5Movers- The Moving BlogThe Smart Way to Move-Great Moving Tips and Free Moving Advice

Since the beginning of known history, mankind has been on the move! The earliest known humans were nomads going from place to place in search of food and shelter. It was a mindless sort of move because we never took anything with us, just moved! A little later, we became a bit smarter and we would take with us something we thought was important, but, we would only move what we could carry in our hands and still later we realized that we can move something by carrying it on our backs! I can’t say we were very smart at the time, but we were learning new things everyday and remembering them. Little by little, mankind was learning about possessions and what kinds of possessions were important to us. So when we moved from one place to another, we had to decide what we were going to take with us. Sounds sort of familiar, doesn’t it

As we progressed, we began to learn about fire and other things that made life better, but it was only when we learned about taming animals to serve us -like dogs, camels and horses and someone unknown invented the wheel and the wagon that we really moved forward and were able to move long distance and not just move local or close by.

At some point mankind discovered the benefits of living in a community and we started to develop villages, towns and cities and mankind discovered a whole new way of living with new rules. We didn’t need to keep moving and wandering. There were new rules in this new way of life. We didn’t live outdoors anymore. We lived in tents or huts. Sometimes things would change and we would be forced to relocate, so we would move to a new location and start all over again, but we would move with us all of the things we needed and wanted. Think about how stressful that would be.

Yes, we learned about possessions and belongings. They were no longer things we wanted or needed just for the moment, but things we wanted with us always.

When an entire community would move, everyone would share in the work of packing and disassembling of large items lets say like the tents and we would load everything onto our animals and wagons.  When we got to our new location we would reassemble everything and store everything where we wanted it to be. Humans would be looking for how to move with as little pressure or stress as possible.

Later on, we found new ways that let us all move farther and go to new places and see new things and sometimes bring the back to where we came from. So not only did we need to move things, but we also needed to store them, sometimes we even needed long term or short term storage.

If something was being moved far away like on a ship, we needed to figure out how to professionally pack these things and how to store them properly so they wouldn’t be damaged!

Doesn’t this all sound just like us? Maybe we don’t have to move nowadays because for the same reasons, but they aren’t really so different. We move locally because we want to stay in the same area and we found a really nice house or apartment. We want our kids to stay in the same schools or we just like it here! Maybe were moving a long distance because we got a new job or we like the weather. Maybe we are retiring or were going away to college or maybe we just need a change of scenery to start all over.

The reason we move is not necessarily important, but in today’s world, we all have many belongings we want and need to move with us, so we rely on moving professionals to help us plan our moves from the beginning to the end. We all want good, professional and reliable moving services. We want to be sure we are getting the most for our money\(That’s sure different from our ancestors; they didn’t have to worry about money back then. Most of all we want to know that our

possessions and belongings will make it safely from our old location to our new one. We want to be sure that everything will be handled with care by reliable and professional movers that have our interests at heart and will make our move stress free.

• If that’s what you are looking for, you have come to the right place. At 5MOVERS.COM, you will find only the best and most reliable moving companies in America! Every moving company has been prescreened to meet 5MOVERS high standards. Every one of our affiliated movers has the professional knowhow to make your local move or long distance move a positive experience for you. All of the moving companies are licensed, bonded and insured, meeting all state and federal regulations. Each moving company has highly trained and experienced moving professionals to guide you through every step of your move and make you move a positive experience.

A good community that you would consider moving to needs to offer good schools, employment close by, lots of activities for you and your children, low crime rates and affordable housing. The way things are today, moving to a community that will help you stretch every dollar is a big advantage. Moving to a community that is showing population and economic growth tells us something about its future. It will be the kind of place to put down your roots. These are communities that would be great for singles, families and for senior citizens.

How do we know when a community is an affordable location to move to?  That’s simple.  An affordable community will have low prices for high quality homes. It will offer employment opportunities as well as high income for you. It will have low taxes, but offer the many services you would want and expect. Also, prices for basic needs will be low, but high quality. There will be activities geared to all ages close by and at reasonable prices.

A recent article discussed 25 of the best communities-towns and mall cities- in the country, with affordable homes and economic growth. Each of the towns and cities offer exactly what you would be looking for. These are exactly the locations you would probably be interested in moving to!

Here is a list of the 25 communities, average housing prices and average yearly family incomes.

