Moving Tips from a Frequent Mover

Ugh. It's that time again... Every few months or so, I brace myself for a big move. My boyfriend and I both work in the entertainment industry, so unfortunately, this "gypsy" lifestyle has become all too familiar for us. We finally decided that we wanted a permanent zipcode (to us, that translates into one year) and Santa Monica ended up being our calling! We will be 6 blocks away from the ocean and in a totally different world from Chicago or New York City- sooo exciting! It's always been a dream of mine to live near the ocean! But the daunting task of packing up all our stuff (again) and moving cross country lay ahead. Being the Type A personality I am, I wanted to make sure the move went as smoothly and efficiently as possible without losing my freaking mind. If you are relocating in the near future, I feel your pain.

Here are some extremely helpful moving tips I've learned along the way...

1. Decide whether or not you are going to hire a moving company or do it yourself. For me, I had done the U-Haul thing numerous times and wasn't in the mood to deal with any drama. This time around, I was making the drive to sunny CA without the hassle of a huge trailer behind me to maneuver.

2. Be very careful when hiring a moving company. Check them out on the Better Business Bureau right away. I had a list of about 10 companies to call. When I went on the BBB's website, I was shocked to see the majority of them had crazy consumer complaints. Whew! Good to know. I quickly narrowed it down to 3 companies that were members of the BBB, with exceptional records.

3. Negotiate! Negotiate! Negotiate! I wanted to get the best deal possible. Make sure you get a guaranteed rate in writing. (I actually ended up going with Guaranteed Movers Inc.- b/c your rate doesn't change. Most movers will quote you a really great low price, but it's only an estimate. When they get to your place, suddenly the boxes don't fit in the truck and the cost goes way up. It's bogus.) So, I made sure that I got all my rates in writing on the contract. Then I would negotiate with all 3 companies to see which one would give me the better deal. They didn't want to lose my business, so they were all willing to come down.