Moving is one of the biggest projects in one person’s life. Not to mention that it takes a lot of effort, time, money and nerves. Therefore, it requires a detailed preparation in order to do it successfully and without any additional stress. Speaking about relocation, there is one specific type that requires extra attention – long distance moving. This term implies that person is moving to a different state, or even across the borders of the USA. If this happens to be the case with you, then you should know that there is one extra challenging task. Hiring the best long distance movers in the USA. In order to complete this task successfully, keep reading this post, and you’ll get all necessary information.
Difference between local and long distance movers in the USA
Once you start searching for a good and reliable moving company, you’ll come across different terms. If you type “movers in the USA” in your browser, you’ll be overflown with local movers in the USA adverts. If you hire such agency for a long distance move, it can complicate the whole relocation project. For this reason, it is very important to understand differences between these two types of move.
Learn the differences between different types of relocation
First, there is a matter of distance. Local moves are lot simpler looking from this perspective. Sometimes they mean transporting just a few blocks away and one-day job. On the other side, long-distance moves can take a couple of days and additional procedures such as customs clearance. Next, there is a question of costs. Local moves are much cheaper comparing to long-distance relocations. This is why many moving companies are only doing local moves relying on the quantity of job. Five different moves in one week can bring more money than one job that takes the same amount of time. Not to mention that long distance movers in the USA must have experienced truck drivers who can handle couple hundreds of miles drive. Therefore, such movers must hire high-level professional staff and use only the best equipment for the job.
Where to start with planning long distance move?
As mentioned above, moving is a big and expensive project. Hence, it requires a lot of preparation. Just like for every other project, the secret to a good move is a great plan. If you make a detailed water-tight plan, you will be able to react properly in every situation. That means you have to think about everything as the smallest oversight can cost you money and produce additional stress. In order to make the perfect moving plan, you need to divide relocation into smaller steps such as:
- Planning moving costs – a creation of relocation budget
- Getting to know makings of good and reliable long distance movers in the USA
- Thorough research of moving companies on the market
- Packing your belongings
- Additional pre-moving activities
- Moving day
- Post-moving activities
You need carefully to plan your move to the last detail
It is important to realize that this moving plan is essential pre-requirement for a successful move. Write down everything. It’s not that someone is doubting your remembering skills. Even the best can make a mistake and that is ok. But in this case, a mistake can bring many complications. You need to understand that you will have a huge amount of information in your head, and the best way to handle those is to have a reminder. Better safe than sorry.
Tips for making the perfect moving budget
One of the most common mistakes people are making prior to moving is failing to make a moving budget. First, there is nothing cheap when it comes to long-distance moves. If you are lucky enough to have an unlimited budget for this project, skip to the next part. But, if you are among the vast majority who need to think about costs, here are some useful information. Once you complete a task of buying a house, you’ll need to split the rest of the money into moving-related activities. In order to do it properly, you’ll need to investigate a little bit.
Making a moving budget will help you to track your costs
What you need to do is to find out typical costs of long distance move. This involves all pre-moving activities and costs of hiring long distance movers in the USA. Use the internet and various moving-related web forums for this purpose. The information you get should give you the basics which you need to develop. These costs are not set in stone, therefore you need to be flexible. Do not forget to plan first days in your new town. You’ll not have much time for cooking and shopping as you’ll need to put your new home in order. You’ll need to do your shopping fast and efficient. Therefore, research a little bit the prices of groceries and other items in the city where you are going to live. This way you’ll save a lot of time and avoid any unnecessary spendings.
Get the necessary documents
If you are moving to a different country, you’ll have to comply with some regulations. For some countries, you’ll have to get customs clearance for international transport of personal belongings. And visa. Do not forget a visa. This process can take several weeks, so you’ll need to do it on time. You can learn about the necessary documents on the internet or through someone you know that did a similar project.
In case you are moving abroad, get necessary documents prior to your move
But do not take information from such sources for granted. Regulations related to immigration are changing on a daily basis. Hence, call the embassy in order to get the latest information regarding this topic. This way you’ll be sure that you have only the right information. If you are moving with kids and family, make sure you collect the necessary documents for them as well. Do not delay this task, as it can postpone the whole moving if you do not do it on time.
