If you’re moving to Los Angeles, CA, or just across town, you have quite a few factors to consider when deciding on the cost of your move. The final costs of your move will depend on how long you are planning to be in your new home, if you have a full-service move or one that includes only packing and unpacking services, how many items are being moved, and whether or not you are hiring professionals to handle the actual loading and unloading process.
The Cost of Hiring a Moving Company
Hiring a moving company can be useful if you want to move your items with no hassle. They will come and pick up your things and transport them where you want them. This is quite helpful for those who are short on time or don’t feel like doing all of that heavy lifting. One thing to note though is that hiring a moving company isn’t free; there are charges involved so you will have to factor these into your budget when planning how much money you need for your move.
Moving Costs with Your Friends
Find out who’s planning on moving and whether they want to share a moving truck. And if you can’t find any takers among your friends, consider renting a truck from U-Haul and using Craigslist or another classifieds site to find someone who will help drive. You might end up with more than one mover if that happens, but all things considered, that’s not necessarily a bad thing (extra hands = less work for you). The other plus side of moving with friends is that your friends know how much you love pizza or beer and will probably buy/bring some for after your move is complete.
The Cost of Doing Everything Yourself
Moving is expensive. If you’re moving within your city or state, you can expect to pay about $2 per pound for long-distance movers. Long-distance moving costs are calculated using a base rate and surcharges that apply depending on several factors, including where you live (some states have additional fees), whether you have stairs and how much time your movers spend traveling between homes. The average base rate for local moves is around $2 per mile. Thus, a local move within two miles could cost less than $200 while one 100 miles away will likely cost more than $1,000.
How To Plan and Budget for Moving Costs
Estimate your moving costs by figuring out how much packing supplies you’ll need, whether you need a moving van or if you can just rent a truck (and what size you’ll need) and how much professional help you might need. Moving supply costs: Buying boxes is usually cheaper than renting them and your local U-Haul rental shop will likely have all sizes of boxes available for about $3 each. Make sure you buy a few extras so that if one gets damaged during transport, you don’t lose valuable items—and trust us when we say: Don’t underestimate how many things can get damaged when moving.
