Regardless of why you have to move cross-country, it’s not an easy process to go through. That doesn’t mean you can’t make it easier on yourself, however. Knowing unique ways to do this can help you manage the stress of making a cross-country move.
1. Rent a Shipping Container
One of the easiest ways to move most of your household goods is to just rent a mobile storage container. Whether it’s a traditional shipping container used for moving goods across oceans or just mobile storage shed dropped off in your yard, you can pack things at a somewhat leisurely rate and have someone else actually move it to your new home.
2. Plan an Extended Hotel Stay
Packing up one home is stressful enough. Starting life in a new one can also be pretty difficult. It’s also unlikely that your move-out and move-in dates will line up perfectly. There’s nothing wrong with staying in an extended-residence hotel in your new city for a few days or even weeks until you’re ready to move into a new home. This is a great option if you have to move by a certain date but don’t actually have your new home lined up yet to start with.
3. Use a Car Shipping Service
Those big trucks carrying cars aren’t just to fill up inventory at dealerships. It only takes a few minutes to use a car shipping service to get quotes for having someone move your car for you when you move cross-country. This is a smart move if your household has multiple vehicles to bring along. If you fly, then it solves a very obvious problem for you.
4. Don’t Book a Direct Flight
If you’re flying to your next home, then you might not want a direct flight. In fact, you might not want to put both your flights on the same day. A layover in a city somewhere in between could be a temporary oasis in the middle of everything.
5. Take Advantage of Relatives
If you have any relatives, be it parents, grandparents, aunts, or uncles, that enjoy spending time with your kids, then by all means let them. Some of your busiest actual moving days might go easier if the kids aren’t around for a weekend or even a whole week.
6. Give Yourself Permission to Spend
In the process of packing up your old home, you may weed out a lot of possessions that you don’t think are worth taking to your new home. Give yourself permission to also sell or donate some things that are still in good condition so you can buy new things for your new home. You need something to look forward to in all this stress.
The sooner you get started on your preparations for moving cross-country, the more of these ideas you can implement. A little bit of deliberate effort in advance makes things much easier later in the process.