 Location                 Avg. Housing Prices      Avg. Income     

 Deerfield Beach, FL          $67,000              $56,519

 Lafayette, IN                     $82,210              $60,643

 San Antonio, TX               $78,627              $55,958

 Deltona, FL                        $80,473              $56,907

 Spring, TX                         $112,062             $75,412

 Glendale, AZ                   $105,000             $68,099

 Avondale, AZ                  $110,100             $70,672

 Bolingbrook, IL                $155,000             $96,792

 Fishers, IN                        $174,296             $108,086

 Des Moines, IA               $100,000             $60,900

 Cedar Rapids, IA            $120,500             $71,466

 Spring Valley, NV           $135,000             $77,244

 Warner Robins, GA      $110,000             $62,592

 Wichita, KS                     $115,138             $64,889

 Dale City, VA                  $163,000             $90,719

 Lincoln, NE                    $125,000             $67,613

 Overland Park, KS         $200,000             $107,240

 Joliet, IL                           $152,000             $77,214

 Huntsville, AL                 $140,000             $68,755

 Murfreesboro, TN         $141,000             $68,620

 O’Fallon, MO                  $172,250             $82,868

 Rogers, AR                       $124,483             $59,658

 Fargo, ND                        $144,802             $69,142

 Springdale, AR                $115,951             $55,210

Washington, NJ              $204,450             $94,398

As you see, these are diverse communities. Some are small cities or are suburbs to major cities. Each has much to offer and are great places for you to think about moving to!

Today’s Senior Citizens are a much different breed and it’s probably because they are much more active than generations past. This generation, which includes the Baby Boomers, is highly educated. A large part of this generation includes many professionals and business people as well as educators. This is the self made generation. Many of this generation were self employed and made their own way in the world. These are not people content with just sitting home and passing the time. There needs and requirements are varied and unique. In fact, many of these people probably don’t even see themselves as Senior Citizens! They enjoy travel and are very active. They are looking for intellectual stimulation. However, they also require having the services needed for an aging population, even if they don’t want to admit this to themselves.

Since this is an active generation, they are moving to or interested in living in areas that offer what they want and what they need. Very often these are the people that settled suburbia after World War 2. They moved from the cities to the suburbs to chase the American Dream and were home owners for many years. Now as their children have grown and they find themselves with big houses in the suburbs they are no longer interested in, they are both moving back to the cities or moving to communities that offer them smaller homes and something different, more geared to their present needs. Very often they are looking for a better climate after living in the cold weather many years.

What are some of the considerations that the seniors of today should think about when they are planning to move?

 First and foremost, like everyone else in today’s economy, seniors when they move are looking to save money and stretch it our as long as possible. Many seniors took a big hit over the last couple of years. Since they no longer are working, they are trying very hard to make ends meet on a fixed income. They want to stretch their money as long and far as possible. Since this generation is highly educated, they are very savvy about this.

Secondly, they are looking for nice places to live, sometimes near family and sometimes in a place they always dreamed about retiring to such as Florida or the Sun Belt. They might like the idea of living in a community built around a golf course or in town with people just like them with similar interests.

One state that has become popular is North Carolina. Many “northerners” have retired there over the past few years. 

Third, they want places where there are things to do either in the community or close by. They don’t want to live in isolated areas.

Forth, they are very keen on maintaining their independence, so good public transport will be important to them. They will want to be close to major shopping areas. Many seniors will have cars, so they will make use of them and be able to travel in the area.

Remember that this is a generation of very active people and will be looking for lots of activities both physical and intellectual.

Everyone thinking about moving with their families asks themselves many questions. One of the biggest questions has to be where should we move or where would be a great place to live?

 If you are thinking about or moving locally, then you may be looking for a better or larger home, maybe in a nicer neighborhood fairly close to where you are living now. You might have plenty of time to look around and find that perfect place you were dreaming about!

However, if you are thinking about or planning a long distance move for yourself and your family, then it’s not so easy to just go and visit different locations and you will have lots to consider. 

You will be looking for a community where you and your children will feel comfortable, happy and above all safe! Is employment a major concern?  If you will be looking for employment, you will want to live where there are jobs! What about health? That’s important too since we all want to enjoy our health.

Since it’s not possible to go and visit towns and cities all over the country, this will be of interest to you!

