Moving Cost
 

We are moving to The Villages the end of January. We received a quote from Mayflower movers of $8k to move our 3 bedroom household from northern Virginia to TV. We plan on boxing everything ourselves except for the furniture.
I have always had employer paid moves and am not familiar with the inflated cost of everything now a days. Is this a reasonable estimate or should I get more quotes?

yes

Moving costs are essentially a function of weight and distance. Get a couple of quotes and read the fine print regarding their estimate of the weight and how the final weight impacts the actual costs. Also, check the fine print on insurance.

I may have a good mover
 

Hi, I can sympathize with your situation, I have done a lot of research on movers and am having the same experience. I may have found a good mover. Send me your email address and I can possibly put you in touch with my mover. Cheers, Dylan Todd

FWIW, most people who move all their furniture down here regret doing so. They wish they had just sold or given away what they have and bought new things. This is partly because it costs so much to move heavy furniture but also because many people realize once they are here that their (usually dark and heavy) furniture from up north doesn't suit their new Florida home and lifestyle. Just something to think about.

Good luck with your move.

kathy

More quotes won't help much. Get rid of most of your stuff and buy new stuff. I sold everything in my house and came here with just my clothes. It felt very refreshing to start over with no clutter. I think this is especially true if you are moving into a new house. Since you are boxing things yourself, consider renting a Pod for the things you want to keep.

Move advice
 

We too had always been part of corporate moves until our move from Charlotte to The Villages in April of this year. We brought most of our things - as getting furniture now is a crap shoot with supply chain issues. Expect to wait 6 months or more for new furniture - so leaving things behind is not a good strategy in 2021 and 2022. We paid about $8K for a two bedroom condo move from Charlotte NC, so $8k seems fair. I will tell you II had four movers quote the move and Mayflower was most expensive, so getting other quotes is advised. I ended up with a good local mover in Charlotte that does not charge by the pound and gave me a fixed quote for the move - they never increased it - so getting a fair deal is possible.

Another possibility.
 

[QUOTE=Soon2B-Villager;2023166]We are moving to The Villages the end of January. We received a quote from Mayflower movers of $8k to move our 3 bedroom household from northern Virginia to TV. We plan on boxing everything ourselves except for the furniture.
I have always had employer paid moves and am not familiar with the inflated cost of everything now a days. Is this a reasonable estimate or should I get more quotes?

I hired local movers at both ends. Rented a large truck, son drove it and flew in/out to help. No losses, unknown timelines, forms to fill out, and about half the cost.

This doesn’t answer your question but, for me, it was simpler —and faster—to do it myself. Good luck and always always get quotes. Knowledge is power:).

Moving
 

Yes, always get at least three quotes, and find out if the company you finally choose can give you used boxes and wardrobe cartons for your packing need. These are usually free and will save you a boatload of money. Good luck with your move!

I used a POD and did it myself. It was cheaper than a moving company. You can hire muscle on both ends for items you can't lift. You will not need a lot of furniture you had up north. The second hand stores here are full of northern furniture folks end up not wanting after they move here. Decorating styles are different here.

Get rid of as much as you can. They charge by weight and a lot of dishonest companies will WAY underestimate weight so their quote looks good, but they’ll up charge you.

My son recently moved: got rid of almost all furniture but a bedroom set and a table and 4 chairs. Used U-Pack for transport, Moving Saffers on each end for load/unload. It was the cheapest-but you have to supervise. (Lots of people recommend PODS but my son found them to be high cost )

Keep in mind that all movers face basically the same costs. The cost of labor to load, cost of insurance, gas, vehicle, etc. etc. Beware of the low price bid as the results often times can be disastrous. We paid considerably more to move a 4 bedroom house from Pittsburgh and I was comfortable knowing that the move would be done correctly and the people responsible knew what they were doing. There were no surprises. I do agree with those who said to think about getting rid of those dark heavy pieces before you move as they probably don’t lend themselves to your new surroundings. As we initially moved from Florida to Pittsburgh before moving back we didn’t have the dark fur issue. That said we still moved too much stuff back.

