When I got a job with a nice signing bonus, I didn’t think about it for long hire movers. After all, I finally had adult furniture.
In retrospect, that was a big mistake.
My move from Denver to NYC was a $5,000 cross-country crash course in how a full-service move can be way too expensive financially, practically, and mentally.
Now I approach moving as an exercise in decluttering and an opportunity to tailor my new space to my needs.
The costs of a full-service move are not just about money
When I found myself stranded in New York during my first snowstorm while looking for apartments, the cost of unexpected hotel stays, combined with extra free time, led to doubts.
As my anxiety increased with each unexpected expense and item on my to-do list, I had to acknowledge that as I graduated Ikea furnitureI certainly could have replaced the items I transported for less than the $5,000 I spent on movers.
The author said her home in Denver (left) had much more space than her new home in New York (right), and she couldn’t keep many of the things she brought with her during the move. Thanks to Sydney McClure.
Although the most obvious costs were monetary, after a few weeks of moving I began to see the practical downsides of the decision. My new apartment was smaller than my house in Denver, and I couldn’t keep everything I brought with me.
I now see that the full-service move allowed me to postpone deciding what I wanted to keep what to purify. I ended up paying to move the items, only to donate them a month later in a city with more complicated logistics. It would have been less tiring to sell most of my stuff and renovate the new place with stuff that maximizes the space.
The author said some of her furniture and accessories, such as a larger nightstand and bedside lamp (left), didn’t work in her smaller New York City apartment (right). Thanks to Sydney McClure.
Expectations versus reality
Years ago, as I was packing my POD for Wisconsin in the Virginia heat, I fantasized about the luxury of a full-service move after high school. It seemed like a shortcut through the painful process of moving far away.
Years later I discovered that reality did not meet my expectations. Although I hired a moving company To make the painful process easier, the full-service option actually made my move more complicated and added stress.
The one benefit of the full-service move is that it forced me to question why I was holding on to so much stuff and then lugging it across the country at significant personal and financial cost. When I looked at it again from this angle, even the POD option I once used was wrong.
The only way I move these days
When I left NYC for Kentucky a few years later, I took a completely different approach. I sold everything that wouldn’t fit into a $500 rented minivan. It cost a tenth of my entire move, and I left with a greater appreciation for the items I wanted to keep.
During a more recent move, the author rented a minivan for $500 and brought only the essentials. Thanks to Sydney McClure.
With less stuff, I had the flexibility to move in with my sister for a few years and a clean slate to decorate when I eventually bought my own house.
