What determines the cost of a local move?

As one would expect, local, cross-country or intrastate moves are classified differently and have different moving cost implications. Learn what constitutes a “local move” and what impacts the costs associated with moving locally.

The following is a guest post written by: Chief of Organized Living & NorthStar Moving Company Co-Founder Laura McHolm

Moving across town? Moving across a state? Which move is considered a “local move?”  This is a common topic of confusion. For most states, local moves are considered moves within the same state. However, there are some states, such as California, where only moves that are less than 100 miles are considered local moves.

I predict your next question is – why do I need to know? It’s because knowing whether your move is classified as a local, long distance or intrastate determines how expensive your move could be.

Once you have determined if your move is local, here are key factors that will determine the cost of your local move:

Factors that affect the price of local moves:

The cost for local moves is mostly based on the number of movers needed, the time it takes to move your belongings and the drive time between your old and new residence. Some other factors that affect price include:

• What is the size of your home?
• How much stuff do you have?
• How many boxes and other packing materials do you need?
• Have you already packed your belongings yourself?
• Can our truck park close to your home?
• Any hard to move items? Grand piano? Stairmaster? Giant penguin statue?
• How much packing and/or unpacking would you like your movers to do for you?

Best money saving tip

The best way to truly save on the cost of your local move is to choose a moving company based on their reputation. Make sure they have provided stellar service to their clients for years.

Laura McHolm is a home organization, moving & storage expert and co-founder of NorthStar Moving Company. NorthStar Moving Company is an award winning, “A+” rated company, which specializes in providing eco-luxury moving and storage services.   www.northstarmoving.com

Gustavo Gonzalez

Senior Manager, Content & Multimedia at Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. In his role he manages content strategy and execution across several platforms. He’s held other roles within the Marketing Department ranging from Previews & Product Development to the day to day management of the coldwellbanker.com redesign. Besides being a marketer, Gustavo is a filmmaker, musician and writer.