The quick answer is yes, but as you read through these posts most people will tell you to throw everything out or give it to charity. The only thing is you should keep our financial papers old pictures and mementos, if there is some furniture of historic importance and you may want to keep it. Most people regret taking their furniture as it's much easier just to buy new and we'll go with your Florida lifestyle better. Maybe I would take a piano or something of reminding you of parents etc. We took my parents standing room set* which I love , a small linen hutch from Russia and a chandelier and upright piano
Our dishes and silverware and two pieces of luggage packed with clothes. You don't need winter coats, lawn mowers, but if you have tools that you want I would send those UPS. Good luck

2020 Move
 

Moved from Houston to Michigan and paid $7K but included packing. Trust me after 14 moves let them pack.

First, welcome to The Villages.
Yes I would get a few quotes if you really want your furniture.
For my wife and I we came down with one uhaual pod and a suv full of essentials no furniture. This is a new adventure on life’s journey so we used the money saved on movers and put it towards all new furniture.

This might be Florida but it still gets down in the 30's here.
:ho::bigbow:

You might consider only bring what you cant live without, and buy the rest to fit your new home.:welcome:

Bring your furniture
 

Delivery from furniture stores has improved a little in the last few months but there are still major delays in getting your order filled. I say bring your essential furniture. What happened five to ten years ago when someone moved here has absolutely no bearing on what you should do in this current climate

moving companies give you an estimate...always more than the actual weight after everything is loaded. I had the truck weighed before my stuff was loaded and then after my stuff was loaded. Then, I got a refund on the estimate. Saved a lot of money. Get several estimates for sure. I used Liberty and I also got free boxes, as much as I needed.

Methinks I know what I speak ..... being professional vagabonds (27 moves), we have done it both ways ...... professional movers and self-moves. You have to decide one way or the other, but I have one piece of advice. If you pack your own stuff except for the furniture, and you hire a professional mover, every box you pack will be marked as PBO ("packed by owner") on the mover's manifest. Damage to the contents or loss of those boxes will not be covered by the mover's insurance. If the $8K estimate was predicated on the fact you were packing all but the furniture, I would get 2 quotes from each movers .... one for a full pack-out and one with you packing boxes.

Forgive me if you have already planned this, but you should pack a few boxes with the essentials you'll carry in your car to cover the first few nights waiting for the truck to arrive (i.e., linens, pillows, 2 sets of dishes/utensils, clothing, etc.). You'll be surprised at this end if you don't.

We paid significantly less in our move from MD, but we moved significantly less...

Our mover (who is also a friend of ours) told us that if it would cost less to replace the furniture, DON'T move it, unless it had significant sentimental value.

The main things we wanted were our bedroom set , an armoire, and a vintage sideboard (that was my wife's grandmothers). The cost to replace the BR set alone was about the cost of the move... It fits better in TV than it did here in MD...

The rest of the stuff we moved was some clothing, kitchen stuff and some of my music gear...

When we moved 8 years ago The Villages had a contract with several moving companies. It was a much better rate than I could get. We too had done multiple corporate moves and individual self moves. Pods were more expensive than having movers. We did end up with Atlas packing kitchen and dining room, TV’s, Mirrors, and two crated pieces. Our quote was what we paid. Came in from Houston. Call your Villages sales rep they can get you in touch with the person who ran that moving program. Welcome to the Villages!

Sell your furniture and buy new when you get here! What you have now won't be what you want in Florida. Cheaper than moving it!!

Moving costs to the Villages from VA
 

Its costing me $4,000 (with taxes) to rent a 26ft U-Haul truck to move my items from Manassas VA. This was the most cost effective as I looked at pods/other rental trucks - Penske wanted $7k! I wanted my stuff right away - that's why I'm moving myself. My son had a nightmare move in June from CA to AL. You have no idea how expensive it has become to make a move. Why not get two more quotes and see the price differences? Your deal sounds reasonable.

Move from No Va
 

I also came from No Va two weeks ago cost 7k for 7500 lbs used Able movers great move no damage we packed 50% of our boxes about 30 of them I would get at least two other quotes

Having them pack for you is less expensive than you think. And they do a better job

That being said, I would suggest Ann estate sale up north, move only the essentials.
You wont want most of your stuff - and I am sure your house in FLA is much smaller

Bring only what you will really need living in The Villages. Downsizing is a good thing. Many use a POD when moving here. Yes furniture is hard to get right now but think about what furniture you have that will work for you here. Many have brought only to sell or give away when buying furniture that fits their new house.

Call Village Movers. The one with Mike Collum. They are reasonable and fast.

