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.