We are moving from a 3 bedroom 3 bath 55+ home. We got a quote from 2 local movers and then we used the Villages Relocation Services which gave us 3 additional quotes from Atlas, Mayflower, and United. We ended up choosing United at about $7300 to move us from southeast PA. Our price can’t go higher but it can go lower. We are currently packing ourselves and the movers come on the 12th November. We are taking our living room room furniture which we bought last Fall in very neutral beige and white colors. Perfect for Florida. Our bedroom set was $5000 when we bought it and we couldn’t replace it today for that, plus I love it. We sold our dining room set and washer and dryer. We have a queen Ethan Allen sleeper sofa we are bringing for the 3rd bedroom and a new queen bed and new dresser for the 2nd bedroom. We couldn’t buy any of that today for the same price and we’d have to wait months to get it anyway. We have a brand new upright garage rated freezer we are bringing too. We got rid of A LOT but I do wish we had gotten rid of some more but we can do that down there at the many yard sales. I think for what we are spending at least we have everything we need. And we have our children and visitors coming often, in fact the first week we arrive we have friends coming! We made sure to get a house with a 2 car garage plus a golf cart garage. I think if we didn’t have that I would 100% have gotten rid of a lot more.
Our economy is crumbling. Bring what you need and what you love because who knows what is going to happen to supply chains. With the price of gas everything is costing more! Yes, 2nd hand is also a great way to go but finding the perfect thing isn’t easy.
As far as doing it on your own - Uhaul could not guarantee us a truck when we needed it. Hiring people was also taking a chance because in this environment they may show up and they may not, so how’s that going to work when you have to move out on a set date?
The couple of thousand extra it costs to use a professional gave us peace of mind that we’d be moved and have what we need when we arrive to our new home in a place we absolutely love. I call that priceless.
Blessings on your move. May God give you the guidance and wisdom you need as you prepare.

We did the POD 11 years ago, bringing VERY LITTLE furniture, and we still brought WAY TOO MUCH STUFF! Please be RUTHLESS in your decisions about what you cannot live without....and just bring that stuff. Our POD 8 x 16' (128 sq ft jam packed tight) cost about $2,500 at that time. It took years to shed some of the stuff I should never have brought along. SAD :ohdear:

For $8000 probably could get new furniture and have an estate sale to sell the old. Clean slate. Everything new

A lot of people use Pods. We bought furniture, bedroom, den, living room, dining room and 4 bar stools for about $7,000.

You should always get 2 Or 3 quotes. Then pick the best one

short answer is YES
 

but most will say sell stuff and buy new here

except for

dishes, silverywear , photos , memento, documents - jewelry. artwork etc. musical instruments sports equipment etc

DON'T BRING FURNITURE

UPack is way to go. Get a 1/2 semi and only pay for how much of the truck you use. They drop off , hire local people to load. They pick up, 5-7 days latter it arrives in villages. Hire someone to unload. They pick up.

Super easy and way cheaper. My cost from cleveland to villages was less then 5000 dollars and very convenient.

Moving Trailer | U-Pack

Moving cost
 

We just moved 2 16’ Pack Rat containers from Kansas City for 7k. From what I have been hearing if you can get it for that price that would be cheap, but don’t be surprised when the actual bill is much more.
Pack Rat was cheaper than pods.
We didn’t have enough time to purge what we should have and will probably be donating halve of what we brought down.
There just isn’t any storage and I am not going to pay to store it.
So we will find a cause that we like and donate it to them.

Sounds right. Our cost from Wisconsin was about that. Plus fuel costs are going up.

move
 

Get quotes from your high rated local movers

I know many advocate getting rid of everything and buying new, and that villagers who brought furniture with them regret it. With that in mind, we downsized our house by half. We got rid of so, so much!! But we still kept enough furniture to get our house started. Keep in mind that there is a wait for furniture. Plus, if you have good quality furniture you won’t be able to replace it with similar quality for what you would save in closing costs.

Finally, as others suggested, try getting a POD and doing the move yourself. Hire movers on both ends to pack/unpack. I am a fan of Village Mover. (Villagemover.con). They were awesome.

Good luck!

Fair Quote
 

That quote is reasonaable from Mayflower.

We moved from Maryland August 2020 and paid almost $7K and we packed ourselves. 10,000 pounds. Three bedroom full house. The movers damaged a lot of furniture. Get insurance and make them stay upon delivery for you to inspect. Our claims paid for the move and then some and we have furniture until we buy new. The company had good reviews but we got a bad crew. Movers were owned by Wheaton.

I would only use a very reputable mover like Mayflower, (we used Mayflower for our move within Florida recently). What a difference - they were nearly perfect.

But the answer you are looking for is yes that is a good quote from a good company.

WE BROUGHT FURNITURE...

Our BR set fits better here that it does up North. The expensive futon is perfect for one of the extra BRs. It's very comfortable as a couch and as an additional queen size bed.

Neither are the "heavy dark wood" that others say "don't fit in FL's decor". But neither are they the cheap composite wood so much furniture is made from these days. As is the repurposed and repainted dresser/night table we're using for the other BR. Solid Ash. And the large armoire that fits perfectly in the LR? Similar finish to our BR set. Great for extra storage and where TV section was will be my wife's "sewing station"...

Our BR set alone would cost more to replace than it cost for the entire move...

Now granted, we still have a home up north, so we were able to pick and choose what pieces we wanted to keep. The rest will be eventually sold...

here's what to do moving
 

just moved myself
Sell or donate as much as you can . Eight thousand is the going rate . If you want to keep some things and spend less get a pod Quote . Keep a few essentials . Rent a pod . The large unit hold 4 rooms enough for a bed appliances and the what you cant part with. They have a labor service that will pack and unload the pod. My cost from NC to Fla was under 4,000.

We moved in April from Chattanooga and paid 11k for 2 br, large study unit, large dark dining room set (regret this) couch, Loveseat, chair, 2 recliners, exercise equipment, and lots of tools.
We got many bids, from 7k to 11k. I had an independent driver explain that drivers bid on jobs without putting all of costs in and the end prices all come out about the same. Three of national companies came out within just a few dollars of each other and the local one offered used boxes.
It sounds like you have a good price, but I agree that you should dispose of furniture that you think you will be replacing here. The 2nd hand stores are full of really nice traditional furniture and you can't sell it for nearly as much as you can at home.