How to recognize the best long distance movers in the USA
It is time to pick the best long distance movers in the USA. But, before you can do that, you’ll need to learn about characteristics of good, reliable and experienced movers. So far you learned the differences between different types of relocations. And that is a good start. But it is definitely not enough knowledge for pursuing the long distance movers. Thus, before you start your research, you need to know all important indicators that will help you in this challenge.
This requires your full attention and devotion. Make some time in your schedule for this task and ensure nobody disturbs you. This is probably the most delicate part of your preparation for relocation, hence no mistakes are allowed.
Check the company’s portfolio
Ok, you need to focus your research only on movers who can perform long distance move. This doesn’t necessary means that they are not skilled with local moves as well. On the contrary, movers who can handle long distance relocations probably have local moving service in their portfolio as well. This is the very first indicator that the company has an extensive experience and many moves in their hands. No one can start with long distance moves before mastering the local ones. And that is a fact.
Next, you need to check what are other services that company you are researching has to offer. The bigger that offer is, the chances are better they are very good in the moving job. It is important to realize that the moving industry is getting bigger every day. It has become a very lucrative job, and many are trying their luck with it. That is why the quality of service is not always at its highest level. You wouldn’t hire long distance movers in the USA who didn’t make a certain number of relocations in the past. Just like you wouldn’t like an inexperienced surgeon to perform an operation on you. Keep that in mind while choosing the company that will relocate your precious belongings.
License
This is the most important thing you need to check before hiring long distance movers in the USA. Every decent moving agency must possess an active license for the job. Just like in every other business. Hiring an unlicensed moving company would be a risky thing to do. You wouldn’t let a school bus driver without driving license to drive your kid to school. Same applies here. If moving company you are investigating does not have a license, you can’t entrust them your belongings.
Hire only licensed long distance movers
Luckily, this is not hard to check. Every licensed moving agency will have a DOT number within the US Department of Transportation database of licensed movers. If you are not able to find the name of your potential movers there, skip them immediately. This should raise a red flag that something could be shady about their business. Never risk with movers without a license, as it can cost you a lot.
Insurance
Hundreds of miles are between your current and the new home. You are aware that your belongings will travel for days. And all that time you will not be able to oversee them. Even with all measurements of precaution, no one can guarantee that one bump on the road will not make a damage to your stuff in the truck. You can pack your fragile items like an expert, but still, you can’t be sure they will be absolutely safe. That is a risk you will have to take. But, there is a way to ensure a compensation in case of unfortunate circumstances.
Every good moving agency has an insurance policy. Sometimes it is a part of the deal, but other times you’ll need to pay extra for that commodity. Whichever may be the case, make sure you have an insurance for your belongings during the move. Even if it means paying extra for the service. This is the only way for you to sleep tight and be peaceful while movers are transporting your things. If you do not see this item in the offer you get from long distance movers you are considering, avoid hiring such moving company.
Overall rating of the company
Good moving companies value the opinion of their clients more than anything. And it is not a surprise as this is the best way to prove the quality of their services. The good rating is the crucial thing that keeps movers on top of the list of the best in the business. So, how can you check the rating of moving company you are currently investigating? Well, there are a few ways to do this. First, every decent moving agency has a “testimonials of our clients” section on their website. These are stories of their previous clients usually saying only positive sides of their experience with these movers.
Every good moving agency will have a positive rating on the internet
It is important to realize that these testimonials are biased and as such are not good indicators of movers’ quality. But, it is good to read them as well in order to compare with other posts you’ll find on the internet. There are numerous moving-related internet forums where you should try to find your movers. If their name pops-up, be sure you read those posts carefully. People are not biased as these kinds of places on the internet are usually not connected with any moving company. These testimonials are showing the proper experience with certain movers, where you can read about good and bad sides of hiring those movers.
Last, but not the least, try to ask your friends and work colleagues who recently moved. This way you can be sure that story you hear is a genuine and it will give you a clear picture of what you can expect if you hire moving company you are about to hire.
Final tips
You need to be careful of fraudulent moving companies that will try to steal your money. These are easy to recognize as they will promise you something ridiculous such as an extremely low price or will ask the unreasonable amount of money in advance. Use your common sense, follow steps from this article, and you’ll find the very best long distance movers in the USA without problems.