[Jimmay]

I was in the moving and storage industry for 50 years. Some of the information listed is accurate but much of it is in accurate. Get three estimates from large moving companies and be sure you get a binding or not to exceed estimate. Movers do not sell insurance they sell valuation.

[lennythenet]

We had an absolutely horrible experience with Mayflower, but my friend had a great experience with PODS! She packed everything and had it ready to go. They sent movers in to pack the POD, picked it up as scheduled, stored it until she was ready for it at the other end. They then delivered it, sent movers to unpack it for me and took the POD.

[Flanman]

We sold all and bought new but that was 2019 when furniture was easier to get. The wait time on furniture is long. Bring only what you need. Most of your furniture may not work here. POD’s seem to be the safest and less costly way to go. Many here use POD You can get Villagers Movers to help you unload if need be.

[BobbyM46]

Friends of our recently had Village Movers (the black truck with white lettering) move exactly items that you mentioned from upper NY to The Villages. The movers make trips to the North and make arrangements for the return trip. You have to be flexible with your schedule and know there will be outer loads in the truck. Friends were very satisfied.

[Slcarter3]

Highly recommend Lamparts Moving Service of Corfu, New York. Highly rated, experienced movers. (585) 815-3654

[Jerry Leinsing]

This is FL where almost every day is hot. Won’t need most of northern clothing.
There is NO storage here. Nothing will last if you plan on the garage attic no matter what you do. Anything rubber or plastic will melt or deteriorate. Yes, really!
Men don’t wear suits except to church, sometimes. Women bring way too many clothes in case. Be serious. But most you can’t convince otherwise.
Sporting goods means what. Sell up there and buy new here if and when you need it. It will be fun knowing you have the latest and greatest. Transporting big stuff not worth it.
Besides, get it out of your head that you are still saving for retirement. This is it. Anything you don’t spend before you die goes to ‘entitled kids and relatives’. If Dementia doesn’t get you first, you will be extremely lucky.

[Grunt 1946]

My daughter moved. She sold almost all the furniture and appliances, boxed everything else up, Hired some lumpers to load the stuff in a Penski truck. Drove to the Villages and hired lumpers to move the stuff inside. Then bought new furniture to go with the new home. She looked at every method and this was the least inexpensive. According to her, and she is tight-fisted.

[MikeVP]

Originally Posted by Mpappie

We moved from New England, we used Pods, very reasonable. Hired someone to load in New England and someone else here. We were very happy with them.

Who did you use to unload your PODS once U got here?

[MikeVP]

Originally Posted by Grunt 1946

My daughter moved. She sold almost all the furniture and appliances, boxed everything else up, Hired some lumpers to load the stuff in a Penski truck. Drove to the Villages and hired lumpers to move the stuff inside. Then bought new furniture to go with the new home. She looked at every method and this was the least inexpensive. According to her, and she is tight-fisted.

Who did you use to unload your PODS once U got here?

[virtue51]

I used The Villages Relocation Services -- I highly recommend this service. They arrange for two local realtors to sell your home. You select the realtor -- the realtor was professional, offered excellent advice and I got more for the home than I anticipated. They also arrange for three moving companies to come to your home and provide a quote for moving the furniture, etc. You select the moving company. All of my furniture and items arrived without a scratch. I had them pack the dishes and other breakable items -- not one item was broken.

You should give away, sell or whatever the items that you do not want to bring to your new home. Some people on the site have advised you to buy everything new. At this time, there is a long wait for furniture due to supply chain issues.

Good luck with your move to The Villages.

[Babubhat]

Get rid of as much stuff as you can. You can re-buy things for less than the shipping on many items. There are shippers that just go up and down from Florida to Maine and back each week. I used uship and they were the least expensive. But the same people you can find outside the Uship app that will do it for much less because you avoid the commission. There was a fellow named Carlos in Claremont that was very reasonable. Also blue mule movers out of Texas were good

Blue Mule Movers

[carol-d.]

