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Handling a Cross Country Move?
Tarin.n asks: "For the past 2 years, I have worked remotely from the East Coast for a Silicon Valley company. The company is now considering moving me to the west coast, so that I can be closer to their headquarters. I'm trying to make a list of questions to ask of the company as we discuss this transition, as well as a list of items to take care of personally for such a move. What experience have others on Slashdot had with a cross-country move? Specifically, what should I ask and watch out for?"
It all depends. I have moved from Austria to Australia with little more than a few bags and some stuff shipped after me and then from Australia to Canada with a full container with everything in it. The only thing we left behind was probably the car. The reason we did it is that shipping was paid for by the employer where as buying new stuff was not. More importantly buying a full house hold of stuff takes a lot of time and we did not want to bother with shopping. Packing it up was easy. manfred
Dont go for any of those deals where they load it onto a truck and carry to your location. A friend of mine working for Boeing had a car get *totaled* because they droped another car onto hers during the unloading process... 6 weeks after she last saw the car. Thats when it was scheduled to arrive, and boeing paid for a rental car for the entire time she was waiting for her car, and while she shopped for a new car, and didnt have to pay anything out of pocket save for her time and trouble. I have 7 other friends who got their cars moved, with time spans not less than 2 weeks, and one of these guys got his car back with a cracked windshield. His company also took care of him, but still.
The moral is I wont ever trust one of these companies with my car.
...and keep your receipts and remember to take the tax deduction!!!!
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
Too often people use the CPI (consumer price index)to compare two markets. While this is a good start it does not present the entire picture. I recently moved from Harrisburg PA to Tampa FL (3.3% higher CPI in Tampa) but reality is that I can afford to live in Tampa, but I will never build any real wealth as I could in Central PA.
From the BLS (http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpifaq.htm#Question_4)
Is the CPI a cost-of-living index?
"The CPI frequently is called a cost-of-living index, but it differs in important ways from a complete cost-of-living measure. BLS has for some time used a cost-of-living framework in making practical decisions about questions that arise in constructing the CPI. A cost-of-living index is a conceptual measurement goal, however, not a straightforward alternative to the CPI."
Don't forget IRS regulations. Their money to YOU is also THEIR deduction for business expenses, but the IRS has regulations regarding the minimum amount of time you remain employed with them, etc. I think it's 12 months, but could be mistaken.
HR departments are also aware of the statistics on failed relocations. They tend to fail within the first six months, they're more likely to fail with employees with fairly short time with the company (I think it's something like 30% among employees with less than 6 months at the company), etc.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. -- H L Mencken
I finally ended my excile and returned to Las Vegas last summer, with two more children and much more stuff than when it started.
#1. Don't use U-Haul. The web pages about disaster experiences aren't exagerations. Your "reservation" is issued automatically, without even a cursory check as to the availability of trucks. They finally found me one an entire day late--90 miles from where I should ahve received one. The average age of their fleet is significantly older than all of their competitors.
#2. Throw it away. Unless you're absolutely certain that you'll actually use it, toss it. Then do it again. Then toss everything, and only take out what you *really* need. Then throw a bunch more away.
#3. Don't use U-haul. Few people have had positive experiences with them., and the horror stories are common.
#4. Avoid U-haul at all costs.
#5. Be *entirely* packed and living out of suitcases and a couple of plates a full week before you leave. You *will* run over.
#6. Did I mention not to use U-haul?
#7. Film your old rental housing for when your former landlord comes up with "interesting" charges. Insist that the landlord do a final walkthrough with you--but the place needs to be empty for this.
#8. Most importantly, don't use U-haul.
#9. If using a rental truck and there are any mountains in your path, or even those little bumps that the easterners fancy to be mountains, you want a diesel and not a gas engine. The difference in fuel consumption is significant, but the diesels are much better on grades.
#10. Don't use U-haul.
#11. Consider alternate starting and stopping points. Rates are based upon the amount of trucks going each way. By going 60 miles further east to pick up a truck and overshooting Las Vegas for Orange county, I knocked more than a third off the rental price. Everyone was leaving my part of PA, whle everyone goes *to* Las Vegas, and everyone is fleeing California. There's a discount for bringing a truck *to* California, and a surcharge for leaving one in Vegas.
