How do you prepare for moving around the U.S.?

[Jei]

I'm just not too sure how I would properly move around the U.S. I'm applying for jobs all over the U.S. and hmmm, I've only been here for a couple years and have never moved before.

So maybe I look up craiglist, see the place close to where I'll end up working, apply to it long-distanced, ship all the junks there and move in. That's about all I can think of.

But usually, how would you know if the neighborhood you're moving in is going to be a good one? How's tranportation to your working place will be, or stuff like that? Where would you begin your research?

I'm currently in San Francisco. Some places I'm applying include studio in Seattle, Washington, LA, Texas and a few other cities.

I don't even know if I'll get any job any time soon >.> But wanna be ready.
Most my close friends at college were Japanese and Taiwanese. Most of them left the US and went home

[Necropolis]

Re: How do you prepare for moving around the U.S.?

A lot of states, and larger cities will have a tourist information number. They often have books and pamphlets about the area, driving conditions, neighborhoods and schools.

I would just google the cities you are looking at, and see if there is a 1-800 number for thier tourist information and see what they can provide you. You might be able to contact some reality companies as well for information for particular parts of the city, expected living costs, and information of that ilk.

I moved around quite a bit growing up, and we always called for that kind of info, and generally the cities are more than willing to mail it to you to help bring revenue into the city.

Hope that helped.

[Feba]

Re: How do you prepare for moving around the U.S.?

Well, Necro has a good idea, Tourist Info centers can be handy. You might also want to find forums (CL has fairly active forums) for certain areas, ask people what the ups and downs are. How's the weather, what're the restaurants like, stuff that interests you.

As for the actual move, it depends on how far you want to move. When my family moved growing up, we used trucks (grandpa works in construction, easy to get), or U-Hauls, longer distances would be harder to do though. It's up to you, if you feel you can drive that long, potentially back and forth. Might be easier to just use a moving company, or sell off everything you don't need (kitchenware, furniture, old clothes) and buy new things when you get there.

Another thing to do, if you're serious, is take a good look around the neighborhood before you move in. See what's in walking distance, how long it would take you to get to a drugstore in the middle of the night, if there's a 24hr diner. You could kinda do this with Google Earth, but it's a poor judge of depth, and if you move somewhere hilly, that can be very annoying.

You might also go to your library (Or Borders/Barnes and Noble, hell if they care) and flip through some of their books on vacations or other states. Find out what the general attitudes are like. People in one subdivision might be completely different from the one across the street.

[DakAttack]

Re: How do you prepare for moving around the U.S.?

You call a Century 21 or something similar in that city and ask them to show you houses in your price range. They can email or fax you pictures and other information. Once you've decided on your top picks you'll want to fly or drive out at least once to see them all in person.

[Vyuru]

Re: How do you prepare for moving around the U.S.?

It partly depends on if you are going to be renting an apartment, or buying a house.

Getting around a city also largely depends on if you have your own car or not.

For some areas you will need to know when the best time to go house hunting is. For instance you have missed the best time to go house hunting in Washington because the wet season is over, the fields aren't really flooded anymore so you won't be able to easily see if the house you are interested in gets flooded during the spring.

So it would be best to ask a few questions about the common yearly weather, or if there is anything in particular you should be aware about.

I live south of Seattle so if you want I can give you a few heads up about a few things.

An interesting book to read about Seattle is, Sons of the Profits, it explains at least why the streets sometimes seem to have been designed by a mad deranged blind demented monkey.