In a typical year, around 40 million Americans pack up all their belongings and move. For some, it’s a relatively local move into another house or apartment in the same state. For others, it’s a long-distance move to a new home in another state.
In either case, you must decide between moving options, like hiring a professional moving company or using a moving container. If you’re wondering whether hiring movers or using containers makes more sense, keep reading. We’ll break down the pros and cons to help you make an informed decision.
Moving Company Advantages
Hiring a moving company, such as Advanced Moving, offers a lot of advantages. Right at the top of the list is that they supply their own moving truck.
Depending on the moving service, some will even supply packing materials and pack the boxes for you. The movers handle all of that tedious and potentially back-straining lifting.
Knowing that you have moving services coming to handle some or all of the work can also limit the stress involved in a move. Given that people rate the stress of moving as worse than divorce, that’s not a benefit to take lightly.
Moving Company Disadvantages
Working with a moving company isn’t without its potential problems. Moving companies often book their services months in advance. That can make finding a moving service for a short-notice move difficult.
You also give up some control in terms of the timing of your move. If you book the movers for August 1st, they’ll show up that day whether you’re ready or not.
The movers decide how things go into the moving truck, rather than you. Although, that’s potentially an advantage given their experience. Pro movers are typically more expensive than other options, although that’s often offset by the advantages.
Moving Container Advantages
Moving containers offer their own advantages. They give you more control over the timing of your move, as you rent them on a monthly basis.
You control how things go into the container. A moving container is typically less expensive than full-blown professional movers.
Moving Container Disadvantages
With a moving container, securing all of the packing supplies and all of the packing itself are on you. Unfortunately, all of the heavy lifting will also fall on your shoulders.
You also need a place at your current home and destination for the container to go while you pack and unpack it.
Professional Moving or Containers: Choosing
Choosing between professional moving services or moving containers isn’t an obvious either-or decision. It’s about balancing needs and wants.
For those who can afford it and don’t mind ceding control over how things get packed into the truck, pro movers make sense. You also avoid issues like where the container will go.
For those with a very tight budget or very exacting standards about how things get loaded, a container might make more sense. You will have to deal with the space problem.
Looking for more moving tips? Check out the posts in our Home & Garden and Travel sections.
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