Our Cross-Country Move: Breaking Down the Numbers
The Miles, The Money, and The Memories
About a month ago we finally settled into our new apartment here in Kentucky, and since the dust has settled I thought a fun way to end 2023 is to go into the detail of our cross-country move. When I was trying to figure out the logistics of our move I always bemoaned what information I couldn’t find — so I’ll do my best to explore topics that a lot of people don’t.
A couple of months ago, I finally admitted that we had to move, and the reason for moving was partially financial and largely to be closer to our family (we certainly didn’t make the sort of money that would allow us to travel!). In ‘The Mosh Pit Ballet of a Cross-Country Move’ I went over the reasons for the move. Later, in ‘The Vicious Math of Moving’ I explored the cruel math that had us shedding some of our possessions in order to make it back east, and how we made the selections of what we donated / gave away / threw out — and what came with us.
I always lamented, as I was researching how to move across the country on a shoestring budget (or any budget) that there weren’t more articles that went into the sheer numbers of what it would take to move, so I’ve decided to let you in on the actual math of the move — and some lessons I’ll never forget. I wouldn’t call our budget an absolute shoe string (we didn’t camp, for instance), but we weren’t flush with cash. If you’re just looking for the numbers, scroll to the bottom of the article for a line item breakdown.
Our general goals were to keep costs down as much as possible. Because I have Celiac and we are vegetarians, we didn’t (and usually don’t) eat out. We were bringing our 16 year old chihuahua dachshund mix, Cujo, which means we needed to also get hotels that would allow pets and didn’t price that too high, either, because pet deposits and pet hotel stays can quickly escalate costs.
Moving Possessions
When we originally moved to Oregon, we used UHaul UBoxes. We found them to be more economical than PODS or any other option. We were in the opposite financial position then — this time we definitely had to take the cheapest option. I found that it would be far more economical to get the UBox and pay for someone else to drive our possessions than for us to do that ourselves. Here’s what it cost to get the possessions of a small one bedroom (500 square feet) from Oregon to Kentucky (and stored for three weeks): 3780.90. This was far lower than estimates that I got from Pods ($5500), trucking companies offering extra space on other people’s moving trucks ($6500 — $8000), or driving the truck ourselves ($2800 for the rental, but we’d also have to buy gas, and worry constantly about our car on the tow, and get it across Eastern Oregon — which is a challenge I’m glad we didn’t tackle). We agreed that $3800 seemed to be the perfect fit (even if it was painful), and we were certain we’d need at least 2 UBoxes (we were right).
Each box is 95” x 56” x 83.5” which means space was tight. We paid $334.99 as an initial deposit on everything towards the balance on the day the boxes were dropped off.
Each box does have enough room for a queen mattress and its box spring, but it’s hard to navigate in there once those are in, and we kept our mattress out of the box until the last possible moment (sleeping on foam pads while luxurious in camping isn’t the best way to get rest before a long drive!). I wish I would have snapped a picture, but unlike all of the texts I was inundated with before UHaul dropped the boxes off — I wasn’t even called the morning they picked them up! I only got to snap this picture as our possessions left because I heard the truck’s backing up warnings.
Once our stuff was loaded up, all that was left to do was finish cleaning our apartment, drop off our keys, and leave. We did, and were out the door by 12 noon.
Day One, September 30th: From Springfield, Oregon to Boise, Idaho.
The drive from Springfield to Boise was mainly stressful because of the terrain — getting out of the foothills of the Cascades (and leaving the ‘empty west’) was an adventure in and of itself. We wouldn’t be taking the same route we used to get to Springfield five years prior, as we had diverted to see Snoqualmie Falls in Washington State.
Oregon is a beautiful state. We lived in Springfield (the closest known town is Eugene, and about an hour and some change from Portland), which is nestled in the verdant Willamette Valley. To leave Oregon meant we’d drive out west, past places burned by fire, and into the eastern high desert of Oregon past Bend.
It’s always interesting to see these maps, as they don’t actually show the intricacies of the trip — it was a windy, hilly road full of challenges.
At one point in the trip, we passed a sign that said “99 miles until next fuel” and that sign was NOT kidding. It took nearly an hour before we used a rest stop in Brothers, OR to use the facilities and the wind there was whipping hard and fast — and while it was a relief to find those facilities, it was also pretty cold there for being just at the end of September. Once we got out of there, we got fuel at the first stop we could: and it was exactly $59 to fill the 13 gallon, nearly empty tank (it was around $5.00 a gallon there, which was much higher than in other parts of Oregon). We had left with a full tank, so that was our gas expenditure for the day.
