Woman Gets $10K Quote To Move Out Of A 1-Bedroom Apartment — 'That’s Half A Year’s Rent'
And she's only moving one state away!
New Africa / Shutterstock.com No matter if it's across town or across the country, moving is pretty much a nightmare, any way you slice it. But as one woman on TikTok recently found out, moving has become even more of a hassle over the past couple of years, and comes with major sticker shock like everything else.
She was quoted $10K to move a 1-bedroom apartment one state away.
Moving is already one of the biggest stressors in life. In fact, mental health professionals say a relocation can even be more stressful than getting fired or divorced.
It's that big of a pain before you even consider the costs!
But even given those stakes, what Valarie, a TikToker known as @valuhrina on the app, was presented with when she looked for help with her move is downright shocking. She was left slack-jawed by the "astronomical quote I just received" when she looked into hiring movers for her upcoming relocation from Denver to Kansas City.
"Just for fun, I was like, let's just see how much movers would cost — like professional movers," she said. "Because here's the thing — I don't have a lot of stuff."
She said she has maybe a bit more than a one-bedroom apartment's worth of belongings. And since "where I'm going, I don't really have anybody to help me," she thought she'd just check out the price of having someone do it for her. Maybe it would be worth it, right?
Valarie was astonished by the quote she received to pack and move her things — nearly half a year's rent.
The sticker shock was real when she got the quote from the movers. "The biggest thing I have is a sectional couch and a queen-size bed," she said. "Like, I have nothing crazy, no pianos and things like that!"
She was particularly shocked, given the price of renting a U-Haul and doing the whole thing herself. She figured the price of hiring movers would be competitive with doing it solo. "I was like, it's gonna be like 1,000, 1,500 bucks, you know, whatever."
It's not like she's going that far, either. You can drive from Denver to Kansas City in about eight and a half hours. "Ten thousand dollars," Valerie mused. "Who the [heck] is paying that?... That's… almost half a year's rent! Who hires movers at that kind of price?!"
Photo: SolisImages / Canva Pro
Inflation has hit the moving industry just like everything else, and costs have soared in recent years.
Basically, the same problems that have hit pretty much every other industry in America have hit the relocation industry, too, and it's driven costs through the roof.
The lingering effects of the pandemic's skyrocketing inflation, supply chain disruptions, high gas prices, and, most of all, the massive numbers of people who relocated in 2020, 2021, and 2022 have made moving more expensive than ever. Average moving costs hit a record high in 2022 after shooting up 12% in just a single year.
This means the costs of everything related to moving, from cardboard boxes to wages for movers and rates on storage lockers, are much higher now than they used to be. Even rental prices for do-it-yourself moving trucks remain high, though not as high as their astronomical peaks during the pandemic when you could barely get your hands on one.
Still, $10,000 seems a bit absurd for a move from Denver to Kansas City — that's orders of magnitude higher than the average costs tracked by consumer websites like Angi, formerly known as Angie's List, and publications like Forbes, which range from $2,100-$6,860 for a cross-country move. Denver to KC is hardly cross-country.
But there are still ways to save tons of money on a move, even if you're not willing or able to do the entire job yourself. Packing yourself, driving yourself, and then hiring people at either end to load and unload, which is what Valarie decided to do, can save thousands.
Commenters on her videos shared positive experiences hiring locals off Craigslist to help with the loading and unloading and even calling local fire stations to see if firefighters might want to make some extra money on their off days helping out. (I've done the former several times, and kids from your local college campus are always eager to earn some extra bucks lugging your junk up several flights of stairs!)
Photo: Digital Vision from Photo Images / Canva Pro
According to the New York Times Wirecutter consumer guide, using storage pod companies to do the opposite — handle the transportation for you while you handle the rest — can be one of the best ways to slash your moving costs. Many companies include loading and unloading assistance in the price as well.
The cost of moving has gone through the roof like everything else, and like most things, those high prices are, unfortunately, probably here to stay. Luckily, there are still ways to get to your new home without paying five figures.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice, and human interest topics.