The official list-makers, whoever they are, have ranked moving among the most stressful life events. This means moving is right up there with the death of a loved one, divorce, and losing a job. That is some serious stress.
You have to make big decisions when you start to think about moving: Do you really want to? Where will you go? Where will you move into? And no one’s favorite: Will you move your stuff on your own, or hire someone else to do it?
Don’t just do what your parents/spouse/sibling/friend tells you to do. Think it through with these simple questions:
- Whose tab is it on? If an employer will pay for your move, it’s a no-brainer—schedule those movers and don’t look back!
- How far are you going? It’s cheaper to rent a U-Haul and drive it across the country yourself than to hire a moving company. That’s a fact.
- How much stuff do you have? If you’ve accumulated a lot of stuff and decide to go it alone, you better have some very good friends to help load and unload (friends over 40 are exempt, because something—back, knee, whatever—is already injured). But, if you plan to buy most or all of the furniture for your new digs, just have it delivered. Moving yourself will be easy peasy, or relatively easy peasy.
- What kinds of stuff do you have? If you have a bunch of big, awkward, clunky furniture and are on the fourth floor of an apartment building, just pay people to suffer for you. Especially if you aren’t moving far away. The farther the move, the more expensive professional movers are.
- How attached to your stuff are you? Moving companies have good insurance (or they should; make sure you check) and will have to pay for anything they break or damage. If you break it, you pay, obviously.
- Have you looked into the costs of renting a truck vs. hiring movers? It’s always worth comparing costs. If you decide to go with professional movers, be sure to compare prices between companies, read reviews, and ask friends about their experiences.
- How busy are you? If you are overwhelmed with work to be done before leaving your old job, enrolling kids in their new school, shopping for and ordering furniture, and contacting electric, gas, phone and water companies, then stop while you’re ahead (or at least before you’re way behind) and hire movers.
By the time you’ve filled out the forms, figured out financing and fixed what needs fixing, physically moving might be lost in the jumbled to-do list in your head. The good news is that your moving method isn’t usually a life-altering decision. So just take a few deep breaths…and move!