How much does it cost to move locally?

Moving day tipsJanuary 13, 2021

Are you planning to move soon, but you’re not sure how much it will cost to move locally? You’ve come to the right place! Our local movers will help you make an estimate and prepare for the move properly. To make sure that you make the right decision and hire appropriate movers, you will have to do thorough research. It is a process that will take time, which is why it’s best if you start it right away! To find out how much it will cost to move locally, keep on reading!

Decide on your own budget and plan accordingly

When you move, whether it’s locally or internationally, you’ll first need to decide on your budget. Think about how much money you want to spend, and how much you can afford to go over that number. Nova moving companies understand that planning the movie budget can be a very hard task. With so many things that you should take care of, it is easy to go overboard with your budget. That’s why weighing the pros and cons of each service is the key to having a successful move. 

cost to move locally
The first step to estimating how much it will cost to move locally, you have to decide on your budget.

How to stay organized?

You should also keep in mind that, during the move, you will very likely be confused and anxious from time to time. To help you handle these emotions you should make a list. That’s where you will be able to track all your finances, tasks that you have to do, and all of the important information. Make sure that you have that list on you at all times, so you can take a look at it whenever you become overwhelmed.

The cost to move locally differs from place to place

Moving prices will differ from town to town. The costs not only differ from place to place, they also depend on the variety of other things. If you can’t even roughly estimate how much your move would cost you can always use the moving calculator to help you. For example, in New York, it costs you roughly $270 to realize a local move for a one-bedroom apartment. To compare, in Houston, you would need a little bit more than $400 for one simple one-bedroom move. Meanwhile, Boston and San Francisco cost a little bit over 500$. As you can see, there are big differences depending on the place where you’re moving. Let’s stick to New York for now. If you wanted to relocate a one-bedroom apartment, you would need around $270, but if you wanted to move a two-bedroom apartment, more than $550. Four a four-bedroom apartment, you would need more than $1,000.

movers packing items
Local move costs differ from place to place, but they also depend on a variety of different factors.

Take a look at the hourly rates

You should not forget to look at the hourly rate. Many moving companies usually charge between 20 and $25 per hour. You should also take into account how many items you have, and how many movers you would like to hire. A moving company will be able to recommend the ideal number of movers to keep your price optimal. While optimizing, the time that they will spend packing you and moving your items will also be taken into consideration. For example, if two movers wanted to move a 2 bedroom apartment locally, they would need around four hours to move all the boxes from your apartments to the new one. Keep in mind that this doesn’t include packing services, which would roughly cost you around $300. As you can see, the move can  be hardly conducted for under 1000$.

Should you tip the movers and increase the cost to move locally?

You shouldn’t forget to add the proper tip for the movers. Whether you’re looking for movers that offer special kinds of services like military movers or last-minute movers, or you need someone to conduct a regular move, you should consider tipping the movers.  No one is obligated to tip the movers but it’s considered the norm. People usually tip movers around 10% of the total price of the move. If you want, you can tip them less or more, but keep in mind this additional cost.

Take insurance into account

Apart from the cost of the sole move and transportation, you should keep in mind that insurance is necessary even when it comes to a local move. Here area few things to remember about how the insurance affects the cost to move locally:

  • Your items can get damaged regardless of the length of the move, which can cause money loss down the road. Even if they are moved locally you should take into consideration the insurance price.
  • The insurance is usually calculated depending on the weight of the item. If your items are valuable, then you shouldn’t skip this step and bet on a chance.
  • The $0.60 cents per pound of an item is considered to be the released value protection, which means that it is the bare minimum that the insurance is going to cover.
  • If you have valuable items, then you should aim for full value protection, which will, if the movers damage your items, make the moving company replace your item or reimburse you for the current price of that item. That type of insurance costs more, of course.
  • There are more different types of insurance that you can get. 

    people packing fragile items
    Insurance is necessary even for local moves.

Cost to move locally usually grows with the quality of services

Keep in mind that you should only hire experienced movers. Send out a lot of free quotes and see which movers have reasonable, average prices, as well as good, organic reviews. Usually, when movers offer premium services, their prices also reflect the quality of their service. In order not to fall pray to hidden costs, read the contract thoroughly before signing it. That way, you’re sure that the price that you agreed on will be exactly the price that you are going to pay. All in all, the average cost of a local move won’t be less than $1000. If you need help figuring out the estimate, you can always give us a call. We’re more than happy to answer all of your questions and figure out how much it will cost to move locally!

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