I'm moving!!

A plan that is 3 years in the making is finally happening. 3 years ago we decided to start working toward a cross-country move. We got things arranged here (mainly getting 2 of the three kids graduated) and had things arranged for our house to hit the market on 3/16/2020. Well, on 3/13/2020 covid attacked the earth and things shuttered to a stop. It actually was against the law to list/show your house for a time here in Michigan so things were put on hold. A few months ago we decided it was as good a time as any and finished up a few things on the house and listed it on August 30th. That same day we left for Florida to scout the areas we were considering. That scouting trip quickly turned into house-hunting. Our house in MI was booked SOLID with showings for 12 hours Monday and Tuesday before business hours Monday!  Wow. We had 6 offers in the first 12 hours and pulled the trigger on a great offer. 

We looked at a few houses in FL, quickly deciding we need to up our budget and found a great house in Port Charlotte. We scored a .66 acre lot with a two-car garage and a 40X30 (?) pole barn, less than two years old!  We should be down there in about 6 weeks. Just in time for the cool weather in Michigan, and the best weather in FL.  

Hot dog!!
 

Congrats on the move 

Did you buy this one? https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4476-Harbor-Blvd-Pt-Charlotte-FL-33952/43551728_zpid/?

In reply to DrBoost :

Congrats! We moved from IL to the MS coast several years ago & have zero regrets. 

Congratulations! That'll be a huge move, but sounds like you guys are ready for it and landing in a great place!

Port Charlotte is cool

Is it too soon for me to hit the Port Charlotte CL?

Very active autocross group in the area. I haven't been to any of their events as it's quite a drive for me, but a lot of my friends go to them. 

Thanks all. 
trying to figure out how to do a grassroots move.....

Congrats!  Moving was one of the best choices I've made in recent history and Im sure yours will be just as beneficial.  Sadly no real ideas on grassroots moving.  When I took the new job I was going back and forth from NC to NJ every weekend until our house sold so I bought an old suburban and a storage unit and grabbed things every weekend but the bulk of the move was handled by my company.

DrBoost said:

Thanks all. 
trying to figure out how to do a grassroots move.....

I have not used them myself but I find this the most interesting: ABF U-pack

Competitors do the same: Old Dominion

These are companies that do Lessthan Truck Load (LTL) shipping.  An empty 28ft trailer arrives at your house for a few days or week.  You load it yourself.   Your costs are by the linear foot (so be sure to pack high to the truck ceiling.)   Once complete you put in a locking partition and your goods occupy the nose of the trailer.  The company picks up the trailer and takes it back to their depot.  At the depot the remaining  trailer space is filled.  That might be filled with 4 pallets of  building materials going to Georgia and 4 more pallets of  automotive parts going to Tampa.  The trailer arrives in your new town about 2 days later.  When you are there and ready, you call and they send out the 28ft semi trailer to your house where you have a few days or week to empty it...yourself.  

In general, in the moving industry you hear horror stories of peoples load getting held hostage for a higher price (ransom) to actually get it delivered.  With this type of move, you lock in the goods and a real corp employee driver just brings it to your house where you unlock it.  Your goods take a little detour but I don't think anyone will be riffling through your goods.  

DrBoost said:

Thanks all. 
trying to figure out how to do a grassroots move.....

We bought a minivan, a 5x8 enclosed trailer, and made about a dozen trips. I wouldn't recommend that to anyone. 

In 1970 my dad used a big name mover from St. Louis to Chicago and his Craftsman tool box came up missing but then they found it when he called.  

Accidentally put by their tool box.   Uh huh.  

My last move was using Pods. Load it, they move it, you unload it. It was pretty simple and having a month to complete the move made it pretty painless. I doubt they are the cheapest, but I will probably use them for the next move as well. 

In reply to Toyman01 + Sized and John Welsh:

After 3 hours of research lastnight I went with upack. The only cheaper option was renting a uhaul. I've done that before, but never over 1300 miles. When you factor in the fuel, meals, and lodging, it is within spitting distance of upack. Pods was double!!
The beauty of upack is they drop off an empty 27' trailer, you load it as much or as little as you want, then install a bulkhead (securing your stuff). You pay for the footage you used, no more. The upack trailer is also larger in the width and height, making the same 16' length more cubic feet for substantially less money than Pods or Pack Rats. 
The trailer will be dropped off the first of October. Woo-hoo!!

In reply to DrBoost :

I look forward to your U-pack review.  It seems like the right way.  Yes, they seem to know what Uhaul costs and price right about the same, all things factored.  So, its not costing you more but not saving you any either.  What you gain is the simpler travel of just driving your cars down.  

Downsides seem to be...That's a steep ramp.  Might not be fun loading a refidge, washer. dryer, etc.  Yes, pack it high but then too, its not easy to lift really heavy stuff over your head.  U-pack can provide laborers to either side of the move.  Uhaul sells laborers also and I don't think you have to have a rental to buy some laborers.  A friend bought some Uhaul laborers in Ohio.  I too was there to help him.  What he got was two pretty good 20-somethings.  They were well worth it.  

Does your current or new place have any HOA or parking concerns of a 28ft semi trailer for a few days?  

In reply to John Welsh :

I'll review for sure. I talked to them on the phone because I had one question. The guy I talked to was super nice and very knowledgable. Really explained everything really well. The things I like about U-pack are:
1 - they drop off a 27' trailer. You use what you want and only pay for that
2 - there are no hidden fees. The price in the quote is the price you pay

I've use the ABF U-pack twice - from detroit to seattle and back.  Worked out great, I just hired labor at either end.  They even have the option to hold the shipment for 30 days (for a cost).  As you're paying per "foot" of trailer space, you need a good tetris master packer.  Both trailers we used (10 years in between) were nearly brand new & clean.

Plus pitch / sell anything prior to the move that you can easily replace at the new house.

Thelast time I moved we filled a 40 foot trailer to the roof and it was a professional moving company. I have no doubt I own more crap now than then and I wouldn't dream of doing it myself. You have fun.

Congrats! I just sold my house in Wisconsin and moved to California. I ended up renting a Penske truck, but I didn't buy back into the market (renting here in CA) and had nowhere good to put a storage container-type object. Good luck with the move!

At this point in my life I'm more than happy to pay someone to hump all my stuff out of my house, into the trailer and then back out of the trailer and into my house.