddly, this is MORE complicated than the "pods" idea, but apparently you can pull off a cross country move in the $1000-1500 range this way.

 

[finlay42]

definitely get an estimate or two from a few different national moving companies.

I used a local company when I moved from Ohio to NJ, and it was the greatest thing ever nothing says lovin' like not having to unload an entire truck filled with furniture, and carry it up to a 2nd floor apartment.

 

[DAGTA]

If she wants to keep most of her stuff, I think the best thing would be to rent a Budget truck (it'll be $1,000 to $1,500 for that drive of rental plus gas) and have a friend drive the truck while she drives the car. The trip can be done in 3 days. She can buy a plane ticket for the other person to return with. Total cost: $2,000 to $2,500 if planned well.

 

[CTrain]

I just moved from Fla to Cali which was about 3100 miles.

I was lucky, I had everything planned out before I finally made the move.
I didn't have much stuff. Anything of value I left it at my parents.
Already had a place to live. My brother had a furnished room for me.
So I packed whatever I could in my car and drove it here.

Nice quick and simple.
And if I ever changed my mind, I can always move back without missing a beat.

 

[dquan97]

Where in CA is she moving to?

 

[rh71]

my brother did this... moved his stuff (tv, computer, no large furniture) along with his car.

He shipped his car via a transport company for I believe $600. He drove with a friend in his car the 3000 miles with a UHaul hitch... for 5 days. It's do-able, but not very easily if she's doing this alone. I don't recommend the latter at all. And yes, sell the big stuff and hit Ikea when she gets there.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

The joy of California, where a 900 square foot house with only a 14.4k internet connection in an okayish neighborhood that's almost in the middle of nowhere costs $230,000

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
The joy of California, where a 900 square foot house with only a 14.4k internet connection in an okayish neighborhood that's almost in the middle of nowhere costs $230,000

Is that how much it costs for something like that in Placerville? You can do much better for that price in Merced (along with being able to get broadband)

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
The joy of California, where a 900 square foot house with only a 14.4k internet connection in an okayish neighborhood that's almost in the middle of nowhere costs $230,000

Is that how much it costs for something like that in Placerville? You can do much better for that price in Merced (along with being able to get broadband)

That was actually an area of Diamond Springs called "Deer Park". That's what my sister and brother in law sold thier house for before paying $340,000 for 2400 square feet on 2.5 acres in El Dorado. I'm saving up for a down payment, and watching house prices rise faster than I can make money. My current plan is to move into a repo place and fix it up.

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
The joy of California, where a 900 square foot house with only a 14.4k internet connection in an okayish neighborhood that's almost in the middle of nowhere costs $230,000

Is that how much it costs for something like that in Placerville? You can do much better for that price in Merced (along with being able to get broadband)

Trying to seduce people to Merced again? I thought everyone knew to stay away because of the serial killer - ahem, I mean Red Dawn.

 

[dquan97]

The joy of California, where a 900 square foot house with only a 14.4k internet connection in an okayish neighborhood that's almost in the middle of nowhere costs $230,000

That's about how much I paid for a 1K sq ft condo in Sacramento. Moving in on wednesday