Relocation Forums? (1 Viewer)

[Johnny Angell]

Does anyone know of a forum or two where you can discuss the ins and outs of relocating to another city? I'm interested due to a job transfer.

 

[Bob Graz]

You might try right here. Many of us have relocated due to job changes, within companies and between companies.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Well, I'm certainly open to suggestions or advice. We will be transferring from Little Rock to Jacksonville, FL. The company is providing some monetary assistance, and a relocation company, but it appears that financially, we are better off doing it ourselves (with the $ provided by the company).

If anyone knows anything about Jacksonville, I'd love to see it. Advice on moving companies, realtors, mortgages are all appreciated.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

I haven't been in a while (family had a summer home in Jacksonville, Bch) but I remember that the city had a pretty foul odor from the paper mills around town. The beaches are OK but nothing like Daytona or any of the beach towns further south. Fernandina is pretty nice and it's just north of the city. And St. Augustine, which is really pretty, is about 30 minutes south.

There are a lot of naval personnel due to the bases nearby.

The St. John's River is really wide.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Thanks for the info. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Robert_J]

I thought the same thing. But it's tough moving. Really tough. We also moved from our apartment to a house across town two years ago. This time we hired a company to move the big stuff. It was MUCH easier. If I had it to do again, I'd hire someone.

-Robert

 

[Johnny Angell]

Yes, former AIS employee on the programming side and my wife on the marketing support side.

The company offered is Cendant.

When I said do it ourselves, what I really meant to say is make arrangments ourselves. We will definitely hire movers.

Are you with Fidelity now or have you moved on to something else?

 

[Kenneth]

Although I can't speak to Jacksonville specifically I did just make a move myself (and have made a couple previously) so I can speak to some of the moving aspects.

1. If the company is providing a reputable mover then generally it comes out best because they will pack everything, transport everything, unpack everything, and handle insurance. A lot less worry even if you think you can do it cheaper.

2. If you decide you want to handle the move yourself I would recommend you do serious research before hiring full service movers. I picked what I thought would be low priced movers when I moved from Arizona to New Mexico. Because they changed the prices on moving day due to "underestimating" my space they ended up costing me as much or more as a well known mover but without the quality of service.

3. If you decide you want to foregoe movers there are several other ways to approach things.

a. If you can pack your own stuff then you can hire loader/unloaders (this is what I did when I moved from New Mexico to Texas, where I am currently located). This cost me about $600 combined (a little less than $300 for loading and a little more for unloading). Hard to get much cheaper than this since they charge for a minimum number of hours. If you have lots of friends you can always try to talk them into loading and then hire unloaders at your destination. I was able to get unloaders through the yellow pages. Since all they are doing is unloading you can get a accurate quote since they will specify their hourly rate and minimum charge.

b. You can rent a truck and drive or hire drivers. Renting and driving yourself will be a little cheaper but more wear and tear on your body as the big trucks can be tiring to drive. If you have too much stuff to squeaze into a 25' truck (the largest you can rent with a standard drivers license) you will have to hire folks. Usually you can find movers that will drive the truck for you. I rented a truck and had a relative help me drive. I found Penske to be the cheapest name brand rental available (that might vary by region). My move of around 700 miles cost about $650 for the truck rental.

c. Finally there are movers that will offer various combinations of these services so you could shop around and see what's available.

Hope this helps you in your planning. You can see from the above why hiring movers is generally easier unless you plan to manage your move very closely to arrange all the elements.

Good luck.

Kenneth

 

[Robert_J]

My old deptartment wasn't bought out. They are still AIS.

I left four years ago for International Paper. My department was then sold to Exult and Exult was recently purchased by Hewitt.

I asked about reloAction because Exult purchased them a few months ago. From what I've read, they are a one-stop shop for all things relocation related.

-Robert

 

[Johnny Angell]

Kenneth, thanks for the info. Robert, its gets a little tiring, all these companies buying companies. I know what it feels like.

 

[LisaKay]

Moved a few times for business. May want to check reputable moving services of national vs. regional vs. local companies. Make sure you find out what they are responsible for in the event of damages. You can save money packing some things yourself (e.g. clothes, dishes) they will provide boxes and the special boxes for the fine dinner ware.