With all the different neighborhoods in San Diego, there are plenty of reasons why you’d want to move from one spot to the other. You could be relocating for work, or perhaps you just feel like a change of pace.
Whatever the reason for your move, you can save yourself some money and stress by handling it properly. Here are five tips that will come in handy for your San Diego move.
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Time Your Move to Avoid Rush Hour
Rush hour can be unpleasant to downright nightmarish no matter where you are, but San Diego is right up there with Los Angeles when it comes to terrible traffic. If possible, aim to move everything during off-hours. If you choose a less popular time to move, you can also score a better deal when hiring movers or renting a truck.
What constitutes off-hours depends on where you’re driving. In many San Diego neighborhoods, the weekends, and Sundays in particular, are the best days to dodge traffic. That certainly wouldn’t be true of the beach neighborhoods, though, and in that case, you’d be better off moving in the afternoon or the late evening.
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Figure Out the Parking Situation in Advance
Parking can get dicey in many areas of San Diego, and the last thing you want to do is circle the block several times in a large moving truck while you try to read the various street signs. Before you set out, make sure you know where you’re going to park your vehicle.
Ideally, there will be enough space at your new home to park your vehicle at least temporarily while you unload. If you’ll be looking for street parking, do some research on which streets have more plentiful parking and if there are any parking restrictions, such as street sweeping.
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Use a Large-Enough Truck
If you’re just moving across the street, then you can get away with making multiple trips. But for any move from one neighborhood to another, it will be a major hassle to drive back and forth multiple times. Each trip just makes it more likely that you’re going to get stuck in traffic. Even without traffic, your move will take at least twice as long each time you add a trip.
Figure out how large of a truck you’re going to need based on how much you’re moving. If you’re not quite sure, size up just to be safe. It usually doesn’t cost that much more to rent a larger truck, making it well worth the money.
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Get People to Help
Whenever you’re moving anything large or heavy, you should have people helping you do it. Moving is difficult enough with multiple people involved, and doing it yourself only increases how stressful it is.
Hiring movers is one way to get your move completed as efficiently as possible. If you’re looking to keep costs down, you could always ask friends or family instead. San Diegans tend to be a friendly bunch, and if you offer to spring for pizza or tacos after the move’s done, you’ll probably have no shortage of volunteers.
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Put Together a Moving Checklist
It’s easy to forget things in the leadup to moving day, which is why a moving checklist is a must. After all, it wouldn’t be very enjoyable to arrive at your new home only to realize that you forgot to switch over your internet service or your power.
You can arrange your checklist in order of how far in advance you need to complete certain tasks. For example, you could list hiring your movers six weeks or more before moving day, calling utilities companies two weeks before moving day and so on.
More than anything, the keys to a successful move are organization and planning. Whether you’re moving just a few blocks from Point Loma to Ocean Beach, or you’re going all the way from La Mesa up to Carlsbad, sticking to the tips above will lead to a smoother, easier move.