Moving costs
 

We paid $ 1 US per pound from Canada to The Villages. We packed our own and purged as much as we thought was necessary. We still moved too much.

Everyone moving here makes the same mistake… YOU’RE BRINGING TOO MUCH STUFF!

The suggestions to drastically minimize the stuff you’re bringing, particularly furniture and clothes, and buy new when you get here are good ones. You can buy most of the new furniture you’ll need with the savings on moving expense. Clothes-wise, you’ll “live” in casual summer clothes, almost never needing to “dress up”. Think about it.

Key word is to downsize….. big time!
 

[quote=dpwm21;2023194]

We used North American Van Lines when we moved here in May and were very happy. They gave us the best quote for our four bedroom home.

Prior to moving I consulted with a decorator concerning what would work well in the Florida home so I wouldn’t needlessly bring things that wouldn’t work. The advice so many gave us to get rid of everything and replace it wasn’t for us. Much of our furniture is Ethan Allen and similar brands. You can’t replace that for $6-8,000. We have ordered a few pieces to fill in and those won’t arrive till February/March. And while many people say they find excellent deals on used furniture, it’s hard to pull a home together that way.

We were very happy with our decision to move carefully selected pieces from our prior home.

Good luck. It’s stressful but so worth it.

We had to wait 9 months for a leather recliner that JUST arrived...

And we did look at BR furniture locally. Nothing we saw was worth a crap, nor did we like it better than what we had...

Have a big yard sale, get rid of your furniture and mattresses...... bring your summer clothes, and a few jackets. Bring your favorite personal things. The consignment shops around here are full of up north furniture that people who moved here realized it's just wrong for here. It's cheaper to buy new furniture than move all your old stuff.

We used Mayflower as well. Didn’t have a good experience with them as they under estimated our weight up front and ended up costing us WAY more than it should have. My mother moved from The Villages back to Ohio a few years ago and used POD. She hired local movers to pack and unpack her boxes and furniture on both ends. Much better experience. If we ever have a reason to move again interstate, I would move turn key or use POD.

I moved here from California and was shocked at the price. We refurnished our Villages Designer home with new rather then pay mover. Much of our old furniture wouldn't match the new house layout anyway.

Sell, give away or throw out most and buy new when you get here - you will find most of what you bring will not be good for here!

We used PODS...had 2 of them from Kansas City to TV. There were a couple of hiccups, but overall, it worked well. It cost us about half of what you have been quoted, and that includes hiring loaders/unloaders at each end.

Heed the advice given by most here. DOWNSIZE. When you think you have gotten rid of everything you can possibly jettison...do it again. And again. I didn't listen well enough, and wound up bringing WAY more stuff than necessary. Then, you spend months getting rid of stuff you paid to move here. Be honest about what you really need, and don't let emotion and sentiment cloud your judgment.

Storage space in these homes is premium real estate, and there simply isn't enough of it to bring things that maybe get dragged out once or twice a year. You will discover an entirely new lifestyle here, and will quickly forget about those things you were convinced you couldn't live without.

Welcome to The Villages...let the adventures begin!

I worked in the moving business for 50 years. A general question of “is this a good price?” Cannot be answered by anyone without knowing all the parameters. Get 3-4 estimates from major movers Allied, United, Atlas, Bekins etc. make sure all they estimates are binding or not to exceed. If all the estimates are accurate they should only vary by 5%. Stay away from internet movers who do not come to your home.

Welcome! I used UPack, which is similar to a POD-they dropped off a semi trailer when I asked for it, I had local movers pack it, then UPack picked the trailer up the same day and delivered it when I wanted 5 days later. They are dispatched out of Ocala so literally they came within an hour to pick up the empty trailer after I had the Villages Movers unpack it. I didn't like the sounds of a national chain mover as they were much more expensive and they often (if not always) move your stuff from one trailer to another and are much less transparent about when you will receive your furniture. I didn't want any of that. I think it was less than $3000 for about a 1000 miles, this past May. I spent about another $1000 on both ends with the local muscle including tips. Didn't keep track of what I spent on boxes and bubble wrap!

Do not sell all your furniture unless its past its usefulness, as you will be sitting on a bean bag chair and sleeping on a rubber mattress. It is months for new furniture here.

Enjoy the process, its fun once you get here.