Tips for a Successful Out-of-State Moving Process, Part 3

In parts one and two of this multi-part blog series, we’ve gone over several of the important areas to keep in mind when moving from one state to another. From beginning your home search through making the physical move and getting settled in your new location, there are a wide variety of factors to consider and themes to touch on during this process.

At Daybreak Living, we’re proud to offer a wide range of homes for sale, plus high-quality real estate agents to help a variety of clients find their ideal home – including those doing so from out of state. In today’s final entry in our series, we’ll go over a few specific tips we offer clients once they’ve closed on their home in a new location and are looking to get all their ducks in a row for the actual move itself.

Moving Companies and Alternatives

For starters, one of your first big choices once you’ve confirmed the move and the location will be deciding whether or not to hire a moving company. If you do go this route, be sure to do significant research online for company reviews and ratings, plus consider speaking to friends who have recently moved from one state to another to learn about their experiences with a given company. Also, make sure you call around to multiple moving companies to get quotes and pricing estimates before making your choice.

Now, such services are expensive and you do have alternatives. There are many portable moving containers that can be rented and used as portable storage, or rental trucks that allow you to drive belongings from one state to another yourself if the distance is reasonable enough. Consider each of these options against your budget, the size of the move and other factors.

Packing Planning

It’s also good to take some time to plan your packing, especially if you aren’t hiring movers and will be doing this yourself. We recommend packing non-essentials first, often over a period of days or weeks leading up to the move, and leaving essentials for very last.

Notifications

A couple notification areas to keep in mind at some point during the move:

• Mail forwarding: Either call or go to USPS.com and choose the date for mail forwarding, plus input the new address.
• Utilities: Contact your utility providers and inform them you’re moving, plus schedule transfers for relevant utilities like internet.
• Family and friends: This will be obvious for closer family or friends, but the stress of a move may cause some to forget to let other acquaintances or distant family members know about their move. This may also include neighbors or other members of a shared community.

New Location Themes

Finally, a couple areas to handle once you’ve arrived in your new location and are getting settled:

• Domicile: For tax reasons, you’ll need to establish legal domicile in your new state. There are several online resources available within each state’s government pages.
• Driver’s license: You’ll also have to procure a new driver’s license from the new state’s DMV, which may involve contacting them within a specific timetable and providing certain basic documentation.
• Pet license: If you own a pet, certain cities or states will require you register it with them when you move.

For more tips on a smooth home search and moving process to a new state, or to learn about any of our Daybreak homes available, speak to the staff at Daybreak Living today.