Coordinating Your Move from SF or NY
So, your company is staying remote and you're ready to move out of SF or NY. Now what?
Over the last year, Americans have fled major cities like San Francisco and New York City in droves, lured by the possibility of remote work and a better life in small cities or suburbs. After all, in recent years the cost of living in these coastal cities has increased at a rate that far outpaces salary growth, leaving residents hoping to buy property to slip farther and farther away from their dreams.
Savvy would-be home-buyers are using their new ability to work from home to leave those cities and relocate to far more affordable inland areas that still offer a great quality of life and access to culture, like Raleigh and Charlotte. But planning a move of that scale is no joke—that’s why we’ve compiled tips for coordinating your move to greener pastures.
Timing Selling a House and Buying or Building
If you own property in the city you’re moving from, the timing of your sale is a major consideration—especially when cost considerations come into play. If you’re selling a home and buying another existing home, you may be able to utilize options like a sale contingency in which your home purchase isn’t finalized until your existing house sells, though this can be tough to negotiate in a hot market. Sellers, on the other hand, can consider an option like a sale with a rent-back agreement, in which the seller pays rent to the buyer for a prearranged period of time until the seller moves.
If you’re building a new home, you’ll want to carefully assess your market with the help of a real estate agent to estimate how quickly your house will sell so that you can time it with your move-in day. If you work with Atmos to build a custom home, your Atmos contact will keep you updated on the timeline (generally eight months) so that you have a solid sense of when to put your home on the market.
Shipping Your Possessions
There’s no denying it—a long-distance move is both complex and costly. Moves from New York City or San Francisco to an area like Raleigh will rarely cost less than $5,000 if you work with movers and can cost significantly more if you have a lot to ship, like if you had a large home filled with the furniture you want to keep. But there are strategies that will help you keep costs down while keeping your belongings safe.
First of all, it’s worth carefully considering what you’d like to bring. If you’ve been tempted to follow the Mari Kondo method, this is the time to give it a try. If you’ve been sleeping on a mattress from your first post-college apartment, you may be better off leaving it behind and upgrading once you reach a more permanent landing place. Larger items like couches and tables will eat up your moving budget fast, so carefully consider if they’ll match the decor you’re planning for your new home. You may even be able to sell some items and put the proceeds toward more suitable items.
Once you’ve pared down what you need, consider your options. Even if you aren’t moving far, a traditional moving company is the simplest and safest choice for your belongings—and when it’s a long-distance move, the appeal only goes up. Just be sure you carefully read the fine print, check out reviews, and understand what is and isn’t included.
Other options include renting a truck and moving yourself, which you should only do if you’re comfortable driving a large vehicle for a long distance and feel confident that you can fit your belongings in a reasonably sized vehicle. This can get tricky if you’re also trying to transport a vehicle.
Finally, you can consider using a containerized shipping company like U-Pack or Pods, which provides a container that you fill with your items that is picked up, driven to your new location, and dropped off. A number of variations of this model are available. However, the cost savings comes with more labor and an increased risk of damaging your belongings.
There’s no doubt about it, moving can be a pain—but it will all be worth it once you arrive at your newly purchased or newly built dream home.
Ready to start the building process? Get in touch today!
