Moving can be stressful and there are many considerations and decisions that you have to make when planning your move. You might need to choose if you want to have help packing. Also, you might need to figure out what to keep and what to sell or give away. There are many small and large decisions that go into a move. Take note that all of them can cause stress along the way. One of the biggest and most important decisions that you will need to make when planning a move is whether to move yourself or to hire a professional to do it for you. There are benefits to both ways of handling a move. Likewise, you might not have even been aware that you could hire someone to move your items for you.
If you want to learn more about the considerations that go into deciding if you should hire a professional or move yourself, read on for more information!
Each Move Can be Different
The biggest factor that might guide your decision about whether to hire help or go it on your own is related to the kind of move that you are doing. If you don’t own very many items and don’t have a lot of large items to move, maybe you do not need to spend the money to have some help. Also, if there’s no access to a moving van, you might have to hire someone to help you to move.
If you are just moving a college student from home to their dorm, you might be able to just rent a little trailer and head out with your personal car. If you are moving a large family with lots of furniture, there might be no way around getting a moving company to help you with your move. There are so many variables that are related to how many items you need to move. Variables like the distance that you are moving, and the number of people that have to move with you. These details can make a move at one time in your life much different than a move at another time.
In short, every move can be different. Therefore, think hard about your unique situation before you decide which kind of move you want to do. There are many variables that go into a move. Also, they might all affect your choice about which way to handle your move.
Consider Your Physical Health When Deciding Between Moving Yourself or Hiring a Pro
One of the biggest factors that people often overlook, is their physical health. Moving is a labor-intensive process and you might find that you will be carrying heavy boxes, going up and down the stairs, and having to move your own furniture in and out of your home for many days. This might add up to a lot of strain that your health can’t stand up to.
For some people, the cost of hiring a moving company is worth it just to prevent them from getting injured. If you are moving on your own, it might also be impossible to move in your furniture and other items without some help, even if you wish that you could do so.
At the end of the day, being practical and realistic about your physical condition and your ability to handle the labor portion of the move can help prevent injury and stress as well as problems that might prevent you from being able to move successfully to your new location.
Always be realistic about the amount of help you’ll have access to when you move. Likewise, be realistic about your own skill at lifting heavy items or packing boxes. It doesn’t make sense to undertake a move that you cannot actually complete. Also, you might be able to plan in advance to get more help to make sure that your move is stress-free.
Should I Move Myself or Hire a Professional?
There are pros and cons to both kinds of moving processes and you should weigh out what you want to take care of on your own and consider if you are physically able to handle some of these tasks yourself. There is only so much that one person can do. Thus, you may have to be realistic about your own ability to handle a move all on your own. On the other side of this consideration, if you have limited items and can sell off your furniture before you move, you might be able to just pack up a few boxes and head out.
These are some of the main costs and considerations that differentiate between choosing to move yourself or hiring a professional. You should analyze these factors and think about if they are going to be a factor in your move. Be honest with yourself about all of the factors that are related to your move. There is no benefit to being unrealistic and finding hardships once you are standing outside your new home.
1. Moving Your Car Yourself or Using Professional Vehicle Transport
This can be a tough decision to make for many people who are moving. After all, your car is expensive and it can be tough to think about sending it off to your new home with a car shipping company. However, there are some good reasons that you might want to do this, like if you do not have enough people to drive both of your cars or if you are going to move a long distance away and don’t have the time or patience to drive that far.
Hiring a car transport company doesn’t have to be hard, either. This is one of the places where you can do some research and get connected with the right car transport company for your needs. Make sure that the company offers you a detailed quote, has insurance for their trucks and drivers, and that your car will arrive on the date that you specify. The rest is really easy and you can just put your car on the car shipping trailer and head to your new home!
In cases where you are moving just a few hours away, this might not make any sense, but for many people who are moving across the country, shipping at least one of their cars can save lots of time and headaches along the way.
2. Renting Your Own Van Can Add Up
Renting a U-Haul or other rental van can seem like it will be pretty affordable, but you need to consider a variety of factors when you look at the cost of your move. The truck rental for long distances will be around $1,500 to $2,000. On top of this, you will get poor mileage in most vans and your fuel bill could be quite high.
You will need to pack all of your items into this van yourself. This can be a lot of work and you’ll have to drive slowly and carefully to your new home. On top of this, if you have kids or pets, this might not be a comfortable arrangement for taking them all with you. There is typically only a bench seat in these vans and that might make it tough to take your family with you.
