<p>Hey guys, I'm gonna be transferring in the fall and I wanted some of your opinions on what I should do with my stuff. I live overseas so taking it all with me is not possible.
I could either
A) Sell my bulky, expensive stuff like fridge, microwave, printer and give away less expensive stuff like bookshelf and various desk items etc. With this wave I don't have to find storage or worry about moving all of my stuff from florida to michigan! But I'm wondering how much I'll be able to sell this stuff for and if its this way is less expensive than storage and moving. (does anyone know how much that would cost?)</p>
<p>B) put everything in storage and either drive it all to michigan (very, unlikely and would cause stress with family) or have it delivered (expensive?)</p>
<p>Any feedback would be appreciated. :)</p>
<p>Re: Moving it all yourself</p>
<p>Would it fit in your car, or would you need a truck or a trailer? Call U-Haul, Ryder, etc. and get some quotes. You might have trouble renting because of your age and student status. Also, the trailers usually are only supposed to be towed at something like40 mph which means that it could take forever to get to your destination. People I know who have used them to haul things across country usually had to have the tires replaced at least once enroute. The rental company replaced the tires without question, but time was lost.</p>
<p>Re: Paying a professional</p>
<p>The moving companies can come to your place, look at all your stuff, and give you an estimate. If your move can be consolidated (they will ship it at the same time that someone else’s stuff is headed in the same direction) it will be a lot cheaper. You won’t be able to tell them the exact date you need it, but you can give them a time range. Also, sometimes the storage at one end or the other can be built into the estimate: for example, you give the stuff to them in June at place A and pick it up from them in September at place B, but they move it from A to B anytime between those dates.</p>
<p>Re: USPS and UPS</p>
<p>If you have an address that can receive things, Books and other print media, etc. can be shipped USPS by “Media Rate”. This isn’t as fast as other options, but it is cheap.</p>
<p>In the end, you are the only one who can decide if it is worth it to you to pay X to ship an old fridge, printer, etc. Do the math and see how things look to you.</p>
<p>Re: Finding someone else who is moving to the same place to reduce moving expenses.</p>
<p>Put an ad in your student paper and/or in student papers at colleges/universities near you to find others who are headed where you are going or to nearby colleges/universities. I almost did this before I went to grad school, but decided not to. On arrival, I learned that my next door neighbor had come from my same old university and had also decided not to put an ad in the paper. We would have saved buckets of money (and had a cross-country traveling companion) if either of us had been willing to shell out the $5 for the ad. Nowadays, you probably can do this for free on Craigslist or through Facebook.</p>