#12. Pay the damage waive ron the truck. Really. It's a dumb move on a car, but you're driving something big that's easy to bump and scratch. I'm, umm, well ahead of the game on this one. It also helps when the equipment malfunctions and damages itself; there's no issue of them charging you (On my previous move, the hitch failed on myU-haul trailer and rammed the truck, ruining much of the equipment on the tongue).
Now, for an unfortunate, sad, fact of life: Only uhaul rents large closed trailers one-way. This is why I ignored my past experience and used them last summer. What I *should* have done was rent a Penske truck and a U-haul trailer, slapped a hitch onto my van (which has Class IV towing), and moved it to the Penske at the house. There hav ebeen many reports of U-haul refusing to hand over trailers to those who show up in competitor's trucks, claiming that that model doesn't appear on their list of approved vehicles (5,000 pound towing capacity needed).
Aside from being over a day late, our u-haul broke down three (3) times. After a thousand miles, it threw the trailer off the hitch. According to the repairman who came out, the hitch was properly attached (besides, we *had* travelled 1,000 miles by then), and couldn't have come off unless the ball was undersized.
Then, coming over the first major downgrade on the Rockies, the transmission *selector*, not the transmission, broke, leaving me stuck in thrird gear. Massive damage to the brakes (completely smoked), and the truck sp0ent a week in a Uhaul depot waiting for a part (again, old trucks).
Once it was ready, it turned out to be massively overweight, and we had to rent a Penske to offload 5,000 lbs. With the U-haul and Penske approximately equally loaded, we attached the trailer to the Penske. Even with the trailer, it would blow past the U-haul, even uphill.
Finally, approaching Vegas, the uhaul started overheating. We ended up dumping it in Vegas, as it wouldn't have made it to Orange county, anyway.
hawk, who never wants to move again.
Depending on where on the east coast you live, chances are that you won't be able to find a place that costs the same as what you're paying now at any size. The only exception would be if you're living in New York, but if you're living in New York, the shock from the drop in population density will nearly kill you. Before you agree to this move, go out to the Bay Area and do some house hunting, and get a good feel for what things cost and what's available.
If you do decide to do the move, consider living some place like Millbrae. This won't work if your job is way down south, but if it's anywhere from about Mountain View north, it will work. The problem is that you're likely going to be stretched between two extremes. The South Bay and Penninsula are really nice for certain things - the restaurants there are by and large much better than what you'll get in San Francisco, for example. But there are a lot more available single women in San Francisco. Or, if you swing the other way, I probably don't need to tell you that being close to San Francisco has its benefits. So being in a location that lets you get to both places conveniently is good.
If your job has decent Caltrain access, consider living close to Caltrain. This gives you the option of avoiding the car commute. Caltrain won't always be faster than driving, but it's a lot more relaxing. It can also be a very social setting if your friends also commute by train.
As far as moving goes, make sure your company is going to pay for a moving van and for packing service on your end. Sell the junk that won't fit in your Silicon Valley apartment before you move - otherwise your apartment will be a zoo, because you probably won't have time to deal with the stuff on the other end. Freecycle is your friend.
If you're at all like me, you will find driving in the Bay Area a bit of a trial. It's congested, people tend not to have a good sense of humor about it, and there are driving styles from around the world (literally) competing for roadspace.
The geek quotient in Silicon Valley is unmatched. Things that geeks like (good restaurants, toys, bookstores) are plentiful. You probably won't find any plays based on the works of Dostoevsky playing in Palo Alto, though. Bicycling and rollerblading are good outdoor fun options, and they work pretty much year round. I've never lived anywhere where the bicycling was better than the Bay Area. Be aware, though, that there's a weird cultural antagonism between some Bay Area drivers and bicyclists, so you may get yelled at seemingly for no reason. Try not to take it personally, or it'll ruin your ride.
I lived in the Bay Area for over ten years. It's a lovely place, full of really cool people. I don't think I'll ever live there again, because it's too damned expensive, but if the economics work for you, it can be a lot of fun.
Good luck!
If your vehicle will pull a trailer (even cars can pull a small one) consider having a hitch (about 100-120 dollars) installed or putting one on yourself.
Trailer light wiring adapters are available that plug into your existing harness for about 30 bucks. You can then carry several hundred pounds (light trailer) or lots more depending on how big you choose to go. Your stuff will be with you, you can sell your trailer at your destination (they are always in demand), and you control the whole process while keeping more of your money.
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