(Updated September 17, 2024)
Most people would rate moving cross country at the top of their personal stress-o-meter. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With smart planning and early preparation, you can reduce the stress to a manageable level and even, dare we say, have some fun along the way.
That’s what this guide to moving cross country is all about — giving you the best tips and tricks to help you tackle your move, including a moving cross country checklist that details what you need to do before, during, and after the big day.
Your Cross-Country Moving Checklist
Whether you’re moving across country for a job, lower cost of living, family, better quality of life, or a combination of reasons, you want to give yourself the best start possible in your new home. If you’re moving with children, you want your kids to see this as a positive move. Your best bet for achieving these goals is to understand that the moving process starts long before you pack that first box.
This cross-country moving checklist assumes you start early and take the steps chronologically as the move date nears.
3 to 4 Months Before Your Move
You don’t need to have a specific moving date or even know many details before you start. Once you know you’re moving, it’s time to start getting ready: organizing your belongings, researching and talking to moving services, and ensuring that all the details and logistics are lined up well before you need to make your move.
- Shop around for moving companies: You’ll want to get estimates from at least three reputable companies that are experienced with moving cross country. Read user reviews and testimonials before shopping to avoid wasting energy contacting movers who aren’t worth your time.
- Decide what’s coming with you: Decide what you’d like to keep, what you’ll donate, and what you’ll likely get rid of. You might be tempted to keep things you don’t need, but remember that this will mean more work packing and unpacking. Consider holding a garage sale or use a tool like Facebook Marketplace to offload unneeded items and recoup some costs.
- Organize your moving-related documents: There’s a lot to keep track of when you’re moving cross country. We suggest keeping your moving information and contracts handy in a portable filing box or accordian folder. In addition to paper copies, you’ll want to keep digital documents, which can provide faster access on the go. Choose the system you’re most comfortable with, whether it’s special email folders, Dropbox, Google, or Microsoft Office.
1 to 2 Months Before Your Move
At six to eight weeks before moving cross country, it’s time to lock in moving services, buy supplies, and take care of the personal details of relocating.
- Finalize your movers: You have the best chance of getting a good price and your preferred moving day by booking your movers several weeks in advance. Keep in mind that movers get booked up during their busy season, typically the summer months when kids are out of school.
- Purchase moving supplies: If you plan to do the packing yourself, you’ll need good-quality boxes, packing tape and materials like bubble wrap and newspaper to pack your items. Make sure you have at least two pairs of good scissors to avoid having a meltdown when you can’t find your only pair. You’ll also want painter’s tape and black medium-point Sharpies for labeling. Consider creating multiple supply kits by putting packing essentials in a small basket or clear box that you can put in different rooms.
- Change your address: Set up mail forwarding with the USPS and follow up with your bank, credit card companies, and other service providers so they have your new address. This detailed moving checklist for personal documents will help you avoid having something important slip through the cracks.
- Give your landlord written notice: If you rent, notify your landlord of your intent to move out without renewing your lease. Most leases require a 30- or 60-day advance notice to avoid penalties.
- Register for school: If you have kids, now is the time to research schools and find out what you need to do to transfer their transcripts and ensure they’re registered.
3 to 4 Weeks Before Your Move
If you haven’t already started packing, it’s time to get rolling! To avoid stress, don’t wait until the last minute. Remember, however long you think it will take to pack your home, it will likely take longer.
Start with non-essentials: Focus first on packing out-of-season clothes, decorative items, and books — basically anything you don’t need to function day-to-day. If you’re not using it, pack it.
Manage utilities: Schedule disconnection for water, power, and internet, allowing a few days after your planned move date. You’ll also want to ensure utilities will be turned on and in your name starting before or on the move-in date of your new home.
Make a new-home essentials box: Use a box for packing up key household essentials that you’ll want handy on your first day in your new home. You want to be able to sleep, take a shower, drink coffee, and cook simple meals without having to search for these items in a mountain of boxes. Think: bedding, coffee and coffee maker (consider instant or a pour-over funnel with filters), shower curtain and towels, and a frying pan, saucepan, good knife, and small supply of cutlery.
1 to 2 Weeks Before Your Move
You should finish your main packing one week before the move so that nothing unnecessary is outside a box. At this stage, you need to focus on confirming your arrangements for moving cross country and getting your current apartment or house ready for whoever follows after you.
Clean your home: Wipe down counters, cabinets, and appliances. Clean the bathrooms, floors, and carpets. Better yet, pay a cleaning service to do this!
Repair any damage: If you’re renting, now’s the time to fix things like nail holes in your wall.
Pack your travel bags: Make sure you’ll have what you need on your cross-country trip, remembering that the weather could be vastly different in your new town than the one you’re leaving. You’ll want to include enough clothes both for the actual trip and for at least a few days after your arrival. Even if you’re flying instead of driving across the country, you’ll want extra clothes in case your boxes arrive after you, or if you just don’t have much time for unpacking right away. In addition to clothes, include toiletries, electronics like your laptop and extra phone chargers, and a few favorite toys and games if you have children.
