Moving to another state can be extremely stressful. There are a lot of different things that you are probably thinking about as you get closer to moving day. This in-depth guide is going to take a look at some of the most important things that you should expect during a moving process.
There is a reasonably good chance that you will be prepared for many of the topics that we bring up in this guide. At the same time, there is also a chance that something comes up that you haven’t exactly planned for. You should consider following some of the tips in this guide to help you make your upcoming move as efficient as possible.
Pick the Right Location for Your New Home in the State You’re Moving To
If you are thinking about moving to another state, the first thing that you should think about is the type of region that you want to live in. This decision can be affected by a lot of different factors. Several of these factors will be discussed in this section so that you can understand some of the different reasons that you might prefer a specific location.
Urban
You might consider selecting an urban area if it fits your lifestyle. Local restaurants, stores, and activities are always available in urban city environments but this type of region is certainly not right for everyone.
Suburbs
The suburbs are a great mix between the city life and residential neighborhoods that are quieter and less dense. Many people prefer to move to locations in the suburbs because it provides average families with a well-balanced lifestyle.
Rural
If you plan on moving to a rural area in a different state, you might not be accustomed to the increased level of isolation that may be experienced in rural regions of the country. This type of location is ideal for people that don’t enjoy city life and want to be excluded from the stresses of everyday life in busy areas.
Crime Rates
If you are planning to move to a city in a different state, then you probably want to factor in the crime rates of the location that you are considering. Unfortunately, many cities across the nation are experiencing high crime rates. Higher crime rates are mostly found in urban city districts, but some suburbs are also experiencing an increase in crime.
Nobody wants to live in a city that is experiencing dangerous levels of crime. You should look at the general safety of the location that you are planning on moving to before committing to any region.
School Districts
If you have younger children or you are planning on having kids in the future, then you will probably want to consider the quality of the school districts in the area that you are moving to. You want to make sure that your children grow up in a safe neighborhood and that they will have an opportunity to attend safe schools with high-quality teachers.
Have Your Vehicle Shipped to a Different State When You Move
Once you have finally decided where you are going to move to, you might want to start planning on having your vehicle shipped to your new home. Many reputable auto transport companies can provide you with a pricing estimate for vehicle shipping so that you have a clear understanding of all of the shipping costs and fees.
Auto transport providers typically allow customers to select a specific range of dates for vehicle pickup and delivery. You can work with the transport provider and share all of this information about your planned move so that everybody is on the same page. The good news is that you won’t have to worry about transporting your vehicle if you are having it shipped across the country with an auto transport company.
Include Vehicles Shipping Costs in Your Interstate Moving Budget
One of the first things that you are going to want to do when you are planning for a move is to save money for unexpected costs. If you are leaning towards the idea of shipping your vehicle with an auto transport provider, then you are going to want to start saving money for the shipping costs as soon as possible.
Vehicle shipping fees are determined by the total distance of the vehicle shipment in addition to the type of shipping hauler that you want your vehicle shipped inside of. Shorter distances are cheaper in the grand scheme of things, but they do have a higher mileage rate. Longer distances are generally more expensive but you can expect to pay less per mile.
Reaching out to auto transport companies and comparing prices is one of the best ways to get the best price for vehicle shipping. If you start planning to ship your vehicle early on, you will likely have plenty of money saved up to effectively ship your car to your new home across the country.
Select Terminal Delivery or Home Delivery In Your New Home State
Auto transport companies offer a couple of different delivery options for vehicle shipping services. Many providers provide home delivery where they will deliver your vehicle to an exact address within the desired range of delivery dates.
This is probably the most convenient option for individuals that want their vehicle shipped for moving purposes. It certainly doesn’t hurt to have your vehicle dropped off at your new home without having to travel anywhere to pick it up.
You might also be interested in having your vehicle shipped to an eligible car terminal. Some auto transport companies offer discounts for terminal delivery because it is more convenient for transport drivers.
Terminal delivery has its pros and cons, but it will require you to make a trip to the local car terminal to pick it up when it arrives. This might not be ideal for people that are moving because you are already going to be busy with other moving tasks.
