Moving Company Recommendations
Melinda is on the move. I'm sure many can identify with her situation. And now, she needs your advice on a good company that can help with the transition:
We are recent transplants to Portland from the east coast. We've spent the past five (or so) months renting a home while getting to know the city and searching for a house to purchase. Alas, we have succeeded(!) and just closed on our new home this week. Now comes the moving fun (not to mention for the second time in six months, though at least this one is local).
I've received one quote from the local Mayflower agent (Eastside Westside Moving & Storage), but would love more recommendations from folks who have had good experiences with local moving companies. My first inclination is to go with a known name in the moving business (Mayflower, United Van Lines, etc.), but could also be convinced to go with an independent company. However, we would really like someone who can help us pack as well as move. (This is our way of making this process a little, or perhaps A LOT, less painful.) Any thoughts are appreciated!
We used Rose City Movers. They packed for us and moved in the same day. We liked them and were referred by a friend who also used them.
Posted by: RubyTuesday | March 20, 2007 at 09:51 AM
We worked with Tri-County Moving (http://www.tcmov.com) when we moved here from SF a year and a half ago.
They're an agent for National Van Lines (a woman-owned business!), so the truck was driven by a National driver out of Seattle and packing/loading crew in local SF guys, but the logistics were all handled by Tri-County, and the unloaders on this end were Tri-County employees I believe.
I would definitely use them again and do not hesitate to recommend them.
Posted by: jj | March 20, 2007 at 11:31 AM
check out angieslist.com for movers. i've used the site to find good service providers and have always been happy with the people i found through that website.
Posted by: sg | March 20, 2007 at 12:18 PM
If you want to save $$, one idea is to rent your own truck (through UHaul or whoever--they rent for well under $100 for one-day in-town moves), and then hire movers separately, through this website: emove.com. They can help you pack and do all the lifting and placing. We moved from LA to Portland in this way, and also did an in-town move--both were enormously cheaper than it would have been to hire a traditional mover. Emove.com has lots of ratings of each person/company offering their services, so you can feel confident you're getting reliable people.
Posted by: mollyh | March 20, 2007 at 01:08 PM
we used priestley and sons (http://priestleymoving.com) after several people recommended them. they packed us up and moved us - great job on both fronts. they were kind, reliable, and professional. they even asked us how we wanted our furniture arranged so we wouldn't have to lug it ourselves.
i wish we were moving so i could use them again!
Posted by: martha | March 20, 2007 at 01:17 PM
We moved here last year and United Van Lines took care of our move. The receiving agent on this end was Swartz and they were great to deal with. We had a less than perfect experience with the agent on the east coast, and were convinced that our things would not all make it here safely. (They ran out of room on the truck, so the driver strapped our bedframe, patio furniture, etc onto the back of the semi truck! I was livid...)
But Swartz was organized, easy to deal with, worked around our schedule, and very prompt. We had a little breakage (not nearly as bad as I thought it might be!) and they were very easy to work with in getting the matters resolved.
Posted by: NoPo Mama | March 20, 2007 at 02:14 PM
We were also very happy with Priestly & Sons. My daughter was about 3 or 4 months old at the time and it all went really smoothly. We would definitely use them again. Good luck with your move!
Posted by: Robin | March 20, 2007 at 03:18 PM
I have to agree with Priestly & Sons! Everytime I moved, when I was single, I used them. They are so friendly, trustworthy and accomodating. They are (or were) a family owned company. My grandma was friends with the owner and it was his sons that always did our family's moves (a big plus for a teenage girl at the time, ha!).
Posted by: Makila | March 20, 2007 at 03:43 PM
Note that moving companies are regulated by ODOT. Their fees are set according to state law. This rose from apparent chaos during the time that they were not regulated. The moving industry calls it the "every guy with a pickup truck" period where moving company complaints were the number one issue with the State.
That said, fees vary according to service levels and the experience of the company. I'm going with Rose City when we move in about 57 days (knock on wood!). I had a great experience with them when they moved my office building a couple of months ago and their quote for an in town move was very reasonable.
Posted by: dan | March 21, 2007 at 09:07 AM
Power Movers is a great resource if you want people to help you move heavy things. I am not sure if they pack, but they will do all of the heavy lifting you need for a move. You rent the truck and they load/unload. I used them for several office moves and have had friends use them to move in town.
Posted by: J in Beaverton | March 21, 2007 at 01:33 PM
ha! i was about come here and ask the exact same question. just wanted to say thanks for the recos as always, urbanpeople.
Posted by: bitemycookie | March 22, 2007 at 07:05 AM
We used Priestly and Sons when we had our hard wood floors done and had to move everything out of the house and into the garage (some stuff went down stairs into the den as well). They were great! We will use them again, when we need them!
Posted by: Norana | March 22, 2007 at 06:28 PM
there are many good moving companies out there that can help you on your move to your new place, just be smart on choosing to avoid any problems on your move.
Posted by: Boston Movers | May 14, 2011 at 02:41 AM