Relocation is a bit different than moving from one place to another within the same city. There is a lot of work to be done before you ever leave for your new hometown.
Relocation is a bit different than moving from one place to another within the same city. There is a lot of work to be done before you ever leave for your new home.
Your reason for relocating (job, family, school, etc.) will somewhat dictate the steps you take in the early days of planning the move. While you are securing the new job, or getting into the school, is a good time to purge old items and things you do not need. Its also a good time to "pre-pack" items you do want to take with you but do not use regularly. Unlike moving across town, the packing aspect of a long distance move is far more important, as the items will be riding for a lot longer over varying terrain. This is the time to buy the little glass separaters, or extra packing material to protect your objects.
Finding a place to live from where you are can be quite difficult, particularly if you are unable to go to the new city and look for places yourself. Here's where family and friends that are already there can help. In larger cities, there are often apartment locators who can help you find a place to move directly into when you arrive. This is very important because if you make the drive yourself, the last thing you are going to want to do is apartment hunt right when you get there with all your belongings still inside the moving van.
Here, again, the most expensive and easiest option is to have a moving company come in and transport your things to the new location for you. However, you still need to get your vehicles there. You can either drive them, have them towed, or pay someone else to drive them to your new locale.
Alternatively, you can rent a moving van and a trailer for your vehicle, and load it all up yourself, put your car on the trailer and set off down the road. This approach can still be pretty pricey (a couple of grand or so), and it can be an exhausting trip, particularly as the cabs in moving vans really only have room for two people comfortably. If you have children, it may be wise to send them ahead, if you have trusted friends or relatives who will take care of them while you drive up there.
This type of trip takes some creative road planning, unless you know the route well. Consult a current atlas, plot your course, check out motels along the way at reasonable intervals to see if they may have room for you around the time you are coming through, and if you have a pet, find places that will allow Fido to stay in the room with you. Plot out a plan B route in case there is construction or other problems with your first route. Planning is very important to this stage of relocating, because the expenses add up quickly while you are wandering around lost.
Coordinating utilities, phone service and internet services are a bit more challenging long distance, because you aren't there to let them into the place to do their jobs. Its best to plan as far ahead as possible and enlist the aid of someone trusted there, or if you are moving into a rental, perhaps the property manager will give you a hand with this.
Some other items of interest. Most states have a very short timetable in which you can obtain a driver's license and vehicle registation in your new home state. It would be prudent to research the state websites on the internet to find out what these deadlines are, and possibly even make an appointment for shortly after you arrive to have this done.