A recent article published on Yahoo and Sponsored by CNNMONEY discussed the best localities to live in. The article put an emphasis on small cities or towns. These are all localities with populations of 50,000 to 300,000 people. The factors taken into account in this study included job opportunities available, fiscal strength, the level of education available in the school systems, low crime rates, health care, family activities available, and all of the other factors that would make a town or a small city a great place to live.

The top rated town in America according to this report is Eden Prairie, Minnesota.  Eden Prairie has a population of about 64,000 and a low unemployment rate of 5.1%.  There are lots of jobs readily available, a very low crime rate and plenty for kids to do!

Rated Second is Colombia/Ellicott City, Maryland with its population of 155,000 and a low unemployment rate of 5.2%. It boasts on of the most vibrant economies in the country combined with wonderful services and an excellent school system.

Here is the list of the top 100 communities and how they ranked.

If you are planning to move with your family, these are all great locations you would want to consider.  Each town and small city has lots to offer to meet your needs and your family’s needs.

What is more important for good and wholesome family life than communities that offer jobs, reasonably prices homes, stability and a good school system for your children? As you can see these towns and small cities are scattered throughout the country. What was interesting about this report was that each of these locations was physically visited to get the feeling and the flavor of each town and small city. So if you are thinking about moving or planning to move, these are some of the really great places in America to consider for your move.

Another year has passed and our country is another year older and wiser. America isn’t just a country, but it’s also an ideal. There is no other place like it in the world. America is the one place in the world where everyone was able to throw off the chains of where they came from and enjoy true freedom! It truly is a melting pot of all of her citizens, where we are each able to maintain what is special about our backgrounds, but come together as one nation!

For many of us it is a special family day. We get together to watch the fireworks and have a great barbeque.  That’s what we do in our family! We love breaking out the hotdogs and steaks. It’s one of the few times that at least 3 generations of the family can get together.

This past decade, the first of the 21^st century has been very eventful for our country. Much has happened and much has changed here and around the world, some for the good and some not so great. We have had terrorist attacks here in our own country and have seen great suffering in parts of the world.  The one thing is that America is still here and is the strongest and greatest nation on the face of the earth.

I was thinking about what all this means and what independence means not only in the big picture of our country, but for all of us on an individual basis. I know it hasn’t been an easy time the past few years. There’s been a lot of economic upheaval and really, none of us were really prepared for it.  As opportunities have closed in some parts of the country, new ones have opened up in others. This means that lots of folks have been moving, sometimes fairly close by and sometimes clear across the country. Our kids go off to college and start to lead their own lives. That’s certainly a kind of independence. Plenty of us can think back and remember when it was our turn to start out on our own. It wasn’t easy at the beginning, but somehow we pulled through, right?

Her e in the moving industry and at 5Movers in particular, we help people gain their independence everyday! We help families and individuals relocate. We help them do this is a simple manner that helps them make good and educated decisions about the future.

All of us here at 5Movers want to wish you and your families a great July Fourth and a great Independence Day for our country.

Nowadays there are many types of moving companies and moving services available to the public in America for local and long distance moves. Each of us wants to make a good and educated decision when it comes to spending all of that money for moving. Each of us has our own specific needs. A college student moving into or out of their dorm rooms certainly has different needs that a senior citizen moving to an assisted care facility! Of course, there are a budget issues and schedules that need to be met as well as different moving services that we will want to consider for our moves.

When we gather information about different moving companies and moving services we are suddenly flooded with phone calls and information. It’s so easy to get lost when you are on information overload. Most important of all is deciphering all of that information and putting everything into practical terms that you can understand.

The first step in moving is always advanced planning. Make a list or inventory of ALL of the items in your possession.  At this stage of the game, it’s worth listing it all and then deleting items along the way. Go room by room listing each item and if you want make a “guesstimate” of how many boxes you will need for each room. (Don’t worry about being exact with this, since the point of it is to give you a general idea.) I always recommend doing this in a notebook and in pencil, so that it will easy for you to make changes along the way and keep track of it all.)

Once you have created an inventory with a general box count, you will need to sit down and take a look at it. This will be the” big picture” for your move and help you see the smaller parts of the puzzle! With this list you will be able to get an idea of how labor intensive your move will be and help you to decide what kind of moving services would be of interest you! There are quite a few out there!

Here is a list and a general description of the most popular moving services available for moving in the United States.

Full Service Deluxe Moving Companies-These are the large and well known moving companies. They offer full service moving packages. This means that they do all of the labor for you including packing and unpacking all of your boxes. Their prices will already include all packing materials.

