RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesThe author thought paying for professionals would make her move from Denver to NYC more seamless. There were unexpected complications once she arrived at her new home, she said. AndreyPopov/Getty Images
I paid over $5,000 for movers to pack and ship my belongings from Denver to NYC.
Once in my new apartment, I realized I should have saved my money.
Now, I know to take only the essentials and buy items that fit my new space.
When I got a job with a nice signing bonus, I didn't think twice before hiring movers . After all, I finally had adult furniture.
In retrospect, that was a huge mistake.
My move from Denver to NYC was a $5,000 cross-country crash course on how a full-service move can be far too expensive financially, practically, and mentally.
Now I approach moving as an exercise in decluttering and a chance to customize my new space to fit my needs.
The cost of a full-service move isn't just about money
When I got stranded in my first New York snowstorm while apartment hunting, the cost of unexpected hotel nights, combined with extra free time, led to second thoughts. As my anxiety rose with every surprise expense and item on my to-do list, I had to acknowledge that while I had graduated from Ikea furnishings , I certainly could have replaced the items I had transported for less than the $5,000 I spent on movers.
The author said her home in Denver (left) had much more room than her new place in NYC (right), and she couldn't keep many of the items she brought in the move. Courtesy of Sydney McClure.
Though the most obvious cost was monetary, a few weeks into the move, I began to see the practical downsides of the decision. My new apartment was smaller than my Denver home, and I couldn't keep everything I had brought.
I now see that the full-service move allowed me to procrastinate in deciding what to keep and what to purge . Ultimately, I paid to move items only to donate them a month later in a city with more complicated logistics. It would have been less exhausting to sell most of my things and refurbish the new place with items that maximized its space.
The author said some of her furniture and accessories, like a larger nightstand and bedside lamp (left), didn't work in her smaller New York City Apartment (right). Courtesy of Sydney McClure.
Expectations vs. reality
Years before, while packing my Wisconsin-bound POD in the Virginia heat, I fantasized about the luxury of a full-service move after grad school. It seemed like a shortcut through the painful process of relocating far away.
Years later, I learned that the reality did not live up to my expectations. Though I hired a moving company to make the painful process easier, the full-service option actually complicated my move and added stress.
The one benefit of the full-service move is that it forced me to question why I was holding on to so much stuff only to lug it across the country at significant personal and financial expense. When I re-examined it from this angle, even the POD option I once used didn't make sense.
The only way I move these days
When I left NYC for Kentucky a few years later, I took a completely different approach. I sold anything that wouldn't fit into a $500 rented minivan. It cost a tenth of my full-service move, and I came away with greater appreciation for the items I chose to keep.
During a more recent move, the author rented a minivan for $500 and brought only the essentials. Courtesy of Sydney McClure.
With fewer things, I had the flexibility to move in with my sister for a few years and a clean slate to decorate when I eventually bought my own home.
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