These vans are also notorious for breaking down. In addition, you might find that your moving van has let you down in the middle of nowhere. Many people also are not aware of how slowly they will be forced to drive when they decide to use their own moving van and there are sometimes added costs for overnight stays at hotels that were not planned expenses along the route.
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Reviews of the company
Be sure to look at reviews of the company that you are thinking of getting a moving van from and ask for some advice about the time to drive across many states with this kind of vehicle. Being prepared for the realities of this kind of trip can help you decide whether or not this solution makes sense for your needs.
In addition, if you need to pull a car behind you as you drive, this can be another large fee. Also, it can make the overall driving process hard if you’re not used to pulling a long trailer with you. All of these considerations aside, you might still save a lot of money by moving your own items, particularly if you don’t have far to go.
3. Packing Assistance Might Be Perfect For Your Needs
Paying for someone to pack all of your items might be too expensive for you to afford. Nevertheless, this is a service that many moving companies offer. You should be aware that fragile items might not be treated as carefully as you would prefer. Likewise, you might not understand the system that was used to box up the items when you start unpacking.
Most people will choose to have limited help with boxing items that are larger. This is to make sure that they make it to a new location in good condition. It is much more affordable in most cases to have limited help with boxing up items. Also, this is to save your expenditures for the pick-up and travel to your new home.
However, if you can’t move your items yourself, there are professionals that will take care of this for you. You might consider this worth your time if you do not want to have to collect boxes and packing materials and take the time to box up all of your items yourself. For smaller moves, you might only need a few boxes. This would therefore make it almost unnecessary to contemplate paying for a mover to work for you.
4. Distance Matters When Choosing Between Hiring Movers or Moving Yourself
This is one of the biggest factors related to deciding if you want to pay for someone to move all your items for you or if you want to take care of this process yourself. If you are only moving a city away or are moving within a day’s drive, you might not need to pay for a moving company to transfer your items to your new home.
Many people who are moving within a close distance will just take a few days and move all of their items with a truck or even their car. However, this can be really disruptive and if you need to move on short notice, it might not be possible. You might still want to use a moving service to move your items if you need to be out of your current living location without much advance warning.
It can also be cost-effective to have a moving company move your furniture and large items for you, even if you are just moving a city away. Large items can injure you if you do not know how to handle them. Also, you might damage your possessions if you try and carry them yourself without the right help.
5. What Floor You Live on
This is another factor that many people do not think about in advance. If you are moving to the third floor of an apartment building or condo arrangement, it can be very difficult to get your furniture into your new home without lots of help. You might know enough people who are available to help with this process. However, most people won’t have enough strong friends who can help them carry items up many flights of stairs.
Other considerations that you should build into your decision about whether to use a moving company or move yourself are related to having to use balcony access to move furniture into certain rooms. High-rise buildings and other buildings with lots of floors might have service elevators for this task. Nevertheless, some items will still not fit well into these elevators.
Using a moving company will make sure that there are enough hands available during your move. Moving companies bring the necessary equipment to move furniture and possessions into living spaces that are not at ground level. You might think that you are up for the challenge of taking this on yourself, but it is an all-too-common problem for people to realize that they cannot manage the move into their new high-rise apartment only after they have started to take possession of the property.
Making sure to consider if you have the strength to carry boxes and move up lots of stairs is a major factor that might affect your choice to use a moving company for this kind of move. It is always better not to risk getting hurt or having lots of trouble moving into these kinds of locations.
6. Consider Your Budget When Deciding If You Can Hire Professional Movers
This is probably the biggest determiner for choosing to use a moving company or choosing to move yourself. Budgeting for a move can feel like a shell game where you are just moving money from one pot to another to try and make it all work. This is the biggest reason that many people elect to take care of their move on their own. Nevertheless, sometimes this can be a very hard choice full of stress and physical strain.
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Budget
Your budget can be manipulated if you sort out which items you absolutely don’t want to move on your own. Additionally, make sure you pay for those items while you take care of the rest of the process yourself. You should be wary of choosing the cheapest moving company since this might result in damaged possessions when they’re delivered. Although, there are some ways to save some money that might help the mover fee from being so spendy.
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Help moving
If you need to have help moving but you can’t afford to have the moving company pack up all your items and transport them for you, you can get used boxes from other people or find a good deal on boxes at a store. You might also choose to have the moving company take care of moving the furniture items that you own while you take care of the rest.
Other ways that people save money are related to getting rid of big items that they might be able to replace later with ease and downsizing possessions that are no longer being used. You might also be surprised at just how much you can fit in your personal car.
