Relocation woes

[Supe]

Well, as of July 1st, I'm out of Houston and headed to North Carolina to plop myself at our 800MW clean coal job.

The only problem I have is trying to find a house to rent ahead of time. The area is very backwoods, minimal properties listed online, although I have found a helpful broker in the area. The stinker though, is that I'm not given any time for a settling in period. They pay to put me up in a hotel for two weeks, but I'm a little leery over the concept of loading everything I own in a U-Haul, leaving it parked in a hotel parking lot for two weeks, and praying that I can find something and have my utilities turned on during what is essentially a single weekend.

Should I just bite the bullet and burn a few vacation days to fly up there and pay for the hotel and rental car to scout something out a month ahead of time? Just curious as to if/how any of you have handled this before. When I came to Houston, I just bought everything I needed once I got here, so it was a bit of a non-issue.

 

[CbusPaul]

Shell out 20 bucks for a storage unit in the meantime, I have done that before and it will give you peace of mind.

 

[Supe]

That's a great idea, and I have no idea why I didn't even think about that. Worst case scenario that way, I can just pay for an extended stay hotel if need be until I find something.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

I'd take the time and go find something.

Almost every time I moved (four times in four years, once), I just had the moving company store my stuff til I found an apartment.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

I'd really recommend checking out the area. See where the nice towns are, see where the seedy areas are. Where are the convenient shopping and restaurants? What will the commute be like? Is there a freight train line or something else really noisy nearby?

Better to take a couple days to scope things out than end up doing something sight unseen and rushed.

 

[MonteBiker]

Have you thought about using something like PODS for your stuff?

http://www.pods.com/

 

[Supe]

Have you thought about using something like PODS for your stuff?http://www.pods.com/

My company is pretty strict about what carriers they will reimburse for for travel arrangements. Being that I'm moving out of an apartment, it wouldn't make much sense for me to use one of those as I have nowhere to plunk it down. My furniture and everything is pretty minimal, but I have some fairly high-priced electronics that I'm not big on just leaving to hang around.

 

[Kephart P.E.]

Well, as of July 1st, I'm out of Houston and headed to North Carolina to plop myself at our 800MW clean coal job.
The only problem I have is trying to find a house to rent ahead of time. The area is very backwoods, minimal properties listed online, although I have found a helpful broker in the area. The stinker though, is that I'm not given any time for a settling in period. They pay to put me up in a hotel for two weeks, but I'm a little leery over the concept of loading everything I own in a U-Haul, leaving it parked in a hotel parking lot for two weeks, and praying that I can find something and have my utilities turned on during what is essentially a single weekend.

Should I just bite the bullet and burn a few vacation days to fly up there and pay for the hotel and rental car to scout something out a month ahead of time? Just curious as to if/how any of you have handled this before. When I came to Houston, I just bought everything I needed once I got here, so it was a bit of a non-issue.

My advice is this, storage unit and a P.O. Box

But burn a couple of Vacation Days to boot. It keeps you covered all the way around, half the time the best houses to rent in these areas are private owners, and they often are not around during the weekend and can be a little more difficult to get a hold of compared to a rental office. Try to call a head and set up some appointments for places that look promising.

 

[Supe]

My advice is this, storage unit and a P.O. Box
But burn a couple of Vacation Days to boot. It keeps you covered all the way around, half the time the best houses to rent in these areas are private owners, and they often are not around during the weekend and can be a little more difficult to get a hold of compared to a rental office. Try to call a head and set up some appointments for places that look promising.

I agree on the rental properties. Luckily the broker I talked to is only 10 minutes away from site and is willing to check out any potential spots ahead of time for me. I may just put a temporary hold on my mail. In all honesty, there's very little that comes in the mail that I actually need, since all of my billing is done online.

 

[FLBuff PE]

I agree on the rental properties. Luckily the broker I talked to is only 10 minutes away from site and is willing to check out any potential spots ahead of time for me. I may just put a temporary hold on my mail. In all honesty, there's very little that comes in the mail that I actually need, since all of my billing is done online.

But what about your subscription to Boobs Monthly? :Banane20:

 

[Supe]

But what about your subscription to Boobs Monthly? :Banane20:

That's what free hotel wi-fi is for. Besides, if I hold out a month, I'll get a DOUBLE dose of boobs for the start of the next month!

 

[Chucktown PE]

That's what free hotel wi-fi is for. Besides, if I hold out a month, I'll get a DOUBLE dose of boobs for the start of the next month!

What about the chick in the corset that you claim to have :kewlpics: of? What's going to happen to her and the alleged :kewlpics: ?

oking:

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

That's what free hotel wi-fi is for. Besides, if I hold out a month, I'll get a DOUBLE dose of boobs for the start of the next month!

Forget wi-fi. The hotel probably has that nifty select-o-vision with all the latest fine titles.

 

[FLBuff PE]

I'm ashamed that it took till post #10 to sink this thread.

 

[Supe]

What about the chick in the corset that you claim to have :kewlpics: of? What's going to happen to her and the alleged :kewlpics: ?
oking:

Webcam+Yahoo Messenger is how I got most of those already :dancingnaughty:

 

[Chucktown PE]

Webcam+Yahoo Messenger is how I got most of those already :dancingnaughty:

Do we have a "got IP address?" emoticon?

 

[Supe]

No way, the last thing I need is 99% of what goes on on my laptop getting traced back to me

 

[SkyWarp]

http://www.city-data.com/

 

[maryannette]

I can't offer much help about moving. I tend to get somewhere and stay put. But, I'll say welcome to NC.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

http://www.city-data.com/

I love provoking the nutjobs in the political section of that site.