Several months ago Peter and I brainstormed options on how to get our belongings from Saint Louis to Portland:

1. Hire a movers.
2. Use a storage container.
3. Haul things behind us in a rented truck.

Once we made the decision that when we get to Portland we’ll stay somewhere temporary and look for our permanent home, that also made this decision for us. So we chose option 2, the storage container, because this way the storage container company can store our container in a warehouse in Portland until we are ready for them to deliver it to the address we tell them.

During my research I found there are a lot of storage container companies, but only a handful of reputable ones that do national moves. If you are looking to do an in-town move with a storage container, I would recommend pricing the local options as I found they were cheaper than using a company that can handle cross-country moves. Of course a lot of this is because the bulk of the price is for distance.

Here are the most reputable options I found for a cross-country move with storage containers:

• PODS
• Sam Portable Storage
• ABF U-Pack
• Smart Move

These companies have various options for container sizes and storage. The first thing I did was solicit quotes. For first impressions of these businesses, this really set the tone. PODS was awesome because they give you a quote online, instantly. The others you have to e-mail or call and wait for a response. Smart Move was by far the worst. They took several DAYS to get me a quote, and after that they continued to send me unsolicited ads via e-mail. All the pricing was pretty comparable but I was surprised to see PODS was actually the cheapest too. After I read about their patented lift system that keeps the POD level when being moved, that sealed the deal in my mind. The competitors don’t have that.

I called and made a reservation. They consider today’s gas prices when quoting, and I was really happy later on when I realized I had locked in my price for a relatively low gas price.. it still hasn’t been that low since. So how much does it cost to use PODS? Like I said, a LOT depends on distance. But our move from Saint Louis to Portland will be about $3,600. That includes the first month of storage in a PODS storage center in Portland. It’s not cheap, but it is cheaper than hiring movers for a move like this, and we won’t be rushed.

I will of course update if any issues arise, but the POD is set to be dropped off on May 1st and picked up on June 1st which gives us a whole month to pack. And make jokes about being POD PEOPLE.

PODS offers a lot of affiliation/organization discounts, but I’m also fan of the ol’ Google-around-for-it discount and I found this code: PODSavings2 which gives you 10% off initial delivery, 5% off between markets. It ended up knocking about $200 off our price.

PODS Storage Container Photo © sscornelius

There is no better way to get to know a city than to explore it. I plan to drive or bicycle around Portland and intentionally let myself get lost for this very purpose. Or seek out a destination and explore the surrounding neighborhoods. I have gotten a lot of great ideas of very unique destinations to seek from the book I have been reading Fugitive and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon by Chuck Palahniuk including the self-cleaning house and a radical sounding mausoleum. Another way to explore places I may not have gone on my own is to take walking tours.

Today I saw there is a new pamphlet highlighting the many gorgeous fountains in Portland in a leisurely 2 hour self-guided tour. Download it here (link is in the green box at the bottom). I can’t wait to enjoy this on a hot sunny day. Maybe let myself get cooled off in one of the fountains and then find a grassyspot to bask in the sun and air dry. Sounds glorious. Then again any warm weather fantasies sound great as we are all exhausting of this winter.

Ira Keller Forecourt Fountain © Alicia J. Rose

Salmon Street Springs Fountain © t3rmin4t0r

One of the many awesome things about Portland is the weekly Saturday Market, which actually happens on Saturday and Sunday. The Market just opened for 2009 as I read on one of my many Portland feeds, Neighborhood Notes.  Peter and I got to visit the Market in October 2008 and really enjoyed it. There were some colorful performers and wonderful crafters. There are over 350 artisans!

And I had the best gyro! Peter and I got some food from some of the many vendors and went down to the riverfront park to enjoy it.

Reminders of events like this keeps reinforcing our excitement… we can’t wait to get to Portland!

Portland Saturday Market - Photo © beaster725

Lately Peter and I realized we were both thinking the same thing… “Will this be the last time we ________ in St. Louis?”

Yesterday we were on our way to see The Watchmen and Peter mentioned there was a good chance this would be the last theater movie we would see in St. Louis. I laughed and told him how I had been thinking that about silly stuff… like, will this be the last time I have to buy shampoo before we leave? The last time I eat at this restaurant? etc.

It’s silly but when you have already made a decision to leave a place you find yourself “checking out” so to say. I guess this is part of that realization. And another manifest of our excitement. Oh, the day when I get to buy shampoo in Portland. Ha!

Peter and I are so excited to move, we want to do all we can to prepare now. It makes us feel productive and gets us excited!

Buttoned Up Moving.kit is designed to guide you through preparing during the months leading up to your move, as well as moving day and the weeks following.

Unfortunately it’s too early to do a lot of things, but here are some items we have done:

• made a budget for moving
• planned our itinerary for the cross-country drive
• reserved a POD
• sold some furniture we don’t need/want on Craigslist
• informed our landlord we’ll not be renewing our lease
• started packing non-essentials like books
• got our taxes filed early

Things to do (there are many, but these are on my mind):

• hold a yard sale as soon as it warms up
• secure temporary housing (2-3 month furnished rental while we’re in Portland househunting)
• make note of all the magazines, bills, etc that will need change of address notification
• figure out how many boxes we need for everything
• start eating out of the pantry more so we have to move as little non-perishable food as possible
• go get a pre-approval letter from the bank. I think we’re going to get this letter from a local bank just because that’s easier and it will affirm our ballpark house budget. Then soon after we get to Portland we’ll seek a local mortgage lender or broker. Still figuring this one out…

Writing this post reminded me that I purchased a Buttoned Up Moving.kit a few weeks ago that I haven’t cracked. I have heard good things about it so I will hopefully get some use.

And while we twiddle our thumbs in this frustrating stage of “I want to be doing stuff but it’s really too early!” here are things we do to pass the time:

• look at real estate listings! I love Estately and Peter loves Trulia. (Our Portland Map Tool queries both)
• read Portland blogs/events/news
• work on this blog :)
• make plans to see nearby friends/family as frequently as we can