About 40 million Americans move each year, many of them making cross-country trips to their new cities. There’s nothing easy about a cross-country move. From finding a new home from afar to selling your current one quickly and getting all the logistics together, it can make for an absolute nightmare. But it doesn’t have to be.
This post will give you our top 5 essential cross-country moving tips. If you dread the entire experience, keep reading; we’ll give you some key strategies to move your whole life somewhat seamlessly.
Top 5 essential cross-country moving tips
1. Purge As Much As Possible
Our first tip is to purge as many of your belongings as possible before packing. When it comes to cross-country moves, you only want to bring essentials. Packing gives you a unique opportunity to take an in-depth look at your stuff. Donate if you last used it a year ago.
2. Hire Cross-Country Movers
Depending on how far you’re moving, renting a moving truck and doing it all yourself might make sense. In most scenarios, however, this will put more strain on your move and isn’t as cost-effective as it might initially seem.
Hiring cross-country movers might seem like a big expense, but when you factor in all the supplies, gas, and truck rental, it doesn’t cost that much more than doing it yourself.
3. Moving Your Car
There’s also the debate over whether to do the cross-country drive yourself or ship your car and fly to the new city. If you can afford it, it’s a much better option to ship your car. The reasons for this are simple: it saves your vehicle the toll of a long drive, and it saves you the exhaustion of driving.
Costs vary depending on how far you’re going, so click here to calculate shipping costs to transport your vehicle.
4. Keep Receipts
The cost of a cross-country move, between hiring movers, shipping your car, and everything else involved, can be immense. One of the perks, however, is that you can deduct some of these expenses from your federal taxes. Keep your receipts for every part of the move, and talk to a tax professional about how to claim these things on your tax forms.
5. Start Earlier Than You Think
You’re only sometimes afforded the luxury of time for a cross-country move, especially when it involves a new job. So start planning as soon as there’s an inkling that you could make this move. The longer you wait to start packing, purging, and making reservations, the more under the gun you’ll be.
Take These Moving Tips to Heart
These moving tips are guaranteed to make your move much easier. Of course, everyone has their moving strategies, but these tips will ensure that you take a practical approach to a daunting cross-country move. If you found this helpful, revisit us for more real estate and home tips.
