Plotting Our Move to Nashville – Part 3
Employment secured. House off the market. The next step (which we were working on simultaneously during these two big hurdles), was figuring out all move logistics. WOW there were a lot of things to cover. To feel organized and less frazzled, we started with listing everything out in one place on a whiteboard – the same whiteboard my parents got us to help plan the details of our wedding, which was a lifesaver.
Here’s a rundown of the logistics we had to iron out, in hopes this might spur some thoughts to help you if you’re moving soon, too!
Booking Flights
With my husband’s start date solidified, we purchased one-way tickets to Nashville. Brady was set to fly out a week earlier than me, which worked best for both our work schedules. We went with Southwest, because at the time they were the most accommodating with dogs, and Lady was flying with me! Made for an easy decision. For those of you traveling with a dog anytime soon, our vet prescribed her a sedative medication to calm her down, which was a life saver! She was all over the place before the meds set in, but then settled down at my feet on the plane (I sat in the front row with more legroom). Another tip – in between flights, if traveling with a puppy, make sure you have a long enough layover to find a pet relief station! That was definitely the most stressful part of the journey, but after many visits to the station Lady finally peed and relieved my anxiety that she would have an accident on the plane!
Housing in Nashville
This quick move meant that we’d need a place to stay until we found our Nashville home, so Brady and I immediately began searching for our temporary home. This was the fun part! We were still learning all about the Nashville area, so tips from my sister-in-law on which areas to check out and which to avoid were extremely helpful. The one obstacle – we needed a place to stay for months that was dog friendly for Lady, our 6-month old pup. After looking at various apartment complexes, we decided on finding an Airbnb, because the stays came furnished with the amenities, utilities, kitchenware, and odds and ends we needed while our life would be stored away until we found a home. Another amenity on our must-have list was a washer and dryer. Definitely a pricier option than some apartments, but we needed furniture, and Airbnb offers discounts for long-term stays, which helped a tiny bit. As always, Brady ended up coming in for the win. He found a house in 12 South (complete with a backyard for Lady!) that was magically available for two months. We visited 12 South on our first trip, and absolutely loved the walkable area. It was a PERFECT spot to adjust to Nashville living, and we were SO excited. It felt more like an extended vacation at a tourist destination than a move!
Tying Up Loose Ends – Bills & Subscriptions
Counting down to our move date, we listed out all of the recurring bills, local memberships and services we needed to notify, postpone, or cancel one-by-one. This included contacting the DMV, arranging mail forwarding with USPS, notifying our bank and car insurance companies, switching healthcare plans, and pausing/cancelling utilities and membership services (the gym) and our Ring device.
Moving Companies
I spent weeks researching all options for moving companies. Since we didn’t have a home base that we could immediately move our stuff into, moving trucks were out, which narrowed things down quite a bit. I looked into different shipping container options that would allow us to store our belongings in Nashville, and zeroed in on four companies: PODS, Pack-Rat, U-Pack and U-Box. I combed through company reviews in the Facebook groups I was in, (Life After California, Move to Tennessee from California, Tennessee Yourself Here for do’s and don’ts. After multiple quotes and phone calls, we decided to move forward with PODS, based on their reputation, convenience, and prompt customer service when I was working with them. At the time, containers were scarce in California, so I booked it right away, to ensure we could pack everything up when we were both in San Diego. Looking back, we were super happy that we choose PODs. They arrived on time both for pick up and drop off, were super helpful, and none of our belongings broke (but I like to attribute that to my Dad’s packing skills!).
Auto Shipping to Nashville
After extensive research, both online and through references within a lot the helpful Facebook groups I mentioned above, we settled on a car transportation company to ship our cars. While expensive, we didn’t want to make the cross country trip in the middle of winter, and we also didn’t have the time to do that either. We shipped Brady’s car out first, to arrive a few days before the start of his new job, and mine followed later in January. Since we knew we wouldn’t be opening our POD until we found a new home, we packed all the essentials we would need until then in our cars (that fit below the window line). This included all of our pup Lady’s needs (crate/toys/etc), a few succulents of mine that I had grown attached to (lol), items to add to our Airbnb to add a little familiarity of home, clothes, and anything else that wouldn’t fit in our suitcases that we took on the plane to Nashville. It was quite a strategic production!
Packing
Once the POD was delivered to my parent’s house (we didn’t have a driveway where we could store it), we had ten days to pack our lives away. Every night after work, Brady and I would bring boxes to my parent’s house, shedding little by little. Brady’s last full weekend in San Diego was our big push. We borrowed my best friend’s Dad’s truck to haul all the big ticket items (thanks Dave!), and Brady’s brother Shawn spent the day helping us move and pack (which was so incredibly nice!). We had to strategically pack the POD, which was the ultimate Tetris challenge. After a lot of research of how to pack a POD, I learned a good trick: make sure the items you need right when you unpack are in the front of the POD (cleaning supplies/lamps/toolkits) for easy access. Your future self will thank you, we know this from experience! It also helped that my Dad is a strategic packer – we filled every last inch of that POD!! The last few days I crammed more odds and ends in the POD, then we called to schedule a pick-up, and it was off to Nashville!
Looking back, it’s still hard to believe how much we accomplished in such a short time, all while working full time! While overwhelming at times, it is completely possible. With a handy whiteboard, a fine-tuned game plan, a partner in crime to strategize move logistics and a lot of research, it absolutely can be done by anyone! Best of luck to you who are planning a move in the near future! 🙂