For our first night, we stayed in Motel 6 in Boise near the airport. The total cost was $81.89 with Expedia.com discounts. It was actually a very nice room! Everyone at the hotel was extremely friendly and helpful. There were several convenient spots for Cujo to do his business, but he was so freaked out he didn’t pee for many, many hours after we had left Boise. The Motel 6 in Boise had laminate floors (perfect for Cujo!) a very nice space / nook for eating (we dined on hummus and chips we had brought with us.
Total Cost, Day One: $140.89
Day Two, October 1st: From Boise Idaho to Rock Springs, WY
Our second day would take us from Boise ID to Rock Springs, Wyoming. We chose to drive less because driving so much the first day was difficult (Darren was the only driver as I can’t drive because of my vision / neurological issues). Our trip would dip south into Utah before going to Wyoming, to avoid as many ridiculous hills as possible — our car was loaded down with stuff, and the mountainous regions make for an exhausting drive.
The drive on this day was more hills, but Utah is one of those exceptionally beautiful states. This was also the only day that Cujo lost his brains and peed in the car. We were relieved and also a bit challenged (luckily we had bought a lot of puppy pads on Day 1 and nothing was actually on the car seat!), and far less stressed — because Cujo hadn’t peed at all until this point.
Traveling with an aged, senile dog is challenging!
Once we got there we found town of Rock Springs to be a wonderful looking place. Our hotel? Not so much. It was definitely rough around the edges, but the price was right and we weren’t charged an additional fee for Cujo. I would have gladly paid more money to feel more comfortable and less … disquieted. The TV didn’t even work (luckily we both had computers with us so we could look for a better hotel for the next night!). Hotel Costs for Motel 6 in Rock Springs, WY: $71.75.
We spent $72.94 on things like a lot of easily consumable food that could be stored in a refrigerator and pee pads. We were really restricted because there was no freezer in our room and the fridge was tiny. On this day we spent $45.30 on gas.
Because of our challenges sleeping and the roughness of the room, we decided the next day would be a short day and we’d spring a bit more for the hotel. We had really enjoyed Cheyenne when we made this trip the prior year, so we decided it was a sensible point to stop the next day, and caught as much sleep as possible. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a great place for Cujo to pee, but the view was nice enough, and Wyoming truly is a spectacularly beautiful (and windy!) place.
Day Two Total: $191.08
Day Three, October 2nd: From Rock Springs, WY to Cheyenne, WY
Most days we could manage to be an entire state over, but it’s a testament to Wyoming’s size and beauty (and our absolute exhaustion after our terrible stay at the Rock Springs Motel 6) that made this driving day a brief one.
It was on this leg of the trip that we were ‘treated’ some of the harshest winds that I’ve experienced since that time I was in Scotland on Ben Nevis. Wagonhound Rest Area was one of the windiest places I had experienced, and it’ll be a long time before I forget it.
This trip was entirely focused on getting us to our destination as quickly as possible. We didn’t stop anywhere, or sightsee. Except for one place, and that was the Lincoln statue in Laramie, WY. The reason? We had been there five years prior. We saw the Lincoln in Laramie twice last time (a long story that maybe one day I’ll tell), so it felt special to visit him one more time.
We decided we’d spring a bit more for a nicer hotel, but we also had a lot less driving to do, so our full tank of gas from the prior day did us a lot of good, and we only had to stop to fill up one more time.
We got a lot more food once we were here and some other things we needed (cutlery, acetaminophen, etc.). There was a bit more space in the refrigerator and a freezer which was a good thing.
I had to hand-feed Cujo, but he finally started to settle into a rhythm of knowing when he was supposed to be using the bathroom. We did have to pay additional charges for him here. The room was spacious, with a desk for correspondence and a TV that worked and had cable and everything. It had been years since I had really watched cable TV, and it was here that I discovered that it’s a lot of marathons of shows I own media for, and commercials for pharmaceuticals and gambling. I watched a bunch of “Forged in Fire.” The hotel, including the pet fee, cost $101.28.
We slept very well here, and we were going to need rest to make the next, bigger leg of the trip. There was a continental breakfast here unlike the other places, but there really wasn’t much I could eat since I have Celiac, am vegetarian, and don’t like a bunch of sugar in my yogurt.
Day Three Total Charges: $218.98
Day Four, October 3rd: From Cheyenne, WY to Lincoln, NE
Our trip started to have a real Lincoln theme going so we embraced it, and decided to take a 6 hour trip to Lincoln, Nebraska. We didn’t want to have another experience where we were in too small of a town to get a nice hotel, and thought Lincoln might be a nice place to stop off.
