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Before we ever moved to Arizona, there was a whole lot of work that needed to be done on the Jersey side in preparation for what would be the biggest change of our lives. This column hasn't yet touched on what went on way back when, but rest assured it was a wild time, and not in a good way. If you are contemplating a move like this, now would be a good time to pay close attention. And if you are a fellow transplant who's already been there and done that, consider this a little walk down memory lane--if the memories aren't too painful.
Six weeks before our kids and I moved out, my husband Jimmie had driven across the country on his own to look for housing and a job (not necessarily in that order), leaving me to do...well...everything else. This may work well for some people but it's not something I would recommend. I hate to sound like a whiner but it was much harder than I expected and if I knew then what I know now, I would have made him stay and share in all of the pre-move tasks to be done.
First of all, packing up a lifetime's worth of stuff is an enormous undertaking. Since this was not an employer-sponsored move, we were paying our own way. And the main thing to remember about cross-country movers is that they charge you by the pound, not by the hour. Let me say that one more time. They charge by the pound, not by the hour. Are you listening?!
Because of this policy, you don't want to pay to move something and then decide to toss it afterwards. Time and again I have seen people throw out or give away junk that they've just paid hard-earned dollars to haul across the continent. So before anything makes the cut, you have to ask yourself if you're really going to need this thing on the other side. This endless separation of the chaff from the wheat is very therapeutic yet emotionally exhausting. By the last few boxes, when your stamina has been maxed out, you simply throw the stuff in with one eye closed, and hope for the best.
This is also a good reason to pack as much as possible yourself and not have the movers pack for you. Because they will grab everything in sight and wrap it, from empty tissue boxes to half-chewed dog bones. There is no discrimination about what to keep. And why would there be? They are the ones being paid by the pound!
But buying "full replacement value" insurance is absolutely a good idea. This is as opposed to the "weight value" insurance which comes up with a dollar value for all your stuff and divides it by the total weight. In this scenario anything that breaks but is lightweight would be covered for very little. My moving representative explained to me that you never know what could happen en route. The truck could drive off a bridge in a rainstorm. I appreciated the tip, though as I imagined all of our wordly goods (not to mention our driver) plunging into a raging river, I kind of wished she hadn't painted such a vivid picture.
But then I probably wouldn't have purchased the insurance.
Besides packing, my to-do list included dozens of not so little tasks like selling the house, arranging for the moving company, holding a massive garage sale to dispose of all the stuff we wouldn't be taking, and transferring insurance, bank accounts, school and medical records, etc. etc. This was in addition to doing all of the usual mom—now single mom—stuff, all while operating on the level of a blubbering mass of hysteria who was saying good-bye to everyone near and dear. Again, it's usually better to share these not so fun times with your partner.
And if that isn't reason enough to make an ensemble move, here's another one: many employers look somewhat skeptically at transplants in search of work, and even more so when the rest of their family remains behind. Perhaps potential bosses think it is too tempting for an unattached employee to up and leave the job if they change their mind about the whole relocation plan. Arizona is a very transient area and it’s a valid concern.
However, the powers that be see the applicant as much more of a permanent fixture once the rest of the family arrives. Registering your car immediately in your new state and slapping on those license plates is also a good idea, even though Arizona is a state which calculates car registrations based not on the weight but on the value of the car, thus sending most newbies into sticker shock the first time they pay this fee.
But let's face it, if you were an employer interviewing a potential new hire, who would you rather sign up? The applicant who looks like he could take flight at any time: one with a family two-thousand miles away, living in an extended stay motel, and whose license plates—and possibly heart—still reside in another state? Or the one whose family is here sweating it out together, in a stable residence, and putting considerable money into the coffers of the Arizona DMV?
In the newbie vs. native competition for jobs, anything that makes you look more like the latter is a plus.
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