Have you ever picked up your life and moved?

[Haven]

We have all moved in life, but how many of you have moved across country, or to another region? I have officially made the decision to move south and I just feel absolutely overwhelmed. With the warming trend we are going through, Ohio is just gray and cold half the year, with no snow, just black skies, dead plants and rain and mud. I am just absolutely sick of it and the cabin fever that comes along with it half the year.

Have you ever moved from a homestead with acreage, outbuilding, animals, etc? Right now I just keep thinking about everything that needs to be done, and sold, the tractor, the animals, small repairs to get the property ready to show, garage sale, not to mention finding a job and selling this place.

I feel so overwhelmed right now just thinking about such a huge life change.

How did you handle making a big move to a whole new region or culture? Selling? Listing? Animals? Jobs?

[hercsmama]

We're in the middle of this very thing right now.
We are going from south Texas to Nebraska.
It's alot, and yes, very overwhelming. My way of coping is by making lists. I have about 10 right now, and I just keep scratching things off as we go.
We sold all the animals before we listed this place. With the exception of the cats and dogs that are going with us.
Cleared out the shed and barn, prepacked everything we could, including some furniture. That way the house looks even bigger than it's 3000 sq.ft. , painted, had a home inspection and made all needed repairs.
Then we listed it. Waiting for the right buyer now.
It's alot like I said, but one thing at a time is the only way to get it done.
Good luck!

I forgot to add, we are heading to dh's hometown. He's a plumber so works not hard for him to find.
But he has been making calls and introducing himself to a couple places. Also, we hired a realtor in the area and
she's been great at helping us find a place.
The local paper for the area your thinking of going to is a great resource for job and real estate information as well.

[simi-steading]

Yep.. sure have.. .

We moved from Illinois, renting a house on a 100 acre hog farm to othe middle of the burbs here in the DC area..

We didn't have the money at the time , but as time went by, money kept flowing in.. like it was meant to happen... That was our biggest fear... money..

We were worried about my wife finding a job, but got on the first interview she went on.. Was hired that day.. Still at the same place 8 years later..

I've moved around pretty much all my life being an Air Force brat. My dad was being stationed somewhere new every couple years.. From TX, to MI, to German, and a lot of places in between... I guess I've gotten used to it...

And here we are again.. Bought a farm and getting ready to move from the big city of DC back out to the country in the middle of nowhere in the foothills the appalachian's.....

This time we have the money, but after we move, just because of the area, we'll be making no where near the amount of money we do now... So that's a fear, but I know we can adjust...

We have a MASSIVE amount of things to get done in both places, and even though it's a year and a half before we can move, I fear it's still not enough time..

All you can do is suck it up and dive in, and know and believe everything will be fine....

Living outside your comfort level is pretty scary, but if you set your mind to the fact you will get it done, you will, and then afterwards you'll even wonder why you were worried.

[emdeengee]

We have moved long distances often because of my husband's work. It was also a case of starting off as apartment homesteaders and slowly moving upwards to city townhouse rental, suburban house rental, buying suburban house, buying land, building homestead etc.

Often we did not want to move but we always looked upon it as an adventure. Some places were much better than others but I think that you are only ever as happy as you make up your mind to be.

The only way not to feel overwhelmed is to make lists. Start on them and each time you cross things off you not only feel accomplished but as though you are really moving forward.

The first step in any moving process is to get rid of all garbage and items you have no intention of taking with you. This instantly makes it much clearer as to what you have to pack and helps in the repair process and that of showing the place.

And don't wait to the last to pack. I always only kept the minimum of everything out (prepared like we were going on a camping trip and had to carry our gear) so had lots of leisurely time to pack and clean. The whole place was always ready to go a month before we had to leave.

[mnn2501]

Have you ever picked up your life and moved?

4 times, I can't imagine people who stay in one place all their life.

[CaliannG]

~smiles~ Have done so several times. The last time was 4 years ago, moving from Colorado to Texas with 6 goats, 20 chickens, 3 LARGE dogs, 3 cats, and 2 parrots.....

...and a partridge in a pear tree.

A bit scary? Yes. But I have moved a LOT in my life. You will suddenly get a real feel for the things that are necessary and those that are not.

My advice is to sell absolutely everything that can be replaced with money. As in, your couch may be easily replaced with money. Grandma's corner hutch that used to house her pies when you were a kid probably cannot be replaced with money, because its value is that it was Grandma's...not its use as a corner hutch for your collection of porcelain frogs now.

So go through your house and sell off everything that can be replaced with money. The cost of living is a bit cheaper down here than in Ohio, so you will be able to replace those items for less expense than you could do there. They will bring a higher price there as well.

Good luck!

[simi-steading]

My wife moved twice in her life before she met me... once with her family across the street, and once in with her ex a few miles from her family home.. That was a 40 something year period...

