So youre moving across the country.

Or at least a big chunk of it.

Perhaps yourelooking forward to a new job, a different climate or better schools for your kids.

A mother and child move boxes into their home.

Tina Russell/The Penny Hoarder

Or maybe youre moving for a less pleasant reason, and you wish you didnt need to move.

That should be the easiest part, right?

The process of acquiring a rental truck or hiring a moving company can be complicated and confusing.

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you could definitely make the wrong choices if you dont consider all the factors involved in cross-country moving.

you could make things easier on yourself by doing your research and being alert to some basic guidelines.

Were here to help!

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You Are Not Alone

There is a migration trend occurring in the United States.

Many of those transplants are moving from one state to another, and from one region to another.

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North Dakota and Nevada were also in the top five, joined by Texas.

Imagine how much difficulty exists in moving to Alaska!

Here is what you’re gonna wanna consider.

So you have decided to move yourself across the country.

Gasoline prices are going to increase those estimates.

Here are some things to consider before shopping around for rental trucks and planning your costs.

What to Know About Moving Yourself

Which Rental Company Do I Choose?

Lets look at some of your choices.

(Note: These estimates do not include hauling a vehicle.

Doing so adds an array of additional cost considerations).

Budget Truck Rental: $777

The estimated price for a cargo van fromBudgetis $1,341.

Budget also offers unlimited mileage, which is a huge benefit.

The price increases by about $300 for a 12-foot truck that can hold two rooms worth of furniture.

At the time of this writing, Budget was also offering a 20 percent discount on your first rental.

If you have never rented from Budget before, this is an excellent money-saving perk.

The price quoted here was obtained through a phone call.

That means you or someone else would need to drive another 1,000 miles back.

Enterprise also frequently suffers from low availability of cargo vans.

The further in advance you plan, the better your chances.

There is a charge of $0.19 per mile thereafter.

Thats a total of $623, which is a real deal.

There are also some busy times (summer months) that can increase the cost.

Plan as far out as it’s possible for you to to take advantage of rate improvements.

U-Haul has trucks ranging from an 8-foot pickup to a 26-foot moving van.

U-Haul has 20,000 rental locations in the United States and Canada.

Most companies offer three days to pack the unit and 3 days to unpack it.

The quote says it is all-inclusive, which means there is no additional mileage fee.

PODS

Podsdoes not offer online quotes.

You really do have ways to reduce your costs as well as avoid potential losses due to breakage.

And you have many things to consider before you contact a moving company.

So lets begin the process of finding the right mover for you.

Step 1: How Much Will the Movers Move?

So if you want to save money, its up to you to reduce that number and weight.

There is another way to reduce your costs: Reduce the number of items youre moving.

There might be items you wont need in your new home.

Yes, you hate garage sales as much as you hate moving.

Have fun getting rid of stuff!

This next step is really boring and very important.

you better write down every item you are sending with a moving company, and its approximate replacement value.

Even the best movers break stuff, and items can get lost in the shuffle.

They dont care what is in the boxes, but you do.

The estimates were collected one month prior to the moving date.

That explains the approximately $700 difference in estimates.

Rated the best company by move.org,International Van LInesdoes not offer a quote without talking to an agent.

(Unlike the other movers listed here, U-Pack does not offer packing services.)

Get Packing

Your move across the country wont get any easier the longer you put it off.

To find the cheapest way to move across country, consider all your options and all of your preferences.

Do you want to do it yourself?Canyou do it yourself?

How much of your personal stuff do you want a mover to be responsible for?

Kent McDill is a veteran journalist who has specialized in personal finance topics since 2013.

He is a contributor to The Penny Hoarder.

Information from former staff writer Carson Kohler was used in this report.

(Can you sense my millennial sarcasm there?)

You know which ones were talking about: rent, utilities, cell phone bill, insurance, groceries…