How the hell do Wifey and I move everything we own from NYC to California?

If you can afford it, hire movers.

Or sell everything and start anew. Isn't that what the West is for?

Look who's talking.

adam otm

I've moved partway across the country a couple times (longest distance was Denver to Massachusetts), although I'm guessing I didn't have as much stuff as you both have. I donated a lot of stuff to thrift stores (get a receipt for handy tax credit) so I would have fewer boxes. Both times I hired movers, and both times I was really glad I did. Key thing: if you can be flexible with your pickup and dropoff dates, that alone will usually reduce the price enough to make it seem more affordable. I'd recommend calling at least five places to compare prices and services--all have varying degrees of protection for your stuff, ways of packing it into the truck etc. and you want to keep in mind any special treatment you might need. (Like in my last move from Denver, I lived on the second floor of a house with a really fancy curved wooden stair railing and for my landlord's peace of mind I had to have it in writing that the movers would wrap this so as not to damage it.) Get them to give you a quote over the phone and hold that until you get back to confirm. The cheapest isn't always the best. Pack any valuable/important stuff in the car and drive yourselves to CA--do you have friends at various places you can stay with for the night? Anyway, hope this helps. Good luck.

we used AMF. It worked out well for us.

Talk to your insurance agent to see if there's any insurance you need to take out or if your existing coverage is good enough.

and if it makes you feel better, moving from nyc to cali will be easier than the other way around!

http://www.upack.com was good for us, though be warned that if you aren't very careful about how you load the thing up, it'll all come avalanching down the minute you loosen the barrier in the cab. A nice midway-point between hiring movers and U-Hauling, anyhow.

I think its funny that you record collectors can flippantly suggest we 'leave everything behind' and start over - what do I do, just toss the entire roomful of LPs, CDs and tapes into the trash and start over with Vandals and Mojave 3 records?

Can you ship the CDs/vinyl ahead of you (to a mate already out there, say), and ask them to hang on to them til you get there?

if you hire a mover, GET INSURANCE. my old boss had her life shipped out from DC to palo alto and had EVERYTHING SHE OWNED crushed in a truck - all with no insurance. pretty shit out of luck if something like that happens and you dont prepare for it.