Definition of Moving Costs

I included in my definition of moving costs any expenses I incurred that were part of the process of moving that I wouldn’t have had to pay had I not moved. This included things I had to buy for the move itself (e.g. packing supplies), the truck rental, travel costs while on the road, and administrative costs of becoming a resident in a new state. I included deposits in this definition because deposits were money I had to be in possession of in order to move, and there’s no guarantee I’ll get that money back.

I was in a unique financial position because I worked a high-paying job at a tech company for more than a year before starting grad school. Most jobs in research, the kind that best prepare you for grad school, pay significantly less, so my opportunity to work a job where I could readily save is a rare one.

My move was also more expensive than it otherwise might have been because I am disabled. I can’t carry heavy things like boxes because my wrists dislocate, so I had to hire movers to load and unload the moving truck. I also need a car in grad school because I have medical appointments throughout the state, and getting to them on public transportation isn’t feasible. Owning a car, and moving with a car, is expensive. Here’s a tangible example of intersectionality: My life as a disabled grad student is feasible because I have socioeconomic privilege. If I were a low-income student and having a car wasn’t feasible, being disabled would have a drastically different impact on my life.

The Basics of my Move

My mom came in from out of town to help me with the move.¹ We rented a 10-foot UHaul and a tow dolly and towed my car behind the moving truck. Movers came to pack the truck and we drove halfway to my new place that day. We stayed in a hotel, drove the second half the next day, and had movers come to unload the truck.

Results

In total, the move cost $3,685. Here’s a treemap showing the cost breakdown:

Here are the expenses, in order from most to least expensive:

1. Redundant rent. My old lease and my new lease overlapped one month, and my old roommates didn’t feel comfortable having a short-term subletter. Paying double rent for most of the month was my biggest single expense.
2. The security deposit at my new place.
3. The UHaul rental.
4. The movers’ base rate.
5. Car title & registration. Transferring my car title and registration to Maryland cost nearly $300.
6. My mom and my hotel on the drive down.
7. Discarded internet equipment. This is an unfortunate tale I shall detail below.
8. Gas. Big truck, big gas tank, big gas bill.
9. Car tow dolly rental.
10. My share of the deposit for our new electricity company. We’ll get it back if we pay our electric bill on time for a year.
11. Tipping the movers. Abolish tipping. Pay workers living wages as their base salaries. Alas, until then, we shall tip.
12. Truck parking permit. In Boston you have to pay to reserve 2 parking spaces in front of your house on the day of your move for the moving truck.
13. Maryland driver’s license. It has the Maryland flag on it. Much more fun than the Massachusetts licenses.
14. Car inspection. Unlike the annual inspections required in Massachusetts, in Maryland you only have to get your car inspected once ever and the inspection is thorough. My car did not pass. I didn’t include the costs of the repairs here, just the inspection itself.
15. Tolls. We drove through 6 states. New Jersey had the most expensive tolls.
16. Meals on the road.
17. My share of the internet setup costs.
18. Packing supplies. I believe the only supplies I purchased were 2 rolls of packing tape and a mattress bag. Thank you to my neighbors who provided all the other materials I needed.
19. Padlock to lock the UHaul so all my belongings were not flagrantly stealable in the hotel parking lot while we slept.
20. Change of address. The USPS charges $1.10 to forward your mail to your new place. On behalf of the new tenants at your old place, please remember to have your mail forwarded.

More graphs

I also wanted to see the costs by cause. For example, a handful of the costs were incurred because I was moving with a car. Here’s the same treemap with the colors indicating the cause of each cost:

And the treemap rearranged so each cause has one section of the map:

I’m proud to report that “oops” was among the smaller cost contributors.

The cause of costs leads me to the question, “who got my money?” Here’s the graph for that. Here, I’ve separated the deposits from the money I definitely won’t be getting back:

And now the same graph with the sections arranged by who got the money, with deposits once again marked with “(Returned?)” and separated from other costs.

Even when we exclude the security deposit, landlords got the largest share of my moving costs. UHaul got the second-largest share of what I spent on moving. I generally prefer to support smaller, local companies, but I chose convenience and simplicity over supporting local businesses in multiple places during this move. Moving is so overwhelming, it can be a hard moment to live out your values. I am glad I supported two local moving companies at least.

Conclusion

Moving is expensive even if you do everything reasonable to minimize costs. If we want access to grad school to be equitable, we need to offer financial support for students who need to move to start a program.

My move not only took a lot of money, it also took a lot of help. Moving is one of those things you can’t do alone. My neighbors gave me leftover boxes, tape, and bags full of newspaper. My friends helped me organize and donate what I owned and convinced me to finally give away all those shoes that hurt my feet. My new roommates cooked for me and my mom when we first arrived and had no food. And my mom was there for all 400 miles, and so much packing and unpacking on both ends. Thank you to everyone who helped, in ways big and small.

P.S. As usual, here’s a link to see my code.