Confirm moving details: Check in with your movers to confirm dates and timing on both ends of the move, services to be provided, and any special parking instructions for your location. Check with utilities to confirm cancellations and new connections.
Start clearing out food: To avoid throwing away a bunch of food, use up what’s in your freezer, fridge, and pantry. Other than spices, it doesn’t make sense to move nonperishable food. Some movers will even make it easy to donate nonperishable food to charity by packing it up and delivering it to a local food pantry for you for free!
Moving Day
Everything for your adventure moving cross country has built up to this day. While there will be lots of balls to juggle, moving day should run as smoothly as possible if you've done your homework, prepared well, and hired the right help.
Final walkthrough: Check all closets, cabinets, drawers, and additional spaces to make sure you’re not forgetting something.
Pack last-minute items: Remove bedding and add it to a box along with any other items that still need to be moved. Finish packing your essentials box for your new home.
Disconnect internet/cable: Return any equipment that’s not yours.
Guide your movers:
Walk through the house to give your movers an overview of what you want loaded and what stays.
Point out all fragile boxes and furniture to ensure special care is taken with packing and loading these.
Make sure movers have your new residence address and confirm when your belongings should be delivered.
After loading, do a last walk-through before carefully checking and signing off on the inventory list and bill of lading.
Take photographs: Create a record of your empty place to prove it’s in the required move-out condition.
Pack your car: Finish packing your essentials and travel luggage into your car.
After Your Move
Congrats on getting to your new home safely! Now it’s time to get settled in:
- Unpack your essentials: These include bathroom and bedroom items and anything you need for cooking. Avoid the temptation to unpack everything all at once.
- Check for damage: Inspect all your furniture for damage. Open all fragile boxes to make sure everything is intact. Take pictures to document any damage.
- Get to know the neighborhood: Figure out when trash pickup comes, and check your utilities to ensure they’re all in your name.
- Organize your belongings: Plan your home's new layout over the following days and weeks and unpack based on priority.
- Make your home your own: Hang pictures, display family photos, and put decorative items in place to make you and your family feel at home.
Long-Distance Moving Cost Estimates
One of the most important cross country moving tips is to understand how the pricing works and take the time to get multiple quotes.
The cost of moving across country varies based mainly on distance and the amount of belongings being moved. The average moving costs in the U.S. hover around $4,600, but can go as high as $15,000 or more.* If you’re using professional movers, the cost of a cross-country move will depend on these main factors:
- Distance moved: For your initial cross country moving estimate you’ll need the address you’re moving from and your destination city. Your estimate will usually be good for within a 50-mile radius.
- Weight: You can get a ballpark estimate based on the number of bedrooms you’ll be moving. To get a more accurate weight estimate, a mover will ask for details on furnishings in each room.
- Packing services: If you want help with packing, most professional movers will provide this at an additional cost.
- Seasonality: Summer is the peak moving season, which means your move may cost more than if you moved in the fall or winter.
These tables give you a general idea of average costs for moving cross country for different routes and home sizes.
Average cross-country moving costs based on popular routes | |
Trip | Average Cost* |
West to East Coast | $4,200 to $10,500 |
Midwest to Southwest | $5,800 to $8,100 |
Northeast to Southeast | $5,500 to $7,800 |
Northwest to Southeast | $7,300 to $10,300 |
Average cross-country moving costs based on home size | |
Bedrooms | Average Cost* |
Studio | $700 to $2,000 |
One Bedroom | $1,200 to $3,000 |
Two Bedroom | $1,800 to $7,000 |
Three bedroom | $2,300 to $8,600 |
Four bedroom | $4,200 to $15,000 |
Source: Forbes.com
Obviously, there’s a big swing in costs due to home size, how you choose to move, and the incidentals surrounding your move.
But let’s say you take a more DIY approach.
A typical rental truck for moving cross country will range from $1,200 to $2,100, depending on the distance, according to Angi. At a minimum, you’ll also need to factor in the cost of fuel and moving supplies. Unless you have strong and willing friends or family to help load your furniture and boxes, you’ll probably also need to hire a pair of movers to assist in loading and unloading your truck. That will cost about $200 for a 2-hour minimum on each side of your move, totalling at least $400.
So while you may be able to save money by doing your move yourself, it’s important to add up all the expected costs ahead of time and weigh the financial aspects against the time, effort, and potential stress involved in a DIY cross-country move.
Tips for Moving Across the Country
A checklist, while indispensable for moving, is just a checklist. Having a plan of attack for your move is essential, which means understanding some best practices that might save you major headaches during the move.
Some tips for moving across the country include:
How to Save Money
- Do it yourself: There are different levels of DIY when it comes to moving. There’s the complete DIY approach as outlined above, which involves renting a huge truck, driving it across the country, and doing all the packing/unpacking and loading/unloading yourself. Some of the most expensive moving parts involve hiring people to handle the labor. Blending a DIY approach (packing, driving your car) while working with a full-service moving company can help you cut some costs while not taking on the entire burden of moving yourself.