Some people might prefer terminal delivery and your preferred auto transport company will give you all of the imperative information for this particular shipping service.
Hire Professional Movers to Get You Moved to Your New State
In addition to shipping your vehicle across the country to your new home, you might also want to consider hiring professional movers so that you can effectively transport all of your furniture, clothes, and other personal items to your new home.
Some people feel like moving is a great opportunity to start from scratch, but there’s a good chance that you at least have a few items that you would prefer to keep.
If you do have a lot of heavy furniture that can’t easily be packed in a suitcase, then you might want to save additional money so that you can pay professional movers to transport your stuff.
Here are some of the items that you might hire professional movers to transport from your old home to your new home.
Common Items to Transport During the Moving Process
- Sofas and Couches
- Bed Frames
- Chairs
- Tables and Cabinets
- Desktop Computers
- Televisions and Computer Monitors
- Mattress
- Lamps
These are several of the common items that people typically don’t want to discard when moving. Many of these items are expensive and it is ultimately cheaper to hire professional movers to transport them instead of getting rid of them.
You will need to sit down and evaluate every item that you own to determine if you need to hire professional movers to transport your stuff. If you don’t have a whole lot of furniture, then you might be able to skip out on this step of the moving process.
If you do have a lot of expensive furniture, then you will probably need to invest in a moving company that will take care of it for you.
Professional Movers Save Time and Stress When Relocating to a New State
By hiring professional movers, you are eliminating a lot of stress from your moving process. It is much more convenient to have professionals arrive at your home and place everything into a moving truck and drive it to your new home.
Instead of dealing with all of that stress yourself, you can pay a reliable moving company to get the job done efficiently. If you start saving money early on, you won’t have any problems affording a professional moving company.
Many moving companies also guarantee that furniture and other personal items will not be damaged during the moving process. If an item is damaged, you may be eligible for some form of discount or compensation from the moving company’s insurance provider. You should ask about this topic when hiring a moving company for your moving process.
It may not be in everybody’s budget to hire professional movers, but you at least need to consider the possibility if you have a lot of items to transport. If you are convinced that you can’t afford to pay professional movers, then it might be better for you to discard your items and start from scratch in your new home.
Prepare to Navigate in The New City You’re Moving To
One thing that a lot of people don’t ever think about when moving to a new city in a different state is navigation. Once you have all of your belongings transported to your new home, you are probably going to want to start exploring the region around your home.
There are many important locations that you might want to know about. It might be a good idea to use an online service like Google Maps to help you find everything that you are looking for.
Here is a convenient list of different types of businesses that you might want to look for around your new home.
List of Important Businesses
- Grocery Stores
- Gas Stations
- Restaurants
- Popular Retailers (Target, Sears, Walmart)
- Clothing Stores
- Rent-A-Car Terminal
These are only a few of the important types of businesses that you might want to look for in your new neighborhood. If you struggle with navigation, then it might be a good idea to download a mobile app that can help you with navigation. You can set your favorite landmarks in many different navigational mobile apps so that you never struggle to find your way through unfamiliar areas.
Public Transportation in a New Location
If you are moving to an urban or suburban area, you might have to get accustomed to using public transportation in addition to driving yourself around time. Public transportation systems like trains, metros, subways, and busses are extremely popular in cities like Los Angeles and New York City.
A lot of people in these types of cities have their vehicles transported to their new town, but they ultimately decide to use public transportation because it is cheaper and quicker. This may or may not be the case for you but it is certainly a topic to think about.
Prepare to Adjust to Local Laws in Your New State
Every state has its own laws that you are going to need to memorize and obey. It can be challenging to adapt to new laws so it might be a good idea to browse through some of the most common laws that get broken by new residents.
Some online service providers keep track of all of the differences between your previous state and your new state in terms of the law.
For example, residents in California are allowed to pump their own gas. If a resident in California moved up to Oregon, they might not immediately know that residents don’t pump their own gas in Oregon. A gas station attendant is required to pump your gas for you within the borders of Oregon.
Every state has different laws and it is impossible for you to memorize every single law in your new state. You should do a little bit of research to prepare yourself for some of the well-known laws that might differ from your existing jurisdiction.