Originally Posted by DylanTodd

Hi,

My wife and I are starting to plan the logistics for our fall move to the Villages full time.
We have looked at the cost of various ways to do it but each method seems wildly expensive. Full service moving companies seem to quote $6000 to $10000, those u-pack pods are around $4000, and even a uhaul rental from New England was $3600.

Does anyone have a reliable company that they used to move long distance where they felt they got good value?

Is there anyone from New England moving down this fall/winter and should we split a moving truck to save some costs?

I know people say don't bring your stuff with you and just buy new, we are not even bringing that much furniture, probably 4 to 5 pieces of furniture at most but we have so many totes filled with clothes, sporting equipment, mementos from over the years so we don't want to downsize any further until we get into our new house.

Thanks in advance

A friend that moved down here bought a moving truck of some kind and then sold it when they were done. Said they got almost all of their money back so they saved a bundle instead of renting a u-haul.

[Alice Austin]

Originally Posted by DylanTodd

Hi,

My wife and I are starting to plan the logistics for our fall move to the Villages full time.
We have looked at the cost of various ways to do it but each method seems wildly expensive. Full service moving companies seem to quote $6000 to $10000, those u-pack pods are around $4000, and even a uhaul rental from New England was $3600.

Does anyone have a reliable company that they used to move long distance where they felt they got good value?

Is there anyone from New England moving down this fall/winter and should we split a moving truck to save some costs?

I know people say don't bring your stuff with you and just buy new, we are not even bringing that much furniture, probably 4 to 5 pieces of furniture at most but we have so many totes filled with clothes, sporting equipment, mementos from over the years so we don't want to downsize any further until we get into our new house.

Thanks in advance

Alice

After much research in 2015, when we moved from Kentucky to the Villages, I found ABF freight was the most reasonable and fit perfectly into our schedule. Just go on their website and apply for a quote. The information for a quote will be the to and from locations and the number of bedrooms to move. They will ask about a piano, freezer, large entertainment center or dining room hutch, etc. Then, you will have a quote. I also planned to do my own packing (my time to cull and label).

The afternoon before we moved they brought a freight truck out and parked it at our front door. The next morning two men were sent out to load our belongings and lock the trailer...giving us the key to unlock when they unpacked the truck. We drove our car, stayed at a B&B for a couple of days for some R&R and got into our house 3-days before the furniture arrived.

The morning the freight truck came two moving men unlocked the truck, lowered the ramp and placed everything just where we wanted it. I provided lunch for them (I wanted to have them close until the work was done) The boxes were placed in the rooms labeled and by mid-afternoon everything was in and ready for them to leave.

I think the price was around $2800. The easiest move ever.
Good Luck and God's Blessings on your move!

[SusanStCatherine]

We moved our most valuable items ourselves (documents, jewelry, small safe, etc.).

We used professional movers and boxed most of the rest of our things (except furniture and TVs, etc.) ourselves. Cost was almost $7k from Mid-Atlantic state for 10k pounds. Glad we didn't have to load or unload anything. HOWEVER, a lot of furniture and a few other things were damaged in some way. I was diligent on the claim and wound up getting enough of a settlement to pay for the entire move and even make a profit of well over $1k. Of course we live with the damages. Other neighbors used the same mover with no issues, so you can't go by reviews. It only takes one bad apple on the crew to destroy your things.

What I would do for future moves:
Take detailed photos of furniture and unboxed items just prior to pickup. Make sure you have $0 deductible full value replacement valuation protection. Examine everything closely as it is delivered and note dented or crushed boxes. Do not let the delivery crew leave if you have not had a chance to inspect. If they must leave, write a note with your signature saying you were not given enough time to examine the delivery for damages.

Good luck!

[sowtime444]

Ship books/CDs etc at US post office via media mail. Ship all small stuff with FedEx. Leave your furniture. Buy furniture online from discount sites (overstock, etc.) if you want new. Or go to the many local used furniture stores (and thrift shops, etc.) here if you want a bargain. This will likely save time and hassle.

The really large trucks won't even fit on a lot of Villages streets anyway, and you'll have to pay for storage or for them to offload to a smaller truck.

(I have been researching this stuff for my in-laws, who are in the process of moving down)