Moving can often be a long and difficult process. It doesn’t matter if you are moving across the street or coast-to-coast. You have to pack your entire household, ship it and unpack again. But, those two types of moves differ in many ways. There is a big difference between local and the long distance move. You have to pack differently, think about different things, and even hire different types of movers. You have probably, at one point, moved locally. But, to better prepare yourself for a long distance relocation you need to know how it differs. And how you can prepare if you want to have a successful relocation.
The distance is not the only difference between local and long distance move
While the biggest difference between local and long distance move is the distance that you and your belongings have to travel, it’s not the only one. Far from it. It’s not the same moving an entire household down the street as it is moving it across the country. And because of that, these two types of moves start to differ significantly. The way you plan your move it vastly different. Packing is also done differently. And the type of movers that you hire is becoming more important than ever.
Preparations are different
The first thing that you need to do differently when moving long distance is preparation. While you can organize your local relocation in a matter of days, long-distance one takes a lot longer. Since you will be moving to a different city or even a different state, you need to think about a lot more things. For one, you need to find a place to live. Which is significantly more difficult than doing it in your home town. And so, you need to start with your preparation a lot sooner. From finding an apartment to booking a moving company.
It takes more to organize long distance move
The second big difference between local and long distance move is that you have to start organizing everything a lot sooner. After you find a place where you want to live you need to think about moving companies. For a moving company, long distance relocation takes a lot longer. And so, it’s often impossible to book a last minute relocation. For that reason, you have to start contacting movers up to a few months in advance. Only then will you have enough time to explore your options and find the best price.
The cost is one of the biggest difference between local and long distance move
Moving is expensive. It doesn’t matter if you are doing it on your own or with the help of moving professionals. There are a lot of things to pay for. But moving long distance costs significantly more than moving locally. And that, in turn, means that you have to plan your moving budget a lot more carefully. Also, you can’t hire just any moving company. You need to find licensed and reliable movers. Movers who can actually move your entire household long-distance.
You have to choose different moving companies
When moving locally, almost any moving company can do the job successfully. As long as they have a few movers, tools and a truck, they are good to go. But, when moving long-distance the moving company has to have a much more organized operation. And that’s a big difference between local and long distance move. The moving company first has to be licensed to be able to cross state lines. Not just anyone can drive a huge truck from one coast to the other. They also have to have movers who are experienced in moving household to a different state.
You have to be more careful when moving long-distance
As a general rule, you should always be careful when hiring a moving company. In that regard, there is no difference between local and long distance move. But, when hiring a moving company to ship your items to another state you have to be even more vigilant. Since the prices are higher, so is to the potential for moving fraud. There are a lot of fake moving companies who will offer very low prices. All in the hopes of getting their hand on your belongings. And even if they are not frauds, you need to make sure that they are legit. Otherwise, you run the risk of moving delays and additional costs.
Packing is different when moving locally and long distance.
While many people think that packing difference between local and long distance move is negligible, it’s actually quite important. When moving locally, your belongings will be in the back of a truck for a couple of hours. And that’s it. They will be taken out and brought to your new home. On the other hand, when moving long distance, your belongings will be stuck in that truck for days. Sometimes even more. And that can cause a lot of problems for many items. House plants, for example, need to be specially prepared for such a long trip. And even household appliances need to be packed differently. The chance of something going wrong when your entire household is on the road for days is much greater. So, you need to use more packing materials and be more careful when moving a long distance.
The biggest difference is that you can’t move long distance on your own
When moving locally, in most cases you can do it on your own. If you have a car and if your new apartment is close enough, you can transport all your belongings by yourself. Or with the help of a few friends. It might take longer, but it’s doable. On the other hand, when moving long distance you all but have to hire professionals to help you. There won’t be a possibility to make a few round trips. Or if there is it will probably cost you more than hiring movers. Both in terms of money for gas as well as the time you will spend doing it. So, one of the biggest difference between local and long distance move is that you absolutely need professional help.