OT: moving expenses

We've been living in a rental house for some months while our house is
remodeled (it's all gone quite well overall, knock wood). Pretty soon
we're going to face the move back in, and I am *not* looking forward to
the moving process itself, which was pretty horrible on the way out (we
did it ourselves). When I try to find out the rough cost of a move, all
the so-called "calculators" I find are really things that want my name
and address for a bid. So does anyone have a ballpark idea of what a
short move within a big city tends to cost, for a family of five? I
*think* we have a fairly average amount of stuff for folks in our
situation, maybe a tad less, but it sure seems like a lot. We don't
need to move appliances, but we did move nearly all our furniture.

Caledonia...

How about a ballpark estimate of between $150-$450 an hour?

It's hard to figure out if this includes 2

The things that drive the cost of moving (I've done this far too many
times, but never again!) are:

Ericka Kammerer...

Costs can vary hugely, so I'm not sure I can help you
there. My advice would be to call a handful of reputable folks
and have them come in and give you a written, guaranteed estimate
(movers are notorious for not sticking to their estimates).
If you are looking to save money, another option is to
move the small stuff yourself and bring someone in to move the
furniture. We did that last time around. It was still grueling,
but not as bad as moving the heavy stuff yourself too, and a lot
cheaper.

Best wishes,
Ericka

dragonlady...

My experience hss been that it varies tremendously from area to area.

Also, are you talking about paying for packing, or just moving? If you
are buying all your own boxes and doing your own packing, but want help
with the heavy lifting. it will be cheaper.

I think it's worth it to pay for the heavy lifting part, at least.