I am seriously considering moving the family to Colorado Springs to be closer to my wife's family now that my folks are divorced. (The old man lives in Manilla now with his "ladyfiend".) Has anyone ever done a cross country move and would care to share any insight? Thanks!
Advice about Moving
- Thread starter ElCid03
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gray haired dude
CO Springs is a nice area. I moved to the Denver area from NJ 12 years ago and I really like the change. The dry climate is really agreeable for me and the pace of life is more relaxed than the east coast in my opinion. We got a much nicer house for the same money and taxes are way lower. The schools are run by county (rather than by town in NJ) so you can open enroll anywhere in the county if your kids have specific needs or if you prefer programs that are outside your home school. Even though CO spends considerably less than NJ on schools, we feel we got a much better education for the kids. I really enjoy hiking and skiing here too, but I have to tell you there are way less trees to cut down with that chain saw of yours 
One thing that stands out as a negative in the move was the cross country mover. We had moved across town when we lived in NJ and had a very pleasant experience, so we hired the same company for the cross country move. I did not realize that they shop it out to an owner-operater working for a flat fee. The guy that showed up to move us was unprepared and unprofessional. He was surly, distracted and had -one- guy moving the furniture while the driver talked to himself and his girlfriend kept inventory. Her job consisted of keeping a list with "box" written over and over. No ID, just "box". It took 13 hours to empty the house, when we were told 6, then he tries to stick me with extra charges from the quote. I caled the main office and there was no answer there. I had to raise holy hell to get extra help at the CO end to get the stuff unloaded. I would check references and get a real clear contract for the movers if you go that route.
Good luck and enjoy the adventure!
One thing that stands out as a negative in the move was the cross country mover. We had moved across town when we lived in NJ and had a very pleasant experience, so we hired the same company for the cross country move. I did not realize that they shop it out to an owner-operater working for a flat fee. The guy that showed up to move us was unprepared and unprofessional. He was surly, distracted and had -one- guy moving the furniture while the driver talked to himself and his girlfriend kept inventory. Her job consisted of keeping a list with "box" written over and over. No ID, just "box". It took 13 hours to empty the house, when we were told 6, then he tries to stick me with extra charges from the quote. I caled the main office and there was no answer there. I had to raise holy hell to get extra help at the CO end to get the stuff unloaded. I would check references and get a real clear contract for the movers if you go that route.
Good luck and enjoy the adventure!
D
Dexman PE
<--- has lived in Denver since the fall of 1998. Only places I've considered moving to since I got here has been either Seattle, WA or Vancouver, BC. Here you will find that alot of people only keep jobs to pay for their hobbies/activities. I've heard several people joke about "needing to go back to work to recover from their weekends". I don't think there are really that many places in CO that aren't nice (with a few Urban area exceptions). It all depends on what kind of environment you're looking for (downtown vs suburban, city vs rural, Family friendly vs Adult, etc.).
Not sure how familiar you are with CO, but like all states there are several pockets of "left" and "right" types. Colorado Springs tends to be more conservative, Boulder is definately liberal. Mountain towns tend to be on the liberal side, while the eastern plains tend to be more conservative. Denver is in the middle (both geographically and socially), but tends to lean towards the liberal side when it comes to social things. Obviously this is a gross over-generalization, but is a good starting point when looking for places to live.
Concerning moving companies, my wife and I did a bunch of research on using one of those nation-wide companies when we were thinking of moving to Seattle. The only really big downside to them is that you have to be very flexible with the dates they come to get your stuff and drop it off. They told us to basically "live out of a suitcase" for about 3 weeks because of their flexible scheduling. It's along the same lines as the cable guy: they'll be there anywhere between 8am and 3pm, except the movers will say they'll pick up between the 5th and 10th and will have everything delivered between the 17th and the 22nd. This is because (depending on how much stuff you have), you will end up sharing a truck with up to 4-5 other households who are also moving across the country. So despite the fact it only takes 2 days to drive from NJ to CO, your truck may have to make stops in VA, OH, IL, IN, SD, NE, WY, after picking up your stuff. They tend to give you a much better schedule the week before the actual move because they actually have the trip planned out, but it could still take a couple of weeks for your stuff to make the trip. Some companies will offer to pack everything for you (for a fee), but our estimate was based on us pre-packing everything and they load, haul, & unload. And they do this for the cool, low price of a few grand.
If you plan on packing everything yourself, I would really look into using a large Uhaul truck. Even a cross-country move would only cost a few hundred dollars.
Not sure how familiar you are with CO, but like all states there are several pockets of "left" and "right" types. Colorado Springs tends to be more conservative, Boulder is definately liberal. Mountain towns tend to be on the liberal side, while the eastern plains tend to be more conservative. Denver is in the middle (both geographically and socially), but tends to lean towards the liberal side when it comes to social things. Obviously this is a gross over-generalization, but is a good starting point when looking for places to live.
Concerning moving companies, my wife and I did a bunch of research on using one of those nation-wide companies when we were thinking of moving to Seattle. The only really big downside to them is that you have to be very flexible with the dates they come to get your stuff and drop it off. They told us to basically "live out of a suitcase" for about 3 weeks because of their flexible scheduling. It's along the same lines as the cable guy: they'll be there anywhere between 8am and 3pm, except the movers will say they'll pick up between the 5th and 10th and will have everything delivered between the 17th and the 22nd. This is because (depending on how much stuff you have), you will end up sharing a truck with up to 4-5 other households who are also moving across the country. So despite the fact it only takes 2 days to drive from NJ to CO, your truck may have to make stops in VA, OH, IL, IN, SD, NE, WY, after picking up your stuff. They tend to give you a much better schedule the week before the actual move because they actually have the trip planned out, but it could still take a couple of weeks for your stuff to make the trip. Some companies will offer to pack everything for you (for a fee), but our estimate was based on us pre-packing everything and they load, haul, & unload. And they do this for the cool, low price of a few grand.
If you plan on packing everything yourself, I would really look into using a large Uhaul truck. Even a cross-country move would only cost a few hundred dollars.
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RIP - VTEnviro
His Memory Eternal
Took a road trip from Washington to Vermont in 2003 by means of the Trans-Canada highway with the eventual mrs. to help her move to grad school. It was awesome.
Even if someone else moves you, take a roadtrip.
Even if someone else moves you, take a roadtrip.
