Have you just landed your dream job in a new city? If so, congratulations!

Or perhaps you are finding yourself unemployed after a global pandemic has rocked the job market, and you're moving to a more affordable location. Or maybe you're just chasing dreams, not jobs!

Whatever the circumstances are that are bringing you to this point, a big move can seem overwhelming at first.

Here are some pointers to help you get started with the planning process.

1. Consider how you will move your belongings

There are many options for moving your furniture and belongings during a move. You can pack up a truck and move it yourself, or pack your boxes into a pod or shipping container and have the container picked up and delivered to you.

For my first big move, I looked into all of these options. I found that a shipping pod was about the same price as hiring a professional moving company, and the shipping containers were not able to be delivered to my destination, so that option was quickly scratched from my list.

After considering the time and effort it would take to pack everything on our own and drive it with a rented truck, we didn’t find this option to be the best one either.

Ultimately, we went with a professional moving service that came to our house and packed everything up in about 6 hours. The crew of 3 people packed everything expertly so that it would arrive undamaged at our new home.

The movers accomplished in 6 hours what would have taken my husband and I days to complete, and we likely saved money in the long run by not needing to replace broken items from moving them ourselves.

While I realize this may be cost prohibitive for some, consider working the moving expenses into job negotiations. Some companies may have relocation packages available for new hires as a way to attract talent.

Also, the further your move is, the more cost effective it will be to hire movers. Break your trip down in to cost per mile considering your various options, while taking into account the cost of potential damage that won’t be covered if you pack and move yourself.

On this same topic, consider what your new home will be like space-wise. A small apartment in the city may not allow for the same amount of furniture that a large home on the Texas countryside may allow for. In this case, you may be able to cut down on the cost of moving expenses by bringing less and purchasing what will fit into your new place once your arrive.

2. Set up mail forwarding

In the digital age, it’s likely you aren’t getting much mail sent to your physical mailbox these days. However, the mail that you are receiving is likely important.

Consider starting a list of mail you receive at least a month before you move. This way you will have a list of all the magazines, financial statements, and anything else that may get sent to you old address, that you can notify of your new address.

You can set up mail forwarding with the post office free of charge. If you don’t quite have a new address yet, you may want to consider setting up a P.O. Box in your new location. This will ensure that your mail has a secure place to be delivered to while you determine where your new address will be.

3. Take a separate house hunting trip prior to your move

If time allows, you may want to consider taking a trip to your new location prior to your big move, which will be dedicated solely to house hunting and getting to know some areas you may want to refine your search. Even if you don’t find the exact house or apartment you want to move to, at least you will know some specific areas to refine your search. This way, you can confidently search before you move.

4. Pack a separate bag - easily accessible for your trip

Once you determine how you will get to your new location, make sure you pack a separate bag of essentials that will last you through the travel time and at least a few days at your new place.

This way if you arrive well before the rest of your belongings, or if you cannot get easy access to your moving boxes, at least you will have some essentials to get by until you can start unpacking.

5. Determine how you will get to your new location

Will you drive, fly, or maybe even take a train for your big move? If you fly, consider how your vehicle will get to your new location if you have one. There are options to ship cars, and cost is generally determined by the number of miles you. We’d to ship your car. The further you ship the car, the cheaper the rate per mile is. If you really don’t like driving long distances, this may be the best option for you. It also means less miles and wear & year on your vehicle.

You may want to consider if you will even need a vehicle in your new location. When we moved to San Francisco, we found that many people in the city were able to get around via public transportation which meant they would not have to deal with the high costs of owning a vehicle in the city (monthly parking fees, increased insurance expense, etc), and were able to get around easily with public transport and possibly a bike.

My husband and I opted to sell one of our vehicles before the move, and drove the other across the country from Wisconsin to San Francisco. This gave us options to determine whether or not we would need another car (we were a two car family at that point), or if we could get rid of the other vehicle once we arrived in California.

Read more about our story, and our big move here!

We planned to take our time getting from Wisconsin to San Francisco. We drove about 8 to 12 hours per day, with plenty of time for snack and gas stops. It took us about 4 days to get to our destination, and we made sure to dip our feet in the Pacific Ocean as soon as we arrived.

6. Plan Your Route - but not too much!

If you plan to drive, it’s helpful to have a rough estimate of how long it will take so that you can plan when you will go and when you will arrive.

My advice on planning your route is actually to not plan too far in advance. If you plan out each day, including which hotel or lodging you will stop at, it does not allow for anything unexpected to occur such as a flat tire, or even just driving fatigue!

By booking hotels as you go along, you will not feel as pressured to get to the next destination no matter what may come up, which allows for a less stressful trip.

When we did our road trip, we had the first night of lodging booked, and had saved some other places we would like to stay if we made our goal on the subsequent days. This way, if we got simply too tired from driving and didn’t make it exactly where we had planned to, we were able to adjust accordingly without needing to cancel hotel rooms (and possibly lose the cost of cancellation in the process).

This method also allowed us to stop and really enjoy some sights and sites along the way. The first night we made it through Badlands National Park. Although it was a bit out of the way from the interstate route, it the views were lovely and helped to break up the trip.

When planning a long road trip, I have found it most helpful to plan for the unexpected. You never know what sights you may want to spend extra time at, or when your tire suddenly decides to blow with no roadside towns nearby.

7. Don’t be afraid to live in temporary housing once your arrive

One mistake my husband and I made when we first moved to San Francisco is signing a lease on an apartment that really did not fit our needs. Not only was this place too small, it was a little outside the monthly budget we wanted to stick to as well. We felt pressured to get out of the temporary housing we were living in once we arrived, and signed up for something that didn’t work.

Luckily, we were able to find a place that better suited our needs and we were able to get out of the first lease fairly easily. Lesson learned: while temporary housing may feel inconvenient at first, it is worth it in the long run to ensure that you are going to be happy long term in a more permanent place.

This situation can be avoided by making time for a separate housing trip, where you can determine where you want to live and what your new housing situation will look like (see item #3 above).

8. Load up your playlist and make the trip fun!

You’re off on a new adventure! While this move may not have been planned (hello, global pandemic), or it may feel like an act of desperation, it will be worth it! You are taking a risk, persevering, and you can only come out ahead.

I commend you, friend, for taking that leap! It takes courage and some sacrifice, but it will all be worth it in the end. Load up your playlist and let’s go!

BONUS:
Click the "Contact!" button at the bottom of the screen, and send me your Top 8 Road Trip Songs. I will reply with my Top 8 Road Trip Songs!

Thanks for reading! If you found this list helpful, please share and save to your ideas boards, or send me an email of what you think.

I am looking forward to hearing from you!