There are ways to make sure your move stays on budget even if you need help with your moving process. Being creative with a budget can allow you to find the right balance between helping and taking care of part of the move yourself.
Pros and Cons of Using a Moving Company vs. Moving Yourself
Hiring a Moving Company
Here are the overall pros and cons of using a moving company for your move. You might still need to use their services for at least part of your items. Nevertheless, you should be aware of the benefits and the risks that are associated with using these services.
Pros
- Ease of packing and delivery
- Being able to just leave your old home and start moving into your new one
- In the case of car transport, freedom from the need to drive across the country or over a long distance
- Help with the heavy lifting
- Help moving into high-rise apartments or locations that are not at ground level
- Assistance with heavy and large items
Cons
- Can be expensive
- Items might get damaged in transit
- Trusting strangers to pack all of your possessions
- Difficulties with getting the moving van parked close to your home
- Being locked into a contract that might not be clear to you
The more questions you ask from the moving company, the better the chances of you getting what you’re paying for. You should always look at reviews and other information about the company. Also, note that its better to potentially use a company that comes with a recommendation from a friend.
When booking a car transport for your vehicle, you should make sure that you check that the company has the right insurance in place and that the quote that they give you details everything from delivery dates to the route that will be taken to bring your car to you. You should never take the first estimate that you are offered for either of these kinds of services. You should also do some shopping around before you pick one for your move.
Moving Yourself
If you are still not sure that a moving company is a good fit for your needs during your move, you should look at the pros and cons of taking care of your move yourself. There are benefits to both ways of handling this process. Additionally, you might find that taking care of your move on your own is a better fit for your needs.
Pros
- Overall fairly affordable
- Control over how packing is done
- Control over delivery dates and route that is taken during transit
- Supervision of the entire moving process
- Ability to take all your possessions including your car with you in one trip
- Control over what is packed and what is left behind
Cons
- Hours of physical labor
- Struggle with large furniture items that could lead to injury
- Cost of boxes and U-Haul rental
- Driving for hours if you are moving far away
- Stress and worry over the process
- Being required to meet a timeline for your move to be completed
- Issues with breakdowns of U-Hauls or your own personal car
- Issues with fitting your whole family and pets into a moving van
- Having to figure out how to get heavy items up lots of stairs or into a high-rise apartment
Moving on your own will always cost you less than using a moving company for your needs. Nevertheless, there are many considerations that might make this cost worth it for you personally. If you are not in good health or are not very strong or you do not have access to lots of helping hands when you move, you might want to think about hiring a company to help you.
On the other hand, if you have limited possessions or are strong and have some help, you might be able to take care of your own move with ease. For many people, being able to pack and unload their items as they wish can be the biggest determiner of whether or not moving on their own is the right choice. You will need to consider all of your needs related to control and physical stress carefully when you decide whether or not you want to move your own items or have someone take care of this for you.
Other Options
There are sometimes other solutions to your moving needs. If you have access to some friends with trucks or maybe even a horse trailer, this might help you get your large items moved without having to secure the help of a moving company. This can make the move to a reasonably close location pretty easy overall. Also, you might only owe these people a beer or two or maybe some gas money.
You can also elect to use a moving company for just a portion of your items. As stated earlier in this article, you can often hire moving companies just to move your large items like furniture. This can be the biggest stress point of the move. Additionally, having some professional help with getting your furniture into your new home can make your move much less stressful.
Always ask around when you are looking into using a moving company for a hybrid move. This is because not every moving company offers a reasonable fee for this kind of service. Most companies will just add your items to a truck that is making a lot of deliveries in a day. This might delay your items being dropped off, but it will save you some money in the long run.
Decide Carefully Between Hiring Movers and Doing It Yourself
Planning your move doesn’t have to be stressful. Always make sure to look at all the costs of your move carefully. Also, decide what you can afford to do without breaking the bank. Be sure to consider your physical condition as well as the help that you have access to before you make any decision about the best way to make your move to a new location.
When considering a vehicle transport service like Mercury Auto Transport, it’s essential to research the company thoroughly, read reviews from past customers, and get quotes to compare pricing and services. Different companies may offer various options for transport, such as open carriers or enclosed carriers, depending on the level of protection you desire for your vehicle during transit.
It’s also crucial to inquire about insurance coverage and delivery times when working with an auto transport company. Ensure that the company is properly licensed and bonded to operate within the relevant jurisdictions. Always read and understand the terms and conditions of the contract before signing an agreement with any auto transport service.
