(Literally) Moving to Orlando

Josh Evans is a Realtor® with MovingtoOrlando.com For any help with Moving to Orlando, feel free to contact him at Josh@movingtoorlando.com

If you are at the beginning of your hunt for a new home, in the process of leasing a beautiful Central-Florida Condo, or possibly ‘Under Contract’ for a gorgeous four-bedroom with the lanai of your dreams – let us be the first to congratulate you. Welcome to the Magic of Orlando that we love so dearly at MovingtoOrlando.com.

Freighting in a Dedicated Section of a Trailer

With moves involving long-distances and forgiving schedules, this may be your best option. When utilizing mainstream providers of this service type, they will typically pick up your belongings from your home in a standard box truck. After they leave your home, they will bring your belongings to a transfer center or main hub where most providers will prepare your items to be freighted. This preparation includes dismantling of furniture, shrink wrapping & padding of fragile items, and sometimes palatizing smaller loads or moves. Your belongings are then transferred to a large freight trailer that will be sectioned off for individual loads and traveling to multiple homes on the same route. Once this truck leaves the hub, it will make various stops at receiving residences until it arrives at your new dwelling (typically giving you a 24-hour heads-up before arrival). Some providers offering this type of service include Colonial Van Lines, American Van Lines, and International Van Lines.

This option will require pre-planning and may not be suitable for quick & unexpected moves. If you choose to freight your belongings with a mainstream moving company, you are entrusting your worldly possessions with another party – so make sure your belongings are covered with their insurance, and up the ante, if it is feasible within your budget.

The ‘Full Service’ (Premium) option

If you are looking to relieve yourself of the stress of wrapping, boxing, packing, and loading, are looking to just leave it to the pros – or even better yet – your company is providing you with a moving stipend: this option is definitely for you. This service is typically offered by the same companies that provide standard freighting-by-section – like Colonial Van Lines, American Van Lines, and International Van Lines. These service providers will come into your home and meticulously pack everything for you. Wrapping fragile items, individually protecting your glassware and cookware, bagging your mattress, padding your furniture – and even ship your car with your belongings! This option does require a small amount of pre-planning; however, you are typically afforded the opportunity to have all of this done in advance of your move. Some providers offer storage services where you can opt to set a date for your belongings to arrive later-on. This may be appealing to those of you starting a new career with temporary housing.  

Now, this does come at a price (which is to be expected for any full-service product). However, that price may outweigh the time you may need for other things, like house hunting or starting a new job. We suggest doing heavy research on these companies and qualifying for this type of move. Weigh out how much you are willing to budget if you are relocating for work and entitled to a stipend for your relocation, and if sparing yourself the packing and moving stress is worth the premium to you. Remember – it is important to look through the contract to be sure you are covered with their insurance. You can never be too careful. Regardless – utilizing a ‘Full Service’ mover is a solid & stress-free way to relocate to Central Florida!

The ‘Shipping Container’ method

The ‘Shipping Container’ method shares some similarities with freighting – such as their pre-planning requirements, the lack of suitability for quick & unexpected moves, and the compatibility to those of you who are moving long-distances. If choosing this option, your selected provider will off-load a shipping container onto your property. You then have as much time as you require to fill the container with your belongings – as you are in control of setting a pickup appointment. Once you or your contracted packing and moving company (an option you may want to investigate) have finished loading your container, a truck will be arriving for your pickup appointment to retrieve the container. After your pickup, the container is then brought to a hub where it will be loaded onto a truck with other containers. These containers are then transported similarly to the freighting method. Once the container is dropped off at your new home, you again have as much time as you require to unload it prior to setting up a final pickup appointment.

The cost of this type of service is generally calculated by the following: the size of the container, the container use charge (billed like a storage unit – monthly), moving and transport fees (billed per-instance and according to fuel, mileage, and personnel fees), and if you so choose – storage (an additional benefit of this method). With the storage add-on, you have the option for your container to be stored for an extended period – or for a move that may not be taking place for weeks or months. Our research found that companies like ‘Pods’ and ‘U-Box’ by U-Haul tend to be the popular providers offering these services. One thing to keep in mind with this method is where you are moving to and from. This option may not be feasible if you have an HOA (plentiful in Orlando) restricting you from having a container on your property, or if you are moving into or out of an apartment or condominium with a parking lot.

The obligatory Moving Truck

This option is best for individuals under tight time constraints or that may be moving shorter distances or from within the state. If you are in a hurry to move, have limited time to wait for your belongings to arrive, or simply cannot pre-plan due to unforeseen circumstances – this may be the option for you. Not having to wait for a freight company to deliver your belongings is the attractive attribute of a rental truck – as you are the one in control of the departure & arrival – date and time. Some add-ons that you may be interested in with renting a truck include packing and unpacking services, loading and unloading services, as well as moving insurance offered by the various rental truck retailers. If you are moving with only yourself and a vehicle (or want a co-pilot to ride in the truck with you), you may also want to rent a towable auto-trailer for AWD vehicles or a dolly for a front/rear-wheel-drive vehicle. Providers that typically offer these services include U-Haul, Budget, and Penske. We also noticed that U-Haul had an intuitive way to select packing/unpacking and loading/unloading help within their ‘rental truck platform’.

Renting a truck is not for everyone though, as it requires a great deal of effort and rigor – especially if you are moving over a great distance. Albeit less-cost upfront than the options above for most circumstances – the savings can be relative. Some factors that could contribute to this are fuel charges, tolls, overnight stay expenses such as hotels and food – and not to mention the significant fatigue associated with driving an unfamiliar vehicle long-distance.

Final Thoughts

One of these four popular options will most likely fit your needs, however; we offer a final note of advice for your own researching endeavors – unless you are prepared to receive 30+ phone calls a day from moving companies, watch where you input your information on the web. Some companies may not look 3^rd party but are in fact a middleman who will give your information to multiple moving services (We found this out the hard way).

As always – feel free to contact us with all your questions on Moving to Orlando and the Magic of Disney!

[DISCLAIMER: The Service Providers listed above do not represent a professional relationship or endorsement of MovingtoOrlando.com or any associated entities.]