Nebraska has a lot of corn, and a lot of a big skies. It also has pretty decent coffee at the stops along the way. Overall it was a day of losing altitude, and heading into the last portions of the trip. The landscape started to look more familiar, and we started to get a bit of rain along the way. It got really terrible, though. The last picture I took before the storm got bad was a hint of the driving rain we ended up facing.
It reminded us of the last time we drove through Nebraska on our way out west. Once again, the most memorable thing about Nebraska was the rain. It was sudden and extremely violent, with portions where we contemplated pulling over, but the rain was chasing us backed by a huge storm system, so the faster we could get to the hotel, the better. The skies did clear up eventually, but we definitely had a challenging drive.
We did stop several times for gas, totaling 92.47 since we filled up at the end of the day so we’d have a full tank before starting out (and hadn’t done that the day before!).
We stayed at the Motel 6 in Lincoln, NE and it was a nice enough experience. Nothing terrible, nothing amazing, just a nice bed after a long day, and a roomy room with laminate floors. It was a reasonable $69.73 for the hotel, and since we didn’t have to shop for food because of how much we had from the day before.
Day Four Total Charges: $162.20
Day Five, October 4th: From Lincoln, NE to Columbia, MO
We stopped at Casey’s for coffee at least once and got some snacks along the way as we made our way from Lincoln, Nebraska to Columbia, Missouri. We also grabbed some more food that would work in the hotel, and our food total for the day was $31.11.
This was another day chock full of rain and adventure. As we made our way towards the east, the landscape transformed from corn fields into rolling hills that felt more like ‘home’ for two people from east of the Mississippi. We stopped for gas a lot less, spending on $46.13 on day 5 for fuel, as we had started the day on a full tank.
We elected to stay at another ‘spendy’ hotel, the Ramada by Wyndham in Columbia, MO. The total hotel charges (which included $20 for Cujo) were $97.95, but after another day of a rain we really didn’t want another Rock Springs on our hands. It was a nice hotel, and we were able to see our car from straight out of the room. Cujo was comfortable, the beds were nice, the room was tidy — and we slept well.
Day Five Total Charges: $175.19
Day Six, October 5th: From Columbia, MO to Louisville, KY
This was it — the big day. The day when we’d see the St. Louis arch, and reach our final destination in Louisville, Kentucky. It was another day of rain and stress, but we finally made it. It was our last day on the road, and we’d reach the Red Roof Inn in Hurstbourne, which we’d (very mistakenly) make our home base for the next weeks while we figured out where we’d go.
We spent $43.77 on gas on this day and if we break out the charges from the 10 days we originally booked with Red Roof Inn it was $85.62, which included the deposit we had to put on the room (we booked from 10/5–10/13, as we weren’t sure where we’d go next).
Day Six Total Charges: $129.50
The breakdown of the Expenditures for just the cross country trip was this:
The total cross-country trip cost $1,018, but we weren’t finished spending quite yet.
The Next Two Weeks
As I noted, we booked the Red Roof Inn Hurstbourne because it was convenient, the reviews seemed OK, and it didn’t insist on a daily pet deposit which put a lot of the hotels nearby at a higher cost than Red Roof Inn. We were treated so badly, and the room was so terrible, we count it among our largest mistakes.
Our Initial booking was done through Expedia and was for $689 for 10/13. We then booked the room from 10/13–10/20 using Red Roof’s website as instructed by the rude people on site. We weren’t delighted about having to stay there, but it seemed our cheapest option. We were assured we’d be refunded any days we didn’t actually stay once we found a place (and we did — on 10/15!). But — even after calling Red Roof Inn Corporate, that didn’t happen. Which means we paid a PREMIUM for two days in a hotel that included guests that threatened each other, rooms that didn’t lock, and filthy rooms with cigarette burned comforters.
In other words, the room wasn’t great. It was only cleaned once and we had to chase someone down to get that. The management ranged from surly to rude, there were several loud nights with the guests, but it was a convenient location, and luckily we weren’t there for long.
Never stay at the Red Roof Inn at Hurstbourne. Just don’t. It’s terrible.
So Red Roof single-handedly drove up our prices by never giving us the promised refund and charging far above its advertised prices, but HEY they didn’t charge pet rent every day.
Our total for the entire move, until we got out of a hotel was $5,869.71
The expense breakdown for our cross country move was the following:
Conclusion
The cross-country move was by far the largest project we undertook this year. We’ve found a wonderful place (I’ll write a future story about how I found the best landlord I’ve ever had) that is going to help us save enough money in a year and a half on rent that we’ll make back the money for the move. We’ve been able to spend time with Darren’s family, and re-engage with the Ohio Valley / Rust Belt that we love so much . . .
. . . and even Cujo gets his own room!