I’m moving from California to Florida next month. I have a studio apartment’s worth of stuff (mattress, clothes, books, wall art, tv; if there’s space, I’d bring my collapsible dining table and chairs but that’s about it)
Originally, I was going to ship my stuff and fly, and expect to have a new lease ready to move-in by the time it all arrived. I’d do Airbnb while I’m apartment hunting
But shipping stuff isn’t cheap, so I then thought I could use that money to buy an RV or sprinter or something and drive. This way, I wouldn’t have to spend on hotels along the way either.
But I’m told in the RV thread my budget is nowhere near where it needs to be to do that
Then looking around, I’ve seen a few people say to buy something like a Toyota Tacoma. Which I could always sell after I move
I just like the idea of being able to take my time apartment hunting and not feeling rushed to find something to meet the mover’s arrival date. Like what if they arrived a day earlier than I’m ready for?
What’s the most affordable way to move cross country?
byu/fameneverdies inFrugal
Posted by fameneverdies
12 Comments
If I wanted to save money, that is exactly what I would do. Buy a truck and use it to move across country and then sell it. Just don’t forget that you can’t just have all your stuff in the bed while you are waiting for days while apartment hunting in most cities. There will be unscrupulous individuals who are willing to help you move your stuff right into their homes.
Having a place ready to go when you arrive is pretty key to doing it frugally. Because of course that’s a uhaul, a friend and cheap motels.
Don’t buy a vehicle that’s very expensive, and if you buy a lemon you are stuck on the drive.
I just moved from Texas to Utah and I shipped all my stuff in Uhauls U-boxes. I didn’t shop around like I should’ve so maybe there’s something better out there, but you just bring your stuff, load it, and they ship it to a U-Haul location at the destination. For more they can ship it to your home and pick it up from there. I’m up here now but don’t have a place, and they just hold onto it until you come grab it. You already pay for a month up front when you ship it and then if you need more time you could probably just buy another month. Apparently you can access the box at any time once it’s shipped as well, but I haven’t tried. Was so much easier just driving my car up instead of some box truck where I’m worried about people fucking with it while I’m asleep at the hotels. My stuff arrived before I even got here and while I haven’t checked, it says they’re just holding it until I come grab my things.
I used my 18 year old 4runner with 250k miles on it to move 1,000 miles across the country. Buy a Toyota truck and rent a trailer – Toyota hold their value and are extremely reliable / affordable to fix.
Unless the stuff you have is very nice or has sentimental value, consider selling it & getting new/thrifted stuff when you find a place. Honestly, sometimes stuff doesn’t work in the new place anyway, so you’re giving yourself more options. A full size memory foam mattress @ Costco is $500, & Ikea has very comfortable cheaper options.
Two years ago i hired a moving truck. I thivk we were a third of the truck. It was super reasonable. Didnt cost a lot more than youd spend on fuel and licensing with your own truck. I had it all packed. Movers just loaded the truck. Had a storage unit waiting. Unloaded right into it. Had a leisurely cross country drive with my dog. Good adventure.
Someone else said it but it is worth repeating, look at selling what you can.
Calculate the alternative costs. Maybe that mattress requires a bigger vehicle to move, which means more money for gas or a larger delivery bill. Just calculate how much it costs to drive a uhaul 100 miles… Maybe you just toss it and pay for a new one when you get into a place that has space for one. Maybe that happens with the television as well. Pick up a better used one when you get situated in your new place rather than deal with moving it.
I’m sure there are people paying $2000 to move $300 worth of stuff from state to state. But this is also why colleges often have completely filled dumpsters when their students leave for the summer. The smart ones likely listed a lot of it for sale weeks before.
Sell everything that you don’t absolutely need.
Think of what people take on a camping trip.
It all fits in a backpack.
Trim stuff down until you can get everything into two 50 pound pieces of luggage.
join the military and let them pay for it
Would it fit into the back of a van? You mentioned buying a truck then selling. What about renting a van?
If you’re going to buy a car just to sell it, just rent a small U-Haul moving truck, like the 10 ft one or one of their Vans and use that. You can rent it where you are and drop it off in Florida. You’ll be money ahead compared to trying to buy a car and then sell it and then nine times out of 10 when you get a used car you’re going to have to do a few things to it.
Rent a small U-Haul or POD and drive yourself usually ends up cheaper than shipping or buying a vehicle just for the move.