Standard Moving Companies-These are companies that might not be as well known. They offer many different options for moving depending on what moving services you are looking for or might need. These companies can offer large discounts based on your inventory and how labor and material intensive your move will be. They can also supply packing materials for an additional charge.

U Load We Drive Moving Companies-Here you are responsible for everything: packing boxes, preparing your furniture, loading the truck and unloading the truck. The only thing you won’t need to do is drive the truck! You are responsible for all packing materials at your own expense.

Truck Rental Companies- You rent the truck and equipment you need, do all of the packing, driving, loading and unloading. You will be paying for everything, including the gas.

Remember that all moving companies must be licensed, bonded and insured, meeting all federal and state requirements for operating as moving companies and moving services. It’s also important to note that all moving companies will base their prices on the space needed (in cubic feet) for your belongings, weight of your shipment, additional services required and the distance of your move. (For a local move it will be based on an hourly rate.)

One popular addition for U Load We Drive and Truck Rental moves is moving labor. There are companies that will supply moving labor to assist you with your packing and unpacking or loading and unloading needs. This will of course be at an additional charge above the cost of the moving services fees.

Now that we know what the different moving services are, it’s time to think about what you need, what you want, what you can afford and which moving services you want to explore?   Do you want to be able to compare the different moving services to each other? Do you want to compare the prices of the different movers and moving services to each other? Which of them do you want to compare?

The simplest way to research any subject is on the internet. It will save lots of time and the expense of making lots of telephone calls. You can research each moving service on many websites. The internet is also the best way to get free moving quotes for all of the different moving services. Let the movers run after you! Let them tell you what they have to offer and send you free moving quotes to your email. There are also moving companies and moving services that offer “in house” moving quotes and moving estimates. It’s important to remember that these quotes are estimates. If on your moving day there will be additional services required of you have more belongings that is shown on your inventory, it will cost you move. If you have a U Pack move and use more space, it will cost more.

Now that you have all of these moving quotes, you want to be able to compare them and make a good decision for you move. It’s important to compare each of the moving services to each other. See what each moving company and moving service is offering you.  Which service is offering you what you want or can afford?  

I always recommend printing all of the free quotes. It will make your life much easier when you can sit down and really look at them and not on the computer screen. Separate the quotes according to the specific moving service they are for. This way you can easily compare the quotes from each of the moving services.

Remember, READ THE FINE PRINT! A vague quote of any kind should be considered suspicious. If you are promised something by a moving company or moving service, make sure it is written on the quote. If it isn’t on the quote, it will be as if it doesn’t exist.  A quote with lots of fine print is always going to be preferable to anything vague. You can always ask the movers any questions about that and it’s always preferable to having a bad surprise later on your moving day.

One other item that will help you decipher a free moving quote is a moving dictionary or glossary of moving terms. As in any industry, it’s very important to know the terminology to understand what you are reading and what you are actually being offered. There are many websites that have good glossaries for moving.

Now you are ready to make a decision about your move. You have all the information necessary to make a good and educated decision.

Here is one last piece of advice that I always offer to customers. Find out from any of the companies that you are in contact with what their cancelation policies are and what you need to do if you need to cancel and how you need to do it. This will tell you a lot about the integrity of the companies you are speaking with. A Company that will make this difficult for you is a company that you really don’t want to do business with. Also, remember you can always consult with the moving specialist or consultant at your moving company or moving service and they will always give you their best advice.

Moving with children is never an easy. As a general rule, the older your kids are, the more difficult it is to move! It’s hard for kids to move. I remember when I was a kid. My family moved twice. The first time we moved was from the city out to the suburbs. I can’t say that I remember it well, since I was little. However, when I was about 8 or 9 we moved again. We didn’t move that far, but we moved to a new area and a brand new house. The neighborhood we were living in was nice, but my brother and I really didn’t have many friends there, so we were sort of looking forward to living where there were lots of kids our age!

 Even though we were young, our parents made a point of keeping us involved. They took us lots of times to see the new house. It was MUCH bigger than the old one and we each would have our own room! We went often to see the house while it was being built so we got to know the area and we also got to meet kids from the neighborhood. We saw it was really going to be great to move. We were very lucky and we even got to stay in our old school, so we didn’t lose any friends, just got more! We were really happy about that.

