theuprock

I'm new to this board, but a friend of mine recently went to Europe for a month on his own, and he swears by the advice given here.

The short-and-narrow of it, is that myself and my girlfriend of five-years are ready to uproot ourselves from Virginia, and journey to the West Coast. Both her and I have done extensive research about the lifestyle and job market in the San Francisco and outer-Oakland area, and this is just a dream of ours that we want to make happen. We've got lots of input from friends and family about where to go, what to avoid, etc etc. Here's the real question we have though right now:

Moving from Virginia with just our two cars, the problem we're finding is going to be transporting the big stuff. While we obviously don't have any grand ideas about moving everything we own to California, there are a couple of things we want to bring with us, and fitting those into two cars with all of our clothes and essentials just isn't possible. We've looked into renting a Uhaul, we've looked into Moving Services, and all of the typical options (renting a trailer, etc). Because we are not coming back, borrowing a truck or attachment-trailer is out of the question. I'm starving for some input on this, as well as any other ideas or suggestions that any of you have about the bay area.

You can email me or reply here, as I'll be checking back in regularly. If you have any awesome input on the move, I look forward to hearing it. Thanks ahead of time for your creative input!

xanthuos

First, welcome to Travelpunk!

Next...what's the big stuff? Furniture? What kind of pieces? Large bins or boxes? What sizes?

It's hard to make suggestions on how to transport "the big stuff" if I don't know what the big stuff is

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theuprock

Even after I made the post, I was like, "theyre gonna wanna know what big stuff probably." Eh!, figures!

I have a desk that I can breakdown and throw in the car somehow I'm sure, but I'm looking at a frame for a bed (save myself the $75 for the frame, and just get the mattresses out there), a computer chair or two, three sewing machines, a small box or two of fabrics (24" x 24" or so), two 23" monitors, two tower cases for computers, two small desks, a bookcase or two (because we're bringing a buttload of books -- can't live without em), two lamps, two bikes. That's about all I can think of right now. We're going to bring the bare essentials only, but even still there's several things that we wouldn't be able to fit in the cars (two sedans) that would help us out a lot financially if we didn't have to buy new ones in Cali.

Thanks for the reply and the warm welcome. Looking forward to any input.

theuprock

I noticed you asked, "furniture" too. We're going to bypass bringing couches, tables, etc if we don't have to. We figure we can pick up cheap-o-stuff like that to get us by for a while from thrift shops out there. It's really just the larger 'essentials' that we want to transport. Computers, desk, monitors, etc for me being a designer-by-trade. Sewing tables, materials, fabrics, etc for her being a seamstress by night.

Thanks again.

U2fan

Just wanted to say welcome; I don`t really have any suggestions other than hire someone to move you or rent a truck. Can I just inquire as to why the two of you have three sewing machines?!

Our resident San Franciscan omisan will come by soon and give you loads of advice about the Bay Area!

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thresheld

Welcome! I don't really have any advice, but I am originally from that area (Palo Alto, just south of San Fransisco), so I can answer any questions you have about the area! I lived there for 18 years, so I can tell you a fair amount should you have any questions.

theuprock

Thresheld!, I do have a couple of questions. I got some advice from a friend about the job search in the area, and he says to check on-campus and the local papers. I am in the graphic design field, and my girlfriend is in the medical field. I have faith that something will pull through early for her, but as far as what I do, I'm looking for a good list of all the indie magazines, music weeklys, newspapers, etc., so I can begin my search ahead of time. I'm already looking on Craigslist, and Monster, but it would be good to have a list of these publications that I can begin checking out now.

Thanks for your willingness to help.

Hopefully someone has some ideas about what I can do to get my stuff to the West Coast. Thresheld, you said you don't live there anymore. When you left, did you travel far away from Palo Alto? If so, what did you do about moving your bigger things? Thanks again!

thresheld

Well unfortunately I don't have a list of said things, I think there is a bigger demand for graphic designers than one would think. But being one that isn't, I don't really know where to look.
I did move rather far, but I didn't move with big stuff, and I still haven't moved everything. (Most of the stuff is just sort of sitting at my parents' house.)
I'd say U-Haul it or perhaps hire a moving company. Those are most likely your best options. Shipping would cost you an arm and a leg, and perhaps your SOUL.
Sorry I couldn't be of more help, let me know if you have any more area-related questions.

theuprock

Good good, that's reassuring, because all I've been dealing with for the last two months is nay-sayers who keep telling me I won't find work in my field. Meh to them.

I appreciate the insight. Uhaul is going to be sooo expensive, but maybe it will be my best option.