Paying a Visit to City Hall After Moving to a New Location
By visiting the local City Hall in your new town, you might be able to receive some assistance regarding all of the state laws and city ordinances in your new region. Simply walk into City Hall and ask one of the city workers to assist you. It might be a good idea to let them know that you are brand new to the city and that you just moved there.
You might be able to receive some important information about your city ordinances and other laws that might be important for you to know about.
Visit Social Groups to Meet New People in Your New State
You probably don’t know a lot of people in your neighborhood after moving to a brand new state. There are many social groups and activities that you might be able to join to help you and your family meet new people.
If you aren’t really interested in joining social groups, then it might be a good idea to visit populated areas like restaurants, beaches, and other outdoor areas that have a lot of people nearby. You can organically meet people in these areas and maybe you can even find someone that will give you a tour of the city.
It can be intimidating to meet people after moving to a brand new state, but you can make some great friends if you spend a little bit of time socializing.
Update Your New Address with the Post Office and DMV After Moving to a New Location
When the time comes for you to move to your new state, you will need to spend a little time updating your old address to your new address by visiting the Post Office and DMV. By law, you are required to update your address when you move within a certain amount of time. You might also need to update your voter registration if you are planning to vote in your new state.
In addition to following the address laws, you will also guarantee that the post office is aware of your new address so that you will receive all of your mail. You certainly wouldn’t want all of your mail going to your old address and potentially being lost forever.
You generally have between 10 Days and 14 Days to change your address with the postal service and DMV. If you don’t update your address within this grace period, you may lose mail or experience several other issues.
Create a Checklist for Your Interstate Moving Process
You shouldn’t expect yourself to memorize everything that you need to do during your moving process. The best thing that you can do is whenever you think of something new that you need to do, you should write it down onto a moving checklist.
That way you can have a bunch of different tasks written down onto a single piece of paper and you can draw a checkmark next to each item when you have successfully completed that step.
Moving to a new state is no simple task and you should try to organize your moving process by making it as simple as possible. By creating a moving checklist, you are less likely to forget things and you will likely make your move a lot more convenient.
Finding Work When You Move to a New State
There’s a chance that you are moving to a new state without any jobs lined up for you and your other family members. Visiting local job boards and walking into local businesses in your new city is a great way to quickly find work.
You should always let the supervisor know that you are new to the area and that you are trying to find a job in your new location.
Even if you don’t get hired right away, you might be able to learn some new information about the local businesses in your city. After searching for a while, you will likely find at least one business that is a good fit for your skillset.
Online Job Platforms
If local job boards and walk-in applications don’t get you anywhere, then you could try an online job board like Indeed or ZipRecruiter. There are dozens of reliable platforms that can help you find open job positions all across the country.
Newspaper Job Listings
Sometimes businesses place new job offers and open positions in the local newspaper. You might want to take a look in the newspaper to see if there are any local job positions available.
Successfully Moving To A New State
Now that you’ve had an opportunity to take a look at this in-depth guide, you should have a little bit more knowledge about all of the planning and preparation that goes into moving to a different state. It certainly isn’t an easy process, but with the appropriate level of preparation, you can make this process a lot more convenient and organized.
It doesn’t matter if you are shipping your vehicle or hiring professional movers, you should carefully think about every decision that you need to make. You want to make sure that your move goes as smoothly as possible.
As mentioned above, creating a checklist for your moving process is probably one of the best ideas because it will prevent you from forgetting important things that you need to get done. Every time that you think about something else that you need to do, simply write it down onto the checklist and cross it off when you have finished.
All of the other topics in this guide may or may not apply to you. You will want to address each topic individually when the time comes. Some things need to be prioritized and addressed more quickly than others. For example, you probably want to file a change-of-address with the Post Office and DMV as quickly as possible to avoid any issues.
By following this guide, you significantly increase the chances of having a successful move to your brand new state. Moving across state lines should be an exciting new adventure.
Getting to know your new locale is fun and meeting new people is a great experience. Moving there might be a little overwhelming at first. But thinking ahead can make the journey a great kick-off to making yourself at home in your new state!