I’ll never forget the day we moved! We got on the school bus at our old house and at the end of the day the bus dropped us off at our new one!! When we left the old house, everything was still in its place and when we got to the new one, everything was in place! You would never have known we just moved in!  All our new friends were there waiting for us and we couldn’t wait to go out with them and play. We were really lucky and this was a very smooth move for us!

However, it’s not always like that. When a family moves a long distance, kids need to readjust. Very often, they aren’t happy about the move at all! If you move long distance during the school year, you can be sure that it’s going to be a difficult time for your kids. It’s really hard for kids to make a change during the school year, which is why most long distance family moves take place during the summer vacation. It gives your kids the time to get adjusted, meet new kids, find out about the new neighborhood, and find out from other kids about their new schools. This can make the move smooth for them and stress free. Some families prefer to send the kids away to camp during the move. They feel that this will make the transition easier for them. I always found that the most important thing of all is to have your kids involved in the move!

I remember a family that moved to my neighborhood with older kids. They moved from a small city in the Midwest to a big east coast metropolitan area. It was really hard for them at the beginning. It was a whole new world for them. It was a whole new way of life. At first everyone laughed at their accents! Then little by little they settled in. We were able to help out. Show them around. Help them meet people. I know it really helped them to have someone to be with. In the end, they were all very happy there.

So, if you are moving and you have kids, it’s important to remember that they are part of the move. Keep them involved. Make sure that they can get settled in as quickly as possible. Try and help them to make contacts before the move. If you keep your kids happy, you will all survive the move!

When Senior Citizens move, they have special needs and usually need extra help moving. As we advance in age, we all realize that there are things we can longer do or no longer wish to do!  If you have someone close to you that is a senior citizen, please take this into account. If you are a Senior Citizen or you are helping anyone that is a senior in the moving process, it’s important to think in advance and plan the move properly. Will you be packing the boxes? Is there any special packing or handling needed? What would you like to do yourself and what would you like or expect the movers to do for you? Are there any special needs involved?

Our research shows that many seniors move as many as 4 or 5 times from the age of 65 and up. In fact, the research shows that senior citizens often move more frequently that the rest of the population.

Moving is not just a physical experience, but also an emotional one and can be traumatic. Many new senior citizens are recently retired and might be downsizing from a home they have lived in for many years, moving away from a familiar location to somewhere new. It might be an exciting change, but not an easy adjustment.

Seniors often move to be in good weather, but far from their loved ones or old friends! The next move might be back home to be close to family. Another move might be to an assisted living facility.

Each move will be different and need that special touch and caring that only can come from a mover that is experienced in helping senior citizens move. A great way to help seniors in a local or a long distance move, is to help them get free moving quotes for moving.

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5MOVERS has the largest network of licensed, bonded and insured moving companies in America. Each company has been screened by 5MOVERS as being a qualified moving company. Every company in the 5MOVERS network is reviewed monthly and ANY company that is found not up to 5MOVERS high standards is deleted from our network.

Our goal is 100% customer satisfaction. We encourage feedback from every customer about every phase of their move. Each customer has a moving specialist or consultant that is with them every step of the way from planning the move until the customer is settled in their new residence. The moving specialists will provide a detailed free moving quote to the customer, based on their inventory.

Every company in the 5MOVERS network is a specialist in local moves and long distance moves who knows the area where the customer is moving from and moving to. The 5MOVERS company will create a detailed inventory along with the customer and will be very flexible allowing customers to make changes in their inventory until just about the last minute.  The moving consultant will go over every detail with the customer so that nothing will be left to chance or the last minute. This will create a stress free and pressure free moving experience.

Each customer will have in advance any and all contact information for their dispatcher, driver and the 24/7 customer service contact information for maximum co-ordination and customer satisfaction.

The 5MOVERS network includes full service nationwide moving companies, local moving companies, you pack we drive moving companies, moving truck rental companies, auto transport companies, moving labor companies and storage companies.

At 5MOVERS we connect the customer with the mover that will provide the service that they want and at affordable prices.  Customers interested in comparing different moving companies and moving services are connected with highly rated, reliable and professional companies providing the moving services they are interested in for free and no obligation moving quotes.

5 MOVERS is offering a very special deal for you. If you are looking to move the smart way, the take advantage of our special 300 lbs. for FREE offer. That’s right! 300 Lbs. for free for your move! You might also qualift for free moving boxes! Call and find out if you qualify!! Call 347-534-0880 for more information.