PODS for moving?

So, the family got back a week or so from our vacation to the UK (which was absolutely fantastic, by the way).

Just before vacation, having submitted an application for a job, I heard back from the hiring manager that they wanted to schedule an interview. They told me "no worries, we'll interview you when you get back" and we did just that. Felt OK about the interview, but evidently I did better than I thought, as I was offered the job the next day. (For those of you who have worked civil service, you know that is fast as crap. )

With that said, I'm in MO and the job is in VA. Great move, but holy Mary mother of God are moving expenses outrageous. I'm being quoted $35K. (You read that right.) I am indeed, receiving relocation assistance, but still, that number is fairly outrageous, even for full service.

Curious about those who have used the PODS moving service in the past, or something similar, as it is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper. FYI, we have no problem getting rid of just about everything we own, and even though we're a solid month and a half (I believe) from moving, we're already starting to pack/sell/donate/etc. stuff.

 

Congrats! Yea, for civil service that's unheard of.
You might want to call you local trucking LCL companies. Some of them would offer to "lease out" a 20ft container or 53ft if that's your like.
I did that for my CA to TX move, told them I need about 12 ft (end up about 16 ft, bed and sofa and all) and they drop a container for you to load and you call them when done.
They will give you an idea of when it will there at the destination and deliver to you, you have x days to unload and call them for empty pickup.
I believe this is cheaper, but you load/un-load, so if you are looking for full service then no dice.
Also, double check your current/future location if a trailer truck can get in and pickup/drop a container, cause my new place can't and I ended having them drop at my boss' place.

 

Yeah, the only thing I can think of is that they really liked my résumé, and were simply waiting for me to interview to confirm the selection. *shrug*

Good suggestions. I have checked local places, but I live in the middle of nowhere in the Ozarks, so there’s not that many local places.

With that said, the PODS quote was far less than the moving companies. For example, if I used two 8 x 8 x 16 foot moving pods, and have to store stuff for a month or two, we’re probably talking $10-$12,000 tops.

I haven’t officially accepted the offer yet, as I’m negotiating job relocation assistance; but the man and I do, our house will be listed and we will be lookig for a new one where we’re moving.

 

They are probably like: hurry up and come back so we can do this interview damn it!!

But yea, even if you are in the middle of nowhere, you had be surprised where trucking goes. I would say look up your closest city/town and see what companies there are. I know Conway is pretty national, Mayflower should be another one. Yellow Logistics (they got combined with someone that I can't remember on top of my head). Central Transport is a lot smaller so I don't know if they are even present in your area.
Or, if you don't mind, call up some Chinese moving company, they have some major presence in the East Coast and might be able to help you out. When I moved to my new house (still Houston area) the quote was pretty good and they actually came and packed the bulky stuff, furniture/tables/chair/bed and all that, and was fast, too.
Again, I would say options are out there, and you look to have some time, so shop around.

EDIT: here's the Chinese owned company I am talking about. Just in case others may need it. Again, exercise your diligence before confirming a price quote. YMMV.
https://www.luckymoving.com/en/

 

Not PODS, but we used Uhaul Uboxes on our last work assignment from OR to AZ. You schedule when they drop the boxes at your house, you load, and schedule when to pickup and they give you a guaranteed arrival date. They actually beat the arrival date by like 5 days and I was able to get them dropped early at the new place. We packed the units at home ourselves, but I paid a local moving company to unpack and move into the house. Pretty easy overall.

 

I hate packing so I would sell everything I was not emotionally attached to, and get a land/ sea container or have one dropped off by Old Dominion Freight.

 

I hear ya, I moved from NJ to CA with two suitcase and a backpack, the car was shipped over and have two bags of blanket/pillows in the trunk.
When I moved from CA to TX (like 3.5-4 year later?) it was a 20ft truck box and a Subaru Forester full of personal documents and stuff and it was like hurling ass to get there.
When I moved from one end of Houston to the other end, it was a 40ft truck... (the fuxk?)
Kids I tell ya, they blow up the numbers of boxes you have by hundredfold......

 

LOL! That's pretty much exactly what I plan on doing. I don't 'mind' it as it allows us to sort of get a fresh start, but I've moved like 11 times in my life, and it's taught me to hold onto certain things, and appreciate people and experiences more than things.

 

Thankfully my son is not like that at all. I mean, he likes his stuff, but overall, aside from video games (natch) and some other stuff, he's not all that materialistic.

 

I have two girls, plus wife, so yea, I am stuck with "stuff"
actually, I regress, I have more in car parts than they do in clothes, but not in toys....lol

 

LOL I hear you - I've got a suspension and 4 rims waiting to be installed on my truck.

I don't mind moving stuff....but by nature I tend to be one of those guys who tries to keep things clean, and when more stuff = more money to spend to move it, it's very easy to cast a critical eye towards it and say "What do I really *need*?" E.g., we don't need octuplicates of every dish. Tools, yes, but I can leave the workbenches and build new ones once we get to where we're going. Same with appliances - it costs about as much to move them as it does to just buy new ones. You get the idea.

 

But not the truck, right? (in a very small squeaky voice in the corner)

 

PODS were pricey for me moving out and in to CA, then again as a Civil Servant with no moving assistance had to do it alas cheap. I ended up renting a UHaul out of Reno, NV to move within CA, NorCal to SoCal, it was cheaper that way, by 50%... My kid was mainly a trip hazard since he loved to walk across while carrying heavy furniture, or refrigerator....

 

I’ve had several family members/friends use PODS with mixed results but mostly over all the consensus was that the hassle on the back end wasn’t worth the convenience up front, if that makes sense. That was 15+ years ago though. It’s likely improved.

