How do you prepare for moving when you don't know where you're moving to?

Question

I am graduating from a good university with an BA and a BS this year. We will be leaving town because with the plethora of grads around here the job market is tight. I have to look elsewhere (out of state) for work.

I know where I *want* to go, but there is no guarantee someone there will hire me. So all I have is two general regions of the US where I will be applying for work (Pacific Northwest and New England).

I have three kids in school and pets, I can't just pick up and leave with a moment's notice. I can't even look at schools, homes or anything until I know where I will be hired! We live in university family housing, so I have to be moved out by two weeks after graduation.

How do you prepare for a major family move when you have no clue where you're going?

Answer 1

Start with boxes and the stuff you don't use often. Go ahead and go through things to get rid of. Leaving only your clothes and things you do use everyday. Box up pictures, books, movies etc..

Answer 2

Start getting rid of stuff you don't need now. Old clothes, old toys, broken projects that you were going to get to "some day", etc, anything that you can pitch, donate, or sell now should go. Anything that you think you can't get rid of, but may not be able to move just now, will have to go into storage. This might be into a friend's or family member's garage, basement, etc, or into a commercial storage facility. Line up the friend or family now, if you go that route. If you go the commercial route, check their availability now. Hopefully you can rent something 2-3 months before you move, and pack it full in that time frame. If rental storage is really tight in your area, you may have to rent 4-6 months early. That's OK - you can still keep putting things in there now.

Make a list of all the utilities, etc. that have to be turned off - phones, newspapers, gas, electric, water, and so on. List their phone numbers, name, account #s, so that when the time comes, you'll have this at hand.

Make a list of all the places you'll have to register for a change of address - life insurance policies, investments, loans, credit cards, car insurance, whatever. Again, get phone #s, account #s, and anything else you'll need.

Get copies the kids school records, so that when you go to the new location, you can send it ahead to the new school if you transfer during the school year. If you move in the summer, you will have it when you register at the new school. Ditto for the pets vet records.

Get copies of your medical records if you can, or ask if your local doctors, dentists, optometrists, etc. can forward copies to the new location. When the time comes near, ask for prescriptions for 90 days supply of any prescription meds you may be on. This will get you there, and keep you supplied while you settle in, find new doctors, dentists, and pharmacies. If there's time, get any necessary medical or dental work done now, so that there's no rush to find a dentist right away when you arrive.

If you're moving yourself and renting a truck to haul everything, try to guess how much stuff you need to get there, get settled, and get by until you can come back for the rest. Estimate out how big the moving truck will be. Contact the truck rental agency and see what's available, and then go up 1-2 truck sizes from that. You'll probably need the room, and if by some miracle you don't, you can empty some of the stuff from the storage locker or grandma's garage.

Collect all of this information and put it in a folder or binder, and keep it organized. You will probably want to make copies of everything, and have a backup copy of this. If you lose the folder, you'll have to do it all over again.

When you actually move - each person should have an overnight bag packed with basics to survive for 2-3 days - a change of clothes, 2-3 pair of socks, underwear, t-shirts, etc, a towel, toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, soap, shampoo, etc. If you hire someone to move your stuff, you may not see it for a day or 3 once you arrive. The same thing goes for the pets. You'll need to be able to feed and water them during the move process. Get a couple of gallon jugs of water to take along.

Pack one or two boxes with essentials that you'll open first when you get to the new place. These boxes will have 2-3 rolls of toilet paper, your medicine cabinet staples, a couple of rolls of paper towels, paper plates and plastic silverware, maybe some canned food AND a can opener, plus whatever else you can think of. Don't forget pet supplies, too! Basically, you want to be able to cover the minimum functionality when you get there.

Answer 3

If you can rent a storage building, then rent one. Put all your decorations, summer clothes (it's almost over), anything unecessary in the building. That way, when you move, you will only have to move the necessities.