When you’re moving cross country, chances are you’re likely going to be overwhelmed at first with the many processes involved. After all, when it comes to making sure things are in order, you’re likely to encounter a lot of paperwork, consultations, meetings, and other arrangements. However, cross country moving doesn’t always have to be hard – provided you know where to start and how to navigate your way through the process. If you’re ready for your cross country journey, then below are cross country moving tips to make the process easier.
If you’ve decided to move to another country, you’re not exactly alone. Around 40-million Americans have moved as per 2017 numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau, and around 1.26-million actually moved to another country. A lot of “major” moving activity, such as state or country-based movement, are actually made by 18 to 34-year-olds, perhaps due to having to move out of college, having new work, or even starting a new family.
- Make sure you clean everything and inventory as you go: Before you officially move, try to make sure you’ve cleaned every part of the household. This also affords you the opportunity to take notes and inventory everything you have, so you can sort them as to which you may have to throw away or which you may be able to keep. Try to assess the value of the objects you want to keep and see if you “really” want to keep them.
- If you have things you want to throw, you can either drop, purge, donate, or sell them. What you want to do with them depends entirely up to you.
- Keep the items you want to move with you and make sure you have an inventory on them ready beforehand. If you can get the weight and the dimensions of the object, it would be much handier for your movers as well.
- Pack everything properly, and label them: When you have things you want to keep, you’ll want to make sure you have the right packaging materials such as boxes and tapes on hand as you’ll have to start packing. Make sure the boxes are sturdy and strong, and that you have labels available in order to group your things properly.
- You can ask help from the entire household in order to pack everything much faster and much more efficient. Try to make a checklist of items for each box as you go along, so unpacking can be much easier.
- Try to make sure all your movable packages are in one place, so getting them across to your movers would be much easier. In speaking of:
- Hire a cross-country mover: Moving companies like greatguyslongdistancemovers.com can be helpful with your moving woes. However, before hiring a cross-country mover, do make sure to:
- Clarify the rates they have, and see if there are other spot charges, as in charges that would cost you on the spot or on the day of the moving.
- Try to see if they’re licensed and properly registered. Some movers are only allowed to move inside one state, so ask if your mover can actually conduct business in the state you’re planning to move in.
- Try to assess whether or not they’ll be contracting another mover to assist them, as this most likely means your stuff will be in two trucks, and as such you’ll have to wait for longer to get all of your things.
- Be prepared to travel for a while: If you’re with family, it’s important to remember that your things will probably arrive within the span of 1 to 14 days, or longer, depending on distance, load, time, and number of objects. As such you’re not going to have your things arrive with you immediately, and as such would need to spend some time with family while waiting for your packages.
- A recommended course of action is to get to know the locale through exploration, as you can get to know restaurants, malls, hospitals, and police stations nearby.
- Prepare your car for long-distance moving. Try to assess maps where the nearest gas stations on your route are and schedule how much you’re going to have to refill.
- Make sure you have an emergency bag with you as well, in case something happens.
Conclusion:
When you’re moving across country, don’t forget that the process is only tricky at first because you need to establish that you’re moving to the proper authorities before actually being allowed to make the move. Understanding the necessity of such an arrangement can help put you into the mindset of putting things in order constantly, and can greatly help make the process much easier for you to digest. Don’t hesitate to take your time, ask questions, and arranging things for your convenience without being in too much of a rush.
Claire Amore
Claire Amore is a contributor for Great Guys Moving, and is a believer that pieces can only truly be unique and engaging if you add your own personalized take on topics you’re supposed to write about. Claire wants to get out of the common misconception that content has to be what’s “in” and what’s “trendy,” and she wants to focus on content that is not just engaging to her readers but also relevant to their interests.
