Seven Things I Learned After Moving Across the Country
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A cross-country move is not only a logistical nightmare, but it wreaks havoc on your nerves. By the time you get to your destination you're stressed out, confused, exhausted, and primed to make all kinds of stupid mistakes. Here’s what I learned after undertaking my own cross-country move.
We've walked you through a lot of the logistics of a move before, as well as how to settle down in a new city once you're there, so I won't retread too much into that territory again. However, after (mostly) finishing up the hell of a move from Colorado to Washington with about three weeks of preparation, I picked up a few tips along the way for dealing with both logistical oddities as well as the emotional stress that comes along with a move.
Figuring Out Where to Move Isn't Easy
If you've gotten a job in a specific city, then you've already figured out the "where." But if you're moving just because it's time to leave your current city, as I was, you have a big decision to make. Deciding where to move depends on a ton of different factors. For me, it boiled down to one place being logistically easier because I had a place to stay and was already heading there for a wedding.
Even still, cities are big, and finding the right neighborhood makes or breaks your new city experience for the first year. We've shown you how to research a city from your couch before, and it's well worth the couple hours of your time to figure out exactly where you want to move. Obvious factors like cost of living, job availability, and the rental market are good to consider. Beyond that, it's also worth looking around neighborhoods with something like Yelp or Google Street View so you have a good idea of what each neighborhood is like before you decide where you want to end up.
As for the when, that's when things start getting a little complicated. The day and month really do matter when picking a good time to move, and if you have the luxury of choice you can save a little money.
For the most part, it's best to move any time other than summer if you can. Everyone wants to move during the summer. That means apartments are harder to find, moving companies can charge more, and even moving truck rental companies can get more money out of you. If you move between October and May, you'll have less competition for apartments and your move will be cheaper if you're renting a truck or using a moving company.
I obviously didn't follow this advice, and moved at the same time as a ton of college students, but I saved money elsewhere since I was already planning on a trip here.
I Had a Lot of Stuff
When you're moving locally it's easy to just rent a truck, grab some friends, and have everyone move all your belongings to a new place in an afternoon. That's not really the case with cross country move. Instead, I had to make a very decisive choice: sell everything I own or pay for it to get transported.
Each has their own set of benefits. If you sell everything, you can move to a new city with just an airplane ticket, but you'll arrive with just the essential stuff. You also have to go through thetrouble of actually selling all your stuff, which is a liberating experience, but still a hassle. When you arrive and get a new apartment, you'll just start anew and shop for new stuff. It's a worthwhile binge with a lot of benefits if you don't feel like lugging your belonging across the country.
Likewise, you can also rent a truck, car, or van, and bring everything with you. This obviously saves the hassle of selling your stuff, but it means you have to pay a lot of money to get your belongings from A to B.
I did something in between. I threw a going away garage sale party before I left where I sold off all of my books, a large chunk of vinyl, random little things, and every obnoxiously heavy space-consuming object I owned. What was left was still too much for a car, but it fit into a smaller moving truck where the cost of renting the truck and gas was about equal to the amount I'd pay in Seattle to buy everything new. So, I decided on the truck so I didn't have to spend my last few days in Colorado frantically selling things on Craigslist only to spend my first few weeks in Seattle buying it all again. What's best for you will depend on your situation, but it's really worth considering both options equally.
Renting Remotely Sucks
At the start of the moving process I had the delusion that I'd be comfortable with renting an apartment in Seattle while I was in Colorado. While this certainly works for some people, it didn't work for me.
From an apartment search point of view, renting an apartment from another state works the same as if you're in it. Any of these tools will help you find what you're looking for, and when you call the landlord you just have to tell them you're from out of state and can't look at the apartment until you arrive.
The problem is that a lot of landlords don't want to deal with that. They'll also often still want a deposit to hold a place for you sight unseen. In some types of apartments or homes this is fine. If it's a building where all the units are similar, or the floor plan is listed, you’ll sort of know what you're getting into based on the apartment listing.
I don't like those kinds of buildings though, and I tend to gravitate toward smaller buildings. These are the types of listings that are almost impossible to get a feel for through just an apartment listing, and I never found a place I was comfortable renting from across the country. I also couldn't get a good idea of the neighborhood itself even though I had a few nice people fromTaskRabbit check out apartments for me. For all I knew, any apartment might be right next to a crack house.
So, instead of trying to find and rent a place over the phone, I decided to schedule it so I could stay at a friend's house for a few days as I looked for a place. I've been told by a lot of people that the first few months in a new city are the toughest, and the last thing I wanted was to make it harder on myself by living in an apartment I hated. Obviously everyone doesn't have this opportunity, but you can rent rooms cheaply through something like AirBnB or even rent an apartment for short durations. Likewise, you can often find sublets for just a few months while you leisurely look for a place. The extra few days allowed me to actually visit apartments in person and made me a lot more comfortable (and happy) with my choice.
I Had More Appointments Than I Thought Possible
At the risk of sounding more important than I am, the biggest surprise I had when I decided to move was just how quickly my schedule filled up. Every day for the last month was filled with appointments, and it grew increasingly difficult to manage it all as time went on.
These appointments ranged from boring personal things, like going to my eye doctor, dentist, or setting up a meeting with my landlord to dinners, coffee dates, and parties with friends before I left. The fact of the matter is, if you've lived in a city for a while and especially if your family lives there, you're going to want to set aside a time for various appointments of all types.
We've shown you ways to clear up your schedule before, and a solid calendar app is a lifesaver in this situation (our picks for the best calendars for Windows, Mac, Android, and iPhone are a good place to start). Even with a good schedule, be aware that you'll be incredibly busy for three or four weeks.
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