Since she met me, she has moved 5 times in 10 years... going on the 6th.. She's learned a lot about packing and making lists

[Haven]

I have lived in Pittsburgh and Detroit and other close places. Back then I was never so settled, on such a large place with so much here to sell, 4 cars, tractor, plow, animals, etc. I think that is where is it overwhelming to start. I don't shop much, so I dont have a lot of "junk" per say. I refuse to do an auction for home goods, because people lose their arse on auctions in this area.

Have you guys always sold off all your large furniture pieces? I remember the last time I moved and how fast that huge moving truck seemed to fill right up. I hate to sell off large dollar items, then have to rebuy them at a loss once I move. Right now it's looking like this could be a year or longer process.

[simi-steading]

I've not had much to worry about moving furniture or selling it. I think mostly because I moved so much and never settled down I never had much to worry about... Very few pices, and what I had was cheaper stuff..

This time we do have a lot we need to get sold since it all won't fit in the new place. We also have a lot of good expensive furniture we're taking.. Our living room and bedroom furniture we had custom built, all solid hardwood.. so NO WAY would we sell it.. We'd take a huge loss.. It's heirloom type furniture..

We plan to hold a really huge moving sale this year... Lots of advertising weeks before, and spend a 3 day weekend doing it... I just hope we can get it all sold, and get a fair price for what we do need to sell.

This time the selling part will be new for me...

[pancho]

I have picked up my life and moved with only the clothes on my back.
I would not advise doing this.
Take time to think it out.
Sometimes it is much cheaper and easier to sell something rather than move it.

[agmantoo]

I have moved a number of times. Took the wife and kids with me. My difference was I always had a job at the other end. My longest move was ~12,000 miles. Sell everything is the best advice I can give if you are going more that 500 miles. I would move now if the wife would agree.

[Haven]

Pancho, my father did that years ago...just walked away in a divorce and had it all auctioned just to get it over with fast. He is still kicking himself to this day. That 150 acre farm he had is worth obscene amounts of cash today.

[fantasymaker]

Usually you make a few back and forth visits before the actual move. You can move a lot of stuff cheap on those trips.
A U-Haul truck or trailer costs a bunch to rent one way but if your coming back to the same place you can get them at very low daily rates, just check to see if there is a milage charge.
I had a friend buy a pickup for just that reason and had everything there he could BEFORE he moved.
Used to be you could mail books cheaper than haul them.

[simi-steading]

I recently bought a 14' trailer just because of the place we just bought, and so we can move all our stuff over time... Heading there tomorrow and taking the trailer.. .

Taking along some furniture and stove we can use out there.. taking some food stocks, and once we are there will load up the trailer and haul off a lot of trash to the dump...

If you do plan to make trips back and forth, you might consider looking for a good deal on a trailer.. .The one I bought a couple weeks ago I could turn around now and sell for a fair amount more than I paid for it.. SO, if you can find a good deal on a trailer, buy it, then once you get moved sell it. Just shop well so you won't lose money on it.

[pancho]

Originally Posted by Haven

Pancho, my father did that years ago...just walked away in a divorce and had it all auctioned just to get it over with fast. He is still kicking himself to this day. That 150 acre farm he had is worth obscene amounts of cash today.

That was the reason I walked away also.
I signed a blank sheet of paper and told them to do what ever they wanted.
Probably the best thing I have ever done.

[Shrek]

During my career my employer assigned me in much the same way military personnel get duty assignments as for a major part of my time with the contractor I was required to move to be on site support staff.

Ten years of paying rent on an apartment in the city where our home base was that I only got to come back to for a couple weeks every 5 months or so was a real pain and when I got the chance to trade field support for riding a desk at the home plant I jumped at the opportunity and bought my home within 8 miles of where I grew up and this is where I intend to die.

[where I want to]

Yes- and everytime I went through a period of depression. But after the period of whining, came the period of exploring, then the period of settling in, then the period of satisfaction. Now the only move I'm going to do is into a grave or a nursing home if I can't squirm out of it. Like my name says, I'm where I want to be. Rooted.

For some people there are places where they are most at home- for others the search is more important. Others are not happy no matter where they are. Takes flexibility to figure out what you want. And fear of change can be paralyzing.

[ErinP]

Before we bought our place, we packed up our world about a dozen times and moved at least a couple hundred miles, but even still, only on the High Plains.

[mnn2501]

Originally Posted by Haven

Have you guys always sold off all your large furniture pieces?

Actually I have always moved my furniture, but the furniture is getting older now and if were were going to move I would probably sell it and buy new.

We use moves to get rid of smaller stuff--always have at least one garage sale while we're packing.

[Trisha in WA]

We sold our house and moved all our animals (cows, horses, chickens (though I got rid of all but 6 of them), rabbits, dogs) across the state. It was horribly stressful and I never want to do it again! It took a few trips because of all the animals and all our stuff, but I wouldn't have gotten rid of the large animals for anything and the small ones fit fine in the front of the trailer.
Also, we did have a big yard sale to get rid of anything we really didn't want any more. That was a LOT of stuff. We still had too much stuff when we moved though.

Good luck!