Thanks again, I look forward to anyone's continued input.

benna2

My cousin recently helped move her boyfriend from Washington, DC to Texas. They rented a UHaul and pulled his car, hitched on the back. I would suggest doing something like that. One of you drive one car filled with whatever you can. The other, pull the car and the rest of your stuff in a moving truck. Then, you just drop the Uhaul off at the nearest branch in California. They aren't that expensive to rent, and you don't put any mileage or spend any gas money on the car that you are pulling.

Good luck with the move!

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theuprock

Maybe I'm just being really cheap here, but after looking at the rates, the price for a truck with a tow-job for the second car is roughly $2,000+ Does this sound right Benna2?

Let me know! Thanks!

benna2

I actually don't know what my cousin's bf ended up paying for his rental truck + the towing of his car. But honestly 2 grand maybe sounds a bit expensive to me...(But maybe I am just being cheap now!!)

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Sabrosa

When I moved from Utah to Virginia 8 years ago....it was about $2000 to rent a uhaul and tow my car.

I keep hearing about the option of a mover who picks up your stuff, and delivers it whenever it is "convenient" for them......they wait until they have a full truck headed that way and they deliver your stuff then. Apparently you save some serious moolah. I've only heard about it, never researched it myself.

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thresheld

My father used that service when he moved a bunch of stuff to NJ. Took a couple months to get here, but he did save a lot of cash. I can find more details for you, if you'd like?

theuprock

First of all, let me say this -- you guys kick some serious ass. I really appreciate everyone's willingness to help me out here, and because of the warm welcome and help, I will most definitely be coming back in the future to lend whatever input I can give, myself.

I will take some time this week to look into all of those links, especially the employment stuff.

Thresheld, if you can hook me up with some sort of contact information for this moving company, I would be indebted indeed.

Once again, thanks for the help guys. It means a whole hell of a lot to someone who has never made a move like this before alone!

theuprock

Hey, one more thing. Can any of you bay area natives or transients hook me up with the names of some of the major music weeklies, newspaper and magazines, so I can start reading up on the life out there. Your local papers, weekend-life publications, and such. I'm really into that sort of thing, and wherever I live, I tend to flock to those publications for how to get around and what to see.

Hope you get the gist of what I'm asking.

This smiley is awesome =>

Sabrosa

He's definitely one of my faves too.

Along with this one: hehe

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thresheld

Minimoves is the name of the company he used
And I lied, I said to NJ, I meant from NJ.

And you're very welcome!
Omisan would probably be your best bet for finding names of publications, since I'm not in the area anymore.
It would be awesome if you could work for the Metro, though! It's the area's best liberal newspaper, in my humble opinion. Comes out once a week.

baomo

when i moved from va i got a truck from budget and pulled my car (but i only had one car). i think its cheaper to rent a truck in the winter so you probably just missed that. i looked into having my car towed by a transport service and it was like $800 just for the car.

next time i move i'll just abandon my crap and start anew.

good luck.

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omisan

Hey hey hey...

Well, I live in San Francisco (and grew up in the Bay Area) so any questions you have, I might be able to answer for ya.

Employment
I'm a graphic designer myself, and the field here is sort of weird - there are lots of short term opportunities, but not as many in-house, permanent positons as I'd like to see out there. If you're a freelancer, this can be a lucrative place, but of course, stability and a steady guaranteed income are nice. Over years of experience, I've found Craigslist to be the best place to find work (and just about every other thing...) I've more consistently gotten callbacks and interviews from CL listings than any other place.

Your girlfriend should have NO problem finding work in the medical field here. Considering we have loads of understaffed hospitals, and if she's on the business side, a ton of biotech/pharmaceutical companies, there's no shortage of work for just about any facet of medicine.

One of the local job sites that pushing itself is BayAreaHelpWanted.com. Don't know how good they are, but I've heard positive comments.

Furniture
Find out all of your moving options. Price 'em out as accurately as possible. Compare those prices to how much it would cost to re-purchase some of the replaceable things in California. I did a complete move (U-haul + car trailer) from Los Angeles after I finished college to the tune of $200, one-way. So I imagine it'd be pretty damn pricey from the East Coast, but if you consider the cost of replacement, it might still be worthwhile. Also, you can find lower prices from companies like Budget and Enterprise's truck rental division.. never rule those out either!

Another thing to consider is how much (less) space you're going to get in the Bay Area for your rent dollar. I recently moved to a smaller place (for more money!) and had to jettison a lot of crap just to fit in there. Of course, if you're out in the suburbs that's not as much of a problem, but make sure you weigh out your living possibilities before lugging all that stuff out here!

The other thing is because of people moving so often around here, you can pick up lots of furniture, housewares, etc. on the cheap when you get here. It's amazing how much stuff gets traded/sold/given away. Sites like Freecycle and the barters section on CL are great places to start.

Good luck!

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