Moving to another state: how to organize and what documents need to be changed - ForumDaily
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Moving to another state: how to organize and what documents you need to change

One move is equal to three fires, once believed American politician Benjamin Franklin. And although it is now easier to change from one place and change one state to another than 3 centuries ago, moving still remains a stressful, troublesome and expensive process.

Family and worker unloading truck of cardboard boxes

Photo: depositphotos.com

Take care of proper packaging and transportation of things, change your address, driver's license and car number. And don’t forget that each American state has its own laws, so you will now even fill out your tax return differently. But all this is easy to organize if there is a clear action plan. ForumDaily has compiled exactly this for you. Using our advice, you will survive the move painlessly and can even save money.

30 cartons and a journey through half of America

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Photo: depositphotos.com

“4 boxes of dishes, 3 boxes of pots, 2 boxes of pans and several bags of bed linen,” Polina Serdobintseva begins to list the property with which they decided to move from one end of the United States to the other. After winning the green card, the woman, her husband and son settled in Arizona. But for a Russian woman originally from the Stavropol Territory, it turned out to be too hot there. Therefore, Polina studied the map of America and decided: we need to go to Chicago. “The climate of the city is very similar to where I grew up,” she explains.

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Polina organized the move herself. Photo: from the personal archive

The family decided that she would handle the move herself. They did not have expensive furniture, there was little technology, and friends agreed to help immerse everything. And they just gave them boxes in one of the shops.

“We approached the manager at the nearest store and said that we needed about 30 boxes. He replied that he could only give 15, and suggested that we ask for the remaining ones in the neighboring store. That’s what we did,” says Polina.

For the car a woman decided to contact the company U-haul, which offers 7 types of cars - from pickups to huge trucks. They are designed specifically for cargo transportation - with all kinds of ramps and fastenings inside. The rental price depends on the carrying capacity of the machine and the distance. In addition to the truck, the family also took a platform for their car. “We didn’t want to transport it separately - someone would have to drive for this, plus this would be additional spending on gasoline. And so we took trailer for the same track. The front wheels of the car drive onto the trailer, and the rear wheels drive on the asphalt, which is very convenient,” explains Polina.

Preparing for the move: when to start

Americans love to plan everything in advance, so, for example, the site tips Realsimple recommends starting to pack almost 2 months before departure. At least to calmly inspect all your property and understand what to take with you to your new place. But the real work begins about a month in advance. Then you should already decide how exactly you will move. Roughly speaking, there are 2 options: either do everything yourself, or turn to professionals - a moving company.

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Polina is sure that moving on your own is cheaper. The money they saved by organizing the move on their own was enough for a family vacation in Jamaica.

Elena Pyn, who now lives in the city of Vernon Hill, Illinois, agrees with Polina: if there is no extra money, you need to organize everything yourself. Before that, Elena and her husband lived in Kentucky. When her spouse was offered a job in the neighboring state and it was necessary to move urgently, the family decided to save money and refused the services of the shipping company.

“We rented a car in the company Penske - thought they were cheaper U-haul. From Kentucky to Illinois, a truck with gasoline cost us $450. But I bought boxes and packaging material - I paid another $500 for everything,” she says.

Considering that professional help from movers only within the state costs an average of $2000, and between states - $5000 and $8000 depending on the distance, of course, Elena Pin’s family saved a lot.

The option of moving, which Elena and Polina chose for themselves, is good when there are few things and there is nothing particularly valuable. If you decide that you can do it yourself, be prepared to control the entire process of moving from start to finish and spend it on a non-1 day of your time. You will need:

  1. rent a truck and return it to the rental point at the final point;
  2. spend money on gas;
  3. take care of the so-called “moving permit” - in some large cities you need to pay extra for the right to park your truck at the side of the road;
  4. buy packaging material and boxes;
  5. pack and load the truck yourself or hire movers for an additional fee;
  6. to transport everything from place to place;
  7. understand that the responsibility for the safety of things during transportation rests only with you.

Pack - transport - unpack: how moving companies work in the USA

In American cinema, moving pictures are always similar: neat boxes, all things are sorted and necessarily signed, what and where lies. In this case, the whole process looks simple and calm. In life, such a picture is provided by the moving companies. They can do everything for you: pack your whole house, load it into a truck, move across the whole country and unload things in a new house, and even immediately put everything in its place. You only need to find the right company and pay the money.

