How To Relocate to the Carolinas Without Losing Your Mind or Any of Your Other Valuables

Type “moving tips” into Google and you’ll receive over 45 million results. Apparently you’re not the only person needing a bit of help!

Most of the real estate companies and moving companies will have tips on their sites, which are great to look at. Century 21’s site has some excellent resources for planning your relocation, all for free. You’ve found a home you love, in a place with a great job lined up, and the only thing left to do is get you and all your stuff there. In this article, we’ll point out some of the most important things to remember, and provide you with some resources to continue your research, so you don’t have to sift through 45 million sites.

Your first, and most important decision, is whether to use a moving company or move yourself. Check out www.move.com or www.moving.com to get quotes on what it will cost you to move. There are even companies who will let you do the packing and unpacking, and they do the driving. For our money, and piece of mind, this is the best route to go. Letting a stranger handle our heirlooms is not our idea of a peaceful afternoon; www.upack.com is a good start for a “you pack it, they drive it” company. They’ll deliver a shipping container to your home, you have three days to pack it, they drive it, and then you have three days to unpack it.

You can save a bunch of money by doing all the packing, driving, and unpacking yourself. Choosing to invest your sweat and driving skills is a bit of work, but it can really pay off. Before you settle on a rental truck company, make sure you get estimates from a few. Prices will vary greatly, and remember to read the fine print, and get insurance. Talking to friends or relatives to get references is also wise.

If you’re comfortable with letting someone do all the work for you, there are plenty of full-service companies out there. Some will even unpack and organize your home for you, so all you have to do is put your feet up at the end of the day. Most of these unpacking services are regional, as they need you to walk them through the home prior to the delivery of your items, so starting with a Google search along the lines of, “unpacking services,” is a good idea. One service in North Carolina is www.trainglemoving.com, and one serving South Carolina is, www.coastalcarrier.com.

Regardless of which way you decide to do things, you should thoroughly check into the company you hire. You don’t want to end up another statistic, grumpily posting a horror story on the moving message boards (Yes, they do exist!). There are plenty of fraudulent companies out there. A common scam is to give you one estimate, let you pack up the truck, and then hike up the estimate. If you give them trouble, they’ll threaten to keep your belongings. Some other companies have no regrets with leaving your items sitting in their warehouses, with little care for whether they are wet or dry, covered or not. Other companies will disappear with your items, never to be seen again. A good website to visit to get some decent recommendations for companies is, www.ethicalmovers.org. The bottom line is to protect yourself from unscrupulous companies who profit from what should be a happy time in your life.

In the course of our research, we’ve found some great websites to help you before, during, and after your move. For planning, it’s hard to beat, www.century21.com for a complete list of things to do to prepare for your move; www.directyourmove.com is good for comparing price quotes; www.movingtipdirectory.com is a great resource for everything about moving. Once you get into your home, you’ll want to keep it as clean as possible. No cluttered garage this go around! Visit www.organizedhome.com and www.organizetips.com to get so organized you’ll make Martha Stewart proud.

Like most things in life, moving can be a breeze with the proper planning and foresight. Take your time once you’ve bought your home, and leave at least 2 months to get all your ducks in a row before moving day. With any luck, and some help from our relocation tips, the first memories of your new home will be of an easy and fun move!

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About Bob Bencivenga

Bob  Bencivenga is a professional site locator and location anyalyst for major corporations and been researching the growth of NC and SC to find those areas which are affordable. Visit his blog and signup free to  get blog updates by email, along with free advice on how to relocate or retire in the Carolinas, additional resources, and a lot more!  Go now to www.placesofvalue.com.  Bob does not sell real estate.

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