- Consider moving during off-season: Moving between October and April can help you avoid the peak season and potentially save some costs. But don’t wait too long — winter weather can make moving much more difficult, including lengthy delays en route because of snow.
- Downsize: Donate or sell the stuff you don’t need or may prefer to replace. Use sites like Facebook Marketplace or eBay, and hold a garage sale to unload unneeded items. The more you sell or leave, the less you have to carry with you.
- Shop wisely for movers: There’s no shortage of moving companies in the U.S., so there will be plenty of competition. Don’t settle for a single quote — get at least three estimates, and do it well before the moving date. That said, don’t automatically pick the lowest quote, and be wary of estimates that are significantly lower, as that could end up costing you more in the end due to damages or unexpected costs.
How to Save Time
- Hire full-service movers: DIY is a hard way to go, especially if you have to drive a truck more than a few hundred miles. End-to-end movers, on the other hand, can help you take a lot of the stress and strain off your shoulders. While they cost more, it saves you from handling the most difficult parts of moving cross country yourself, giving you more time and energy to focus on the myriad of details involved in leaving your home and getting settled in new digs across the country.
- Get detailed estimates: You’d be surprised at how easy it can be to get moving estimates on the phone. Although many long distance movers will require an in-home estimate, there are still highly rated moving companies that provide a reliable estimate with a detailed phone walk-through. If you’re tech savvy, you can even do a virtual walk-through and home inventory with a specialized moving app.
How To Choose the Best Cross-Country Movers
If you decide to hire a full-service mover, you’ll want to get the best bang for your budget. This is why you start shopping early — to give yourself time to find that moving partner. You can also prepare yourself with these detailed answers to Frequently Asked Questions about moving cross country.
When you’re vetting movers make sure to consider these important factors:
- Licensing: Cross-country movers should be licensed through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which provides a booklet that spells out the regulations protecting consumers moving across state lines (interstate moves).
- Experience and reputation: Look for movers that specialize in long distance moves, have many years in business, and are highly rated by third-party sources such as Moving.com, Forbes Advisor, Trust Pilot, U.S. News & World Report.
- Transparent pricing: A moving partner shouldn’t have a lot of hidden fees or provide vague quotes. Make sure you understand every part of the estimate before booking.
- Standard and additional services: Make sure the provider offers all the services you want. Some only provide the basics like loading, transport, and unloading, while others will include all the moving materials, packing/unpacking and assembly/disassembly services, and more.
- Evaluate movers during the quote process: A great way to identify a good (or not-so-good) mover is to evaluate how well they communicate with you. Do they promptly return phone calls and emails? Are they transparent about pricing and package deals? Is their customer service friendly and engaging? If the answer is no to any of these questions, this could be a red flag.
FAQs For Moving Cross Country
How much does a cross-country move cost?
Cross-country moving averages between $4,600 to $15,000, depending on the distance, size of your home, and the moving services required.
What is the cheapest month to move cross country?
October through April are generally the cheapest months to move cross country because there is higher demand from May through September.
What is the most time-effective way to move across the country?
Hiring a professional, full-service moving company will save you time and headaches.
When should I book a moving company?
It’s best to book a moving company 8 to 12 weeks before your move.
How can I take my car on my cross-country move?
If you’re using full-service movers you have the option of driving your own car across the country or paying to have it shipped. If you’re driving, you have the benefit of carrying more essentials with you than if you fly. Plus, if you have extra time, you can turn the trip into an adventure and chance to visit relatives and friends, as well as see parts of our diverse country. Taking time to enjoy the trip with planned stops and overnight stays along the way will also make all that driving easier on you.
If you don’t have the luxury of time or have multiple vehicles that need to be transported to your new location, you can use a car shipping service. Just as with movers, you should get at least three quotes on shipping your vehicle before deciding which one best fits your needs and budget.
Should I Get Moving Insurance?
The short answer is yes, you should consider getting additional moving insurance, especially when you’re moving long distance. Even with the best moving companies, accidents do happen on long cross country trips.
The insurance that comes standard with a professional move typically only covers a fraction of the replacement cost if your belongings are lost or damaged. The standard insurance package provided usually covers just $.60 per pound per damaged article, up to $20,000. To put that in perspective, if your dining room table that weighs 200 pounds is damaged beyond repair, the mover would only be liable to pay $120.
The Antidote for Cross-Country Moving Stress
Moving cross country is inherently stressful, but you can significantly reduce the level of stress by following our checklist and moving tips, and hiring a highly rated moving company known for providing high-quality service for a fair price.
Colonial Van Lines professionals are well trained to provide full moving services customized to your needs — from furniture disassembly, protective wrapping, loading, transport, unloading, and reassembly to optional packing and unpacking services. Because of our commitment to high-quality customer service and moving support, U.S. News & World Report named us one of the top-rated long-distance moving companies in 2024.
If you’re ready to take the next step on your cross-country move, get a free quote from the pros at Colonial Van Lines.