Difference between local and long distance relocation

Moving is hard however you approach it. While, as Americans, we do it quite a lot, it never really became an easy, stress-free experience. However, it did, by the necessity of the market, become the main job of many companies that made it their job to help you out and do the moves for you. Therefore, there are a lot of moving companies in all of the cities of our country that will be ready to help you out.

However, as you no doubt know, their services vary. It can depend on the moving company itself (its own perceived value of their work), various services offered, etc. To know if some prices are fair and realistic, you need to know what to expect from different kind of services provided by professional movers. And you should begin with the most important difference between them all: the difference between local and long distance relocation.

What is the difference between local and long distance relocation?

Now, if you are reading this while already preparing for a move, searching for a suitable home, hiring movers Coral Gables, reading up on packing guides, etc, you might not want to go around the bush with this. And you are right, we should cut to the chase. Short, TLDR answer to the question of what is the difference between local and long distance relocation is that (generally) everything over 400miles is considered a long distance aka interstate move.

So there you have it. If you were searching for the most straightforward answer, this is it. If your new home is more then 400 miles away, it will be considered a long-distance move or a long-distance haul. However, it is important to say that this is less like a rule, more like a guideline. In other words, it will depend on your particular situation. If the target is less then 400 miles away, but it will take your movers a whole day to transport your valued possesions because of insufficient rural roads, well then you can think about it as more of a long distance relocation. The same thing goes for the local moves. Yes, it generally means under 400 miles, but few exceptions can be found.

Most important here is to remember that it will vary from situation to situation and that it is better to consult your movers. Furthermore, more movers you consult the better. They might have different perspectives, and some might suit you better than the others.

With all of that being said, let us now move forward and analyze both terms and their meanings with greater detail. So, before you decide it is time to be moving to Florida, let’s see if that will be a long or a local move for you!

Local move

A local move is generally simpler and cheaper than a long-distance move. It includes moving short distances (same city or town nearby) and is therefore priced and evaluated differently. What do we mean by that? Cost of a local move is calculated by the amount of time that it is needed to the move to be done. This, of course, doesn’t mean that size is absolutely unimportant, but generally speaking, you can expect to pay hourly rates

. This is a great way to save up some money if you are ready for some DIY solutions. How so? Well, think about it. Just how much time can you save if you pack all your stuff before movers arrive and get you going on your move to Miami? Decluttering, making sure all access is optimal, helping yourself or having your friends help… All those things can shorten the time professional movers need for your relocation drastically.

Furthermore, you can do it by yourself completely, though we will give more attention to this later.

Long-distance move

However, if your move to Miami is happening from a little bit more far away, then you will pay differently then with the local moves. For a long-distance move, moving quotes Miami is calculated in a different way. This mostly means that the cost will be calculated by the amount of weight your possessions have.

The size will be established before the move and will find itself written down on the bill of lading.  You can often roughly calculate the price that you will pay by measuring the weight of your stuff.

Honest movers

To both kinds of moves, you can expect additional fees. These are meant for special services your movers provide. However, be sure that you are clear with your movers about those services. Any respectable mover will make sure you understand what are the amounts of money you should be ready to pay.

While on the topic, we should mention how absolutely critical it is to pick honest, accountable, licensed. Such movers will most likely have:

• Presentable website – While this may seem superficial, it is quite a good sign when a company invested time and money into making their website clean and informative. This means they value the opinions of their customers. Therefore, they are dependent on their customers and their good name, meaning that they probably have a very good connection to their customers.
• Responsive staff – Staff needs to be ready to answer all of your questions and pressing concerns. For example, “what is a difference between local and long distance relocation” is a legitimate question to ask them. You should expect a polite and straightforward answer.
• Good reviews – happy previous customers are probably going to mean good things for you too. Check Yelp and other such reviewing tools, such as Google reviews for example. They will help you see how they act during the move themselves. And of course, do not forget to leave a review after the job is done yourself…

Conclusion and DYI advice

In conclusion, 400 miles mark and time/weight pricing make up the difference between local and long distance relocation. We hope you have an easy relocation and wish you a happy journey!