Moving Guru Blog

Backing Up Your Move with an External Hard Drive

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Devie Lin

Moving a computer is not the hardest thing to do; however, should something go wrong, the effects can be devastating.  Think about it: your computer has everything from your music collection to your embarrassing pictures to your essential, personal information.  Breaking it is not like breaking the leg off a table or even the screen of your TV of the same value; it’s far more crippling.

Fortunately, you can easily protect yourself and your information by spending $50-100 on an external hard drive.  An external hard drive can hold all of the information contained on your computer and then some, and it can fit in your pocket.

Sure, maybe nothing will happen to your computer in transit, and yes, it’s not too difficult to protect your computer during a move, but what if?  Are you willing to lose all of your information is something unexpected happens?  And let’s be real here, having an external hard drive is a good idea anyways.

Posted in Difficult Things to Move, DIY Moves | Leave a comment

Finding Furniture for Your New Place

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Devie Lin

Finding Furniture

For many people, moving their furniture to their new home simply isn’t worth it.  Simply moving a bed can cost hundreds of dollars, or more.  However, while these people might save money by selling their stuff or leaving it behind when they move, they’ll need to buy it again for their new home.  Fortunately, there are a number of options.

Furniture Stores / Department Stores – national chains like Sears and Ikea have all sorts of furniture, but there are also many local shops as well, which could provide more unique furniture.

Salvation Army / Thrift Store – these places are hit and miss, but you could get lucky and find a good, soft couch for $20.

Craigslist – many people are trying to sell their furniture online in every city across the nation at this very moment, and some are even just trying to dump it off on someone else for free.

Posted in Settling into Your New Home | Leave a comment

The Price of Insuring Your Car

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Devie Lin

Every state is different.  Some are warm, some are cold, some red, some blue, some with big cities, some rural, and some where you’ll pay $2,500 to insure you car, and some where you’ll pay much less.

When you move to a new state, you will probably have to get new car insurance, if not immediately, then someday, and when you do, it’ll probably be a different price than it was before, perhaps drastically so.

A recent article by carinsurance.com lists the 15 most expensive states to buy car insurance in.  I won’t ruin the suspense by telling you what #1 is, but I’ll give you a hint: it’s car country.

Though this article might not change your moving plans, the price of car insurance is something you should still consider, especially when it can mean as much as $1,000 a month.

Posted in Moving Financials | Leave a comment

Moving Tetris

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Devie Lin

I’m going to address you all personally in this one, because I have a moving story that should be heard.

Two summers ago, in Tucson, Arizona, in the middle of May, in the middle of the afternoon when temperatures were boiling into the high 90’s, a friend asked me to help her move out.  Move a bed?  A table?  Sure thing.  It’ll take twenty minutes, tops, I told myself.

I arrived with another friend of mine to see a half-filled U-Haul containing a couch, a table and a few chairs.  We immediately set to work, lugging a mattress, two bed frames, a table and a TV down a couple flights of stairs to the truck.  We loaded them in with the assumption that everything would simply fit.

We were almost done; all we had left was her roommate’s mattress.  When we brought it down, though, we realized it would not fit in the truck.  The truck was full – there simply was no space to squeeze in a hulking mattress.

We stood there, sweating massively, panting with exasperation under the hot Arizona sun, slowly coming to the realization that we would have to take everything out and reorganize it.

All in all, it took about two terrible hours, but we learned a valuable lesson that day: never begin packing and loading your furniture without taking proper measurements.

Posted in Difficult Things to Move, DIY Moves, Types of Moves | Leave a comment

Getting on Getting a New Driver's License

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Devie Lin

If you move to a different state, you’re going to need to get a new driver’s license.  You’re also going to need to register your vehicle in the new state.  You probably already knew this.

However, you might not have know how soon the state expects you to do this.  For example, in California, you need to register your car within 20 days or else be subject to additional fees and possible tickets.

The first twenty days after you move are going to fly by.  You’ll be looking for new places to go, meeting new people, starting a new job… registering your vehicle isn’t going to be on the top of your mind.  However, don’t forget about it.  Make notes; put it on your calendar.  You don’t want the DMV on you butt before you even get unpacked.

