Moving to a new place is always exciting. We get excited when we try a new restaurant, so imagine how much more we can be excited when we’re about to make a permanent move. A new home. A new job. New neighbors. New coworkers. Goodbye to the boss from hell and nosy neighbors. You’re free from all that drama now. You are ready to start a new leaf, but are you really?
The average cost of a local move is somewhere between $500 for a one-bedroom apartment to $1,400 for a four-bedroom house. That’s for a short-distance move. If you are planning for a long-distance move, prepare to pay around the vicinity of $5,000. Yes, that’s how expensive moving to a new city is. Remember that you will not only transport yourself to the new city, but you are moving everything. That’s not even taking into account car transport costs, which is another major factor when moving.
Factors That Affect the Cost of Moving
Everything affects the cost of transporting your things to another city. Usually, the movers factor in the distance, time, weight of the belongings, and labor when computing how much it will cost them to move your things. If you filled a whole cargo truck, expect to pay higher because the weight of the cargo means the truck will use more fuel. If you are going to ask the movers to pack your things, that’s an additional service.
Garage Sale
Have you ever thought about making a garage sale? Instead of moving your ratty sofa to your new home, why don’t you sell it at a garage sale? The same thing applies to non-sentimental things in your house, such as the gas stove, cabinets, lamps, and many other things. Does the cost of these items equal to the $4,000 you’re about to spend on a long-distance move?
Expensive and Rare Items
Do you have rare paintings that you want to move? You have two options here. The first one is to drive a truck yourself to the new city, bringing this rare painting. But remember that you also have to deal with the safety issues on the road. Of course, this only works if your new city is drivable. This changes when you need to take a flight to the new city.
The second one is to hire some special movers to move this item specifically. With rare items, movers will advise you to have them insured. That’s one of the requirements of moving rare and expensive items.
Permits and Licenses
It’s not only the process of moving that’s overwhelming during a move, but it’s also what you need to do once you are in your new home. To get around the city, you need a driver’s license. You need to check the necessary permits, too, that the local government requires of new homeowners. For example, do they have regulations about noise, fences, and home repairs?
Memberships
Nobody thinks about new memberships in the new city when they’ve just moved in? People are so focused on the idea of settling in that they forget all the memberships they left back home. So, spend a day and some dollars signing up for all the essentials—fitness clubs, membership shopping, and some local businesses you think you will be a patron of.
Just thinking about the idea of moving to a new home and starting over a new leaf is exciting. But the excitement usually crashes when people realize how expensive moving can be, especially if it’s a long-distance move. Be smart with your choices, not only in choosing the best and most affordable movers but in what items you need to move and what will not make the cut.
