relocation helpand advice

After a long stint of unemployment, I’ve just been offered a job in Plano, TX. Unfortunately the new employer is not offering much in terms of a relocation allowance, but a job is a job and it’s a start. I am now desperately trying to figure out the best way to make the move  (with my two adorable cats and whatever boxes I can fit) on a shoestring budget (trying to keep the budget below $1200).

 

Obvious suggestions

Fly, ship cats, ship boxes  -- Ideal but too expensive

Rent car, take cats and boxes  -- Anyone know  good one way rental agents?

Buy car, take cats and boxes, sell car -- Any bargain priced SUV’s ?

 

Any other suggestions?

 

 


 


if you know you will not need a car in your new location, rent Uhaul truck and move cats and boxes.  Return UHaul in TX.  


If you think you will need a car, I would probably fly with cats, ship boxes and get the car in Texas.  Might be cheaper and no need to transfer title and insurance from NJ to TX


Are PODS expensive? They seem like they would be perfect. Fill POD, fly with cats, POD arrives in driveway in Plano. Buy car when you get there. 


Uhaul rental will take up most if not all of your budget.  Rent a large SUV if it will fit your belongings.  Rent SUV at an off-airport location to reduce fees.


a few options to look into:


Pods, pack rat and u haul all have various sized store/ship units you can fill and ship. On each website you can get an estimate based on number of containers and distance.


U-ship or similar is a site that you can post your shipping needs and timeframe and get quotes. As an example, I posted a few pieces of furniture/boxes and did havea few offers to ship at about a dollar a mile. You can research a bit and see if anyone bites. Initially I had shippers wanting to do it for $800 and ended up with offers at about half that price. (We ended up just loading up a car, roof, etc since we had a person to bring as well). 


My thinking is if you don't need a car buying an SUV to transport your stuff and then selling it will be more of a hassle. Renting a Uhaul you will pay $1 per mile plus other fees.


I can't imagine you being able to live and work in Plano without a car -- I have relatives there and have visited all my life.  Only the other hand, your overall cost of living should be much lower compared with northern NJ....


Why would you sell the car? You'll need one in Plano.


weirdbeard said:
I can't imagine you being able to live and work in Plano without a car -- I have relatives there and have visited all my life.  Only the other hand, your overall cost of living should be much lower compared with northern NJ....

 This!  You might be able to live without a car around here, but I know very few places (if any) in Texas where that is realistic. 

However, I am not familiar with Plano, so maybe you know something I don't know(?)  What I do know is that it is a Dallas/Fort Worth - area suburb which doesn't sound like a place you could get along very well without a car.


That's a tough one.  One way rentals are quite expensive. As a former Texan I agree with the other posters that Plano without a car will be a challenge unless you are living directly next to your workplace and it is a supermarket.


Lease a new car and drive.  You will  need a car in plano and with a new job you can lease a car for under $200/month.  And if it does not fit, just ship whatever else you need the cheapest way possible.  Pack some snacks and take a case of water bottles.  roadside stops become expensive.  cheaper to just get a cup of ice wherever you stop and fill with water.  

Airfare and shipping will eat up a lot of the budget.   buying/selling a car can turn out to be an expensive proposition.  Sales tax is money you can't get back even if you sell the car.  plus it is not always that easy to sell a used car.  

U-Haul is very expensive for long  distance and then you need a car that can tow a trailer.  and if you have never driven a car with a trailer, you should not even think about that.  And if you went with one of their small trucks, they eat a lot of gas.  

And finally, it is not always just that easy to fly with pets.  Some pets do not react well to flying.  

Good luck,




Thanks for some creative ideas, never considered PODs or leasing a car, in between packing looking into those as options.

 I am getting some help from a relocation agent that I found online and have added 'next to super market' as one of my criteria. 



boxgrove said:
Thanks for some creative ideas, never considered PODs or leasing a car, in between packing looking into those as options.
 I am getting some help from a relocation agent that I found online and have added 'next to super market' as one of my criteria. 


Next to a supermarket in Plano area does not necessarily mean the same thing it does in our area.  In that area, they build massive developments which tend to be separated from stores/malls by multi-lane roads.  It's not the most pedestrian-friendly area.  You should also ask about the Frisco area, which is the first town north or Plano. 


yahooyahoo said:


boxgrove said:
Thanks for some creative ideas, never considered PODs or leasing a car, in between packing looking into those as options.
 I am getting some help from a relocation agent that I found online and have added 'next to super market' as one of my criteria. 
Next to a supermarket in Plano area does not necessarily mean the same thing it does in our area.  In that area, they build massive developments which tend to be separated from stores/malls by multi-lane roads.  It's not the most pedestrian-friendly area.  You should also ask about the Frisco area, which is the first town north or Plano. 

I agree. Bodegas or your local walking distance ShopRite and Stop and Shop are not that close. Texas is large, everything is relatively far away. 


I grew up in Texas and, except for a few locations in the downtowns of the major cities (if you work in same), I cannot imagine living there very long without a car.


Ditto on the car thing. We lived in Austin for a number of years and the heat and humidity are such that any time outdoors leaves you drenched. 


As a young child I lived in Denton (without AC) and my earliest memory is of my mother standing me in a Luke warm shower (the tap water doesn’t get cold in the summer) because she thought the heat was going to kill me. 


That and they do occasionally getting killing hale. 


You 1000% need a car in Plano.



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