1 Step: Explore What the Market Offers

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The moving business is one of the oldest in the United States, so there are many options. First, call several companies and compare prices. Then find out what the company's reputation is. Using sites BBB or MovingCompanyReviews This is easy to do - just enter the name in the line and get all the necessary information. In addition, you can check the company on the website Associations of US carriers, in which each member is necessarily a certified and legal company. Michael Keeton, director of public relations for the Association, says they carefully vet those who want to join the Association. He advises people who are looking for a moving company to find out everything: its physical address, whether it has a business license, what kind of vehicle fleet it has. And don't be afraid to ask as many questions as you need.

2 Step: Determine Price

If the company on the phone tells you the exact cost of your move, it’s better not to do business with it. The mover can give the price only when he sees the amount of work. Therefore, either a company representative comes in advance and assesses what he saw (ideally), or the price will be only approximate. In this case, you need to be ready to actually pay more. And do not forget to tip the workers.

Also consider that there are many options for moving: house-house, house-warehouse-house, you can order only loading, and unload, for example, yourself. The price will depend on all these conditions.

3 Step: Pay a Deposit

Michael Keaton immediately clarifies: a modest deposit.

“I’ll give you an example - I moved 3 weeks ago, and my move was estimated at $2000, so even before moving I paid a deposit - 10% of the amount,” he says. “But if they ask you to leave more than 20% in advance, this should raise red flags.”

4 Step: Make a Property Audit

Carrying with you everything acquired through back-breaking labor is pointless and expensive. Use the move as an opportunity to get rid of unnecessary things: donate things to charity, have a garage sale, or simply throw away what you don't use.

“Think carefully, maybe, for example, you don’t need your old college textbooks anymore?” advises Michael.

5 Step: Prepare for the move

No matter how professional the moving company is, you must take care of the most valuable things yourself. “It’s better to collect all such things, especially small ones, and make sure they don’t get lost. Because we had a situation where, during a move, for example, clients lost one earring and some other small thing,” says Ukrainian Alexander Pongo, who a couple of years ago spent the entire summer working in a moving company under the Work and Travel program. He says that the whole moving process is organized like clockwork - there are separate packages for certain types of items: mattresses, floor lamps, small luggage and a lot of packaging material.

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“I was only allowed to pack and carry the boxes to the van. And there was already a special person there who, just like in Tetris, packed everything correctly into the car so that nothing was damaged along the way. I was not allowed into this process,” says Alexander.

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Alexander Pongo worked as a mover for the whole summer and knows all the subtleties of the process of moving. Photo: from the personal archive

He also notes that on the day of the move it is better to remove pets and children from the house.

"I am not kidding. I had a case when the children didn’t want to move so much that they locked me in the garage. I sat there until they rushed to look for me,” says Alexander Pongo.

If the presence of the owners is not necessary while loading things, then it is advisable to supervise the unloading personally and immediately show the workers where the refrigerator should be and where the sofa should be.

And if you can, don't plan to move during the school holidays.

“The most expensive and busiest season for moving is from May to August. If you have the opportunity to move outside of these months, you will definitely save money. Also, the price should be lower if the date is not at the beginning, but in the middle of the month,” advises Michael Keaton.

Address, driver's license and car numbers - that will have to be renewed when moving

Even before you go to live in another state, you need inform by mail about the change of address. This can be done in person at the nearest post office or on the website. USPS. You can also contact US Postal Service (USPS) with a request temporarily change your address or keep your mail.

In addition, the new address should be notified of the need:

Changing your address is not a problem, says Elena Pin from Illinois. At the new place, she and her husband retook their license exams and changed the license plates on their car.

“We thought that the rights can simply be changed. But we were told that we need to take everything in a new way and pass the test for the knowledge of the rules of the road traffic of Illinois. We also immediately filled out the paper to change the numbers ”.

But the hardest part was filling out the tax return. It so happened that the family moved from state to state in the middle of the year. And if there were no problems with federal taxes, then they did not know how to fill out state taxes. “Moreover, it turned out that you can only indicate one state in one year on your tax return. In a word, we got confused and turned to a company that helped us calculate everything correctly,” continues Elena.

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Also, change of state means retraining for lawyers, teachers and doctors. After the move, find out how much, according to the laws of the state, you will be considered a resident. This entitles you to numerous benefits and discounts. And, of course, take the time to familiarize yourself with the laws that you will live by now, because every American state has its own.

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