Posted in Settling into Your New Home | Leave a comment

Check Your Cell Phone Coverage

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Devie Lin

So, I recently found gotreception.com, which has a great application for discovering how good your cell phone reception will be in the area where you’re thinking about moving.

While it certainly is not perfect, I think it gives a really good indication of what you can expect in a broad sense: great coverage, poor coverage or something in between.

Even though cell phone reception seems to be minor in the larger scheme of a move, it is something you should still consider, because it’s very frustrating if your cell phone doesn’t work in rooms of your own home.

Posted in Apartment and House Hunting | Leave a comment

A Sentimentalist's Guide to Moving

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Devie Lin

Moving is sad.  You’re leaving behind memories, experiences, friends and family.  Once you leave, you will probably never again see the room you’ve been sleeping in for years, the shower you spent every morning in, the view from the kitchen window.  Moving is ending; it’s the period on the last sentence of a chapter of your life.

While you can’t change the fact that you’re moving, you can do many things to limit the feeling of melancholy when you drive off on moving day.

Visit your favorite restaurants, bars and spots and get your favorite thing there one last time.

Have a night out with friends or a going away party.  Bring the people who mean something to you together so that you can share memories and add one more to the list.

Plan a night with your place.  Open up a bottle of wine and enjoy your patio for one last time, or have a nice dinner in your dining room, or simply watch a movie.  Enjoy your place.

Do something new.  Think about somewhere you always meant to check out in your town and go there.  It might be your last chance.

Get a souvenir.  Buy something that represents your town for your new place, such as a piece of art, a blanket or a plant.

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The Dangers of Driving a Moving Truck

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Devie Lin

Renting a moving truck means having to drive a moving truck, and driving a moving truck is not easy for a person used to driving a car or even a minivan or pick up truck.

Moving trucks and big and bulky; they offer have limited views; and they are slow.  If you are renting a truck for your next move, you better be ready to get behind the wheel.  Here are three things to be especially aware of:

Longer stopping distance – Moving trucks are heavier than cars and often require more time to stop.

Height – The trailer on a moving truck is much higher than a car or normal pick up.

Blind spots – Moving trucks are longer than cars or pick ups, and they have larger blind spots that you can’t eliminate by simply looking over your shoulder.

Posted in Moving Safety, Types of Moves | Leave a comment

Tipping Movers

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Devie Lin

Tipping is not an exact science, nor should it be.  When dining, a 20% calculation is a good place to start when determining a tip, but not all waiters deserve 20%, some deserve more an some less.  The same applies to movers.

The base rate to tip full service movers is 5%.  But 5% of a $10,000 move is $500.  That’s pretty big if you didn’t like your movers, if you didn’t feel that they proceeded with care or respect.  And so don’t worry about tipping movers less.  But also don’t feel restricted from tipping more.

Tipping is a feeling, an expression of gratitude and respect, not an exact amount to be imposed equally on all.  If it was the latter, it would be called a fee.  So, tip your movers what is right based on the circumstances.  Start with the your base tip amount being 5%, then adjust it according to what you FEEL your movers deserve.  Learn more about the do’s and don’t of moving etiquette at Movingguru.com.

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Mover's Insurance – What Are the Chances of a Moving Mishap?

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Devie Lin

Mover’s insurance will protect all of your assets during the moving process, assuring you money back for any damage to them.  But it’s not free.  So, is it worth it?  Well, that depends.

The chances that your moving truck will crash are slim.  Using the crudest, most unscientific of measures, general stats predict that one out of four people will be involved in a car accident in their lifetimes.  Now pinpoint that statistic to one or two days.  That’s roughly .001% chance that you will be involved in an accident while you move.  Even if this stat is wrong, the actual chances must still be extremely slim.  Is that worth the price for insurance to you?

The chances that your movers will break a possession while loading or uloading is much more probable, but even then it’s quite small.  Think about it: do you even have anything that is worth insuring?  If so, how many items?  And are they that difficult to load and unload or cushion and secure in the truck?

You might find so, and if so, you can insure specific items for a set price, but when it comes to insuring ALL of your belongings, you will probably find that the risk is simply too low and insignificant to be worth your hard earned money.

Posted in Moving Companies, Moving Financials | Leave a comment