If you’re not attached to your “stuff” per se, sell most of it, rent a HHahaha and ship the tundra (have the wife /kid follow in her vehicle. It’s nice to park the uhaul at the hotel and take a normal sized vehicle to dinner on your trip. Appalachia is beautiful this time of year.

Where in Va are you moving to?

 

Congratulations! If they offered that fast, they really want you. Hopefully it comes with a nice grade increase.

 

Nope. LOL!

(Though the new position has no WFH, at least currently, and I may need to sideline it if need be to save some gas money, depending on how far away we live.)

 

We used ABS 11 or so years ago when we moved IN to TX. Don't recall the cost, but they'd drop a trailer. You fill it. They pick it up and haul to your new place and drop it. You unload.

They told us we'd only fill half of a 40 footer (I think that's what they dropped, or whatever size trailer is close to that - it wasn't a big 50 footer). We filled it. And a Grand Cherokee. And a Jeep tj. And our Ram 1500. And still left stuff behind. Guess we had accumulated more crap than we thought we had. lol Get your own lock to secure the trailer. It went smooth outside of us having too much stuff.

 

Well, this is true; but I should point out that $10K is a smidgen cheaper than $35K. LOL!

With that said, you never know - the command may not blink at the price, and just approve it. *shrug* If so, then this whole conversation is moot.

Yeah, that's what I've heard - I know a few personally who've done the PODS thing, and they've liked it. I am indeed not attached to my stuff.

We'll be moving to right outside Dahlgren, as I've been offered a team lead position - essentially, doing what I do now, but 'team lead' is now part of my job description as opposed to something I just do. LOL

 

Oh yeah, I'm sure such is the case for us; but I'm ALSO sure we will be selling/donating/trashing a *LOT* of stuff, that we just have no need for, or desire to lug along with us.

 

Going from GS-11 step 9 to GS-12 step 5, plus DC locality pay, AND we'll be an hour from in-laws, whom I love, so I'd say it's definitely worth it.

 

Every time I've moved, I've sold all my furniture, except for a bed that my dad and I built and like you, anything that's not sentimental is gone. I do keep my washer/dryer and refrigerator though.

 

Congrats on the promotion. Fredericksburg is a cool town. Close enough to dc to enjoy its offerings, but far enough to be its own place and not plagued with the DC thing.

 

Mind if I ask which agency? I retired from the VA about a year and a half ago after 31 years. I was a software developer, the final title was Application Software Development Specialist, if I remember correctly. It changed a lot over the years and I kinda quit keeping track.

 

Congrats on the job just started my civil service position, and it took about 10 weeks from the application to the start date, I had a feeling they wanted me after calling me in for two consecutive interviews with senior members of the department within a week; I thought that was fast. The bottom line is if they like you they will move mountains to get you. I used PODS for moving from Southern to Northern California. Meanwhile received another tentative offer for a higher paying position but the communication with the leadership just felt off, so I took the lower paying position with the great people and career ladder to GS12 without competition, and I get to telework.

My experience was good. The people that I spoke with over the phone were total morons, but the drivers, those are the guys that make it happen. It seems the right hand isn't talking to the left when it comes to PODS. The driver at the pickup location was somewhat of a dick and had an attitude when I asked him to place the container exactly where I needed it. The drop-off location driver was awesome; tight and sloped property, he made it happen; had to make two trips because he could not tow both containers to my location. I tipped that guy $200, good dude, got out of the vehicle cleared the area made sure the containers were offloaded in the most ideal locations. I took pictures of the container serial numbers before they departed, and took pictures of items/serial numbers of high-value items that I could not take with me (tools, electronics, etc...) that way I had proof if I had to file a claim.

In my case, I used a credit card to pay them, WATCH YOUR CHARGES as they charged me extra for some things requiring me to file a dispute after not responding to me on the matter after 45 days. Overall everything arrived on time and intact. Just make sure your are firm on your dates and locations to avoid changes where I read people have the most issues and watch what they are billing you for.

 

I'll message you. (Not that I'm scared of sharing it publicly but not sure what I should share, yet, if that makes sense.)

 

We used PODS when we moved from the previous house to the current. We used 3 pods. They dropped one of on the driveway, we packed it at our own pace, then called them for pick-up and they dropped off the next one, and then the third one. They kept it in storage for a few months until the new house was built, and then delivered them one at a time ( driveways were just not big enough for all three at the same time)
Other than having to pack, load and unload by ourselves, it worked out great for us.

 

Congrats man! I'm still reeling because they called me once prior to the interview to schedule it. They called me again to interview me (which took me 30 minutes or so) on a Friday afternoon...and then Monday morning I got the offer.

I hope they'll move mountains. LOL Or at least, my stuff. The upcoming job doesn't come w/telework (at least not right now), but that has more to do with the nature of the job, plus I'll likely be living a max of 15 miles from work, in a rural area.

Yeah, that all makes sense. Wife and I will be working together on this because I'm not sure who will be 'left behind' to monitor the stuff. Best case scenario would be if our house sells ASAP, and it's got a high probability of doing so....but we shall see.

 

Well yeah, that part isn't what I'd call 'fun' but it's a hell of a lot more fun than paying 2-3x the money. LOL

Plus we'll be selling/offloading/throwing away/donating everything we can that isn't nailed down that we don't want.

 

Were it all on my shoulders, I would. With that said, the gov't is providing relocation assistance, so while I don't mind doing much of the work myself, the actual moving and the like (and containers) I'll leave to a moving company. If need be, in-laws have already told me they don't mind helping out (defraying the cost of moving), on the very outside chance the new job says "You know what, naah, move yourself." LOL (Which I'm almost 100% sure they will NOT do.)