The Great Migration: How to move from NYC to Texas for under $3,500

TL;DR

• We’re the type of family that packs it own boxes and we take full responsibility for packing it right
• We disintermediated the moving supply chain and got higher quality service and a much lower price for minimal extra effort
• U-Pack provides the driver and the truck at a very cost effective variable cost moving – you only pay for the space you use
• You need to provide your own movers and it’s better to supply your own trusted movers rather than rely on their referred movers
• Buy the right lock, it’s harder than it looks
• My Yelp review

Our Move Summary

In November 2020, we moved our family from Brooklyn, NY to Dallas, TX. Anything moving related in NYC can be a traumatic experience, but with a bit of prep and a bit of luck, we managed to pull the entire move for under $3,500 using U-Pack and local movers. Quotes from other movers ranged from $5,000 – $7,900. Nothing is simple when it comes to moving in New York, so here’s everything we thought about:

Moving Company: U-Pack	$2,700.00
NYC Movers: Moving Your Way	435.00
Moving Supplies: Home Depot / U-Haul / Amazon	300.00
Total	$3,435.00

Moving Company

This was the hardest part. We got quotes from multiple moving companies and they ranged from $5,000 – $7,900. This included the entire move from the apartment to the final destination, but no moving supplies. In addition to being more expensive, we were uncomfortable that the quotes were based on an early walk through given we weren’t 100% sure what we were taking with us.

Looking for cheaper options, we found a few pod options like U-Haul U-Box and Pods. Logistically, it was too difficult as we’d have to move our goods to the U-Haul lot and we didn’t have confidence that our sofas and dining table would fit.

U-Pack was the best option of us as we only paid for the space we used with a minimum of 5 feet. The rest of the space is filled with commercial cargo. Our move ended up being less than we were initially quoted. However, U-Pack only provides the Trailer and the driver. You have to provide movers and a lock.

NYC Movers

The U-Pack referred service was 2 movers for 2 hours for $310 (+$85 per hour) and it really was just a referral with no coordination with U-Pack. We ended up going with Moving Your Way, a Brooklyn based moving company we’ve used in the past for 3 movers for 3 hours for $375.

Read my Yelp review for full details, but these guys were great. The wrapped exposed items (e.g. couch) in movers wrap and disassembled large bulky items in a safe, space efficient way (e.g. bed frame and dining table)

	U-Pack Referral	Moving Your Way
# of Movers	2 movers	3 movers
Time	3 hours	3 hours
Cost	$395 + ?COI? + Tip	$375 + $20 COI + Tip

Co-ordinating U-Pack and our Movers: New York

• U-Pack:
  • will arrive in a 4 hour Arrival Window (e.g. anytime between 8am and 12PM)
  • In NYC and other urban areas give you a 4 hour “live load”
  • If the van arrives at 11AM, you have until 3PM to load.
• We paid $75 to reduce the Arrival Window to 2 hours
• We asked the movers to come 1 hour into the 2 hour Arrival Window for a 3 hour job as they could bring the boxes down to a staging area if they truck was late

What we booked	U-Pack: 8-10AM Arrival Window Movers: 9AM arrival
What happened	U-Pack: 9AM arrival Movers: 830AM arrival DONE at 11:00AM using 7 feet of space!

Co-ordinating U-Pack and our Movers: Dallas

• In the suburbs of Dallas, U-Pack will leave the trailer for 3 business days
• Trailer fit into our driveway and we just self unloaded at our own time / pace
• Things got loose, but it was to be expected for a 1,600 mile drive in a moving van
• No idea what the commercial cargo was, but it did get dusty – Seal all your boxes or wrap it up!

Lock

A whole section on a lock seems overkill, but:

• Size is not standard
• Exact size is required to work

If the lock picture looks like the below, the following worked for us:
Brinks 1-9/16 in. (40 mm) Keyed Lock with 2-1/2 in. Shackle (2-Pack)

Conclusion

Cross country moves are more common than ever before and it’s really hard to figure out how to do it right. U-Pack + local movers on loading worked out great for our family. If you’re comparing options, my family’s experience says that it’s worth a look at U-Pack. It would be great to hear about your experience moving across the country!

P.S. To see how we packed for the move, check out Tetris is a life skill: packing for a cross country move