Deals.Woot

first off, welcome to seattle!

i moved from chicago to seattle in 2004. i moved myself, so i can't offer any advice on moving companies.

as for the route, when i moved (january), we went to san francisco for new years and then intended to drive up I-5. we did this to avoid snowy mountain driving as well. however, there was a chunk of I-5 that was closed in oregon due to a blizzard. so, we ended up driving up the PCH and cutting over to I-5 past the closure. it took a couple extra days, but the drive up the coast was very beautiful. i'd also recommend getting a set of snow chains for your tires just in case.

this site lists pet friendly hotels all over the US and gives travel tips that might help you:

http://www.petswelcome.com/

@heyjoie: auto parts supply places will usually sell them. i bought mine in san francisco. they came out, looked at my tires and told me what size i needed. i think they were around $25-30. luckily, i didn't ever have to use them. but, they're still sitting in my car to this day.

Pick a small country.

My Dad & Mom did a PODS type service to move from PA back to FL and were very happy. Only drawback was the POD was already loaded onto a truck so they had to go up & down the ramp to load.

The hardest part was making sure they had enough packing materials. Being veterans of several PCS moves in their lifetime, they were pretty well trained in how to pack items. Family packed the household goods and Dad hired some burly students from the local college to load the truck. I think he found one guy and said "I'll give you $350 (can't remember the exact amount) plus lunch and drinks. You can do it all yourself or you can have friends help, but that's what the job pays." The kid got a friend and they had the truck packed in a matter of hours.

When the truck arrived in Florida, my husband did the same in reverse for the offload and asked some of his sailors if they wanted to earn a few bucks on a Saturday. And since I knew what was in which box, it made for an easy unpack.

@carl669 and @alpayton, it's probably best if I do get 'em from an auto supply store--since I'll need someone to tell me what size I need and show me how to use them. Thanks!

@lavikinga, that's weird--the PODS people told me they just drop the POD off (AND USE SOMETHING CALLED A "PODZILLA" TO MOVE IT, OMG), so hopefully I won't have to deal with any ramp action. I think I could persuade my brother and a friend to help with the move--but I do live in a college town, so you might be onto something!

@benkeyser, good advice, and thank you. It looks like if we go with PODS, we'll have to use a container that's a bit larger than we need--so as you say, tying stuff down will probably be a necessity.

@heyjoie: Like I said, it was a PODS-like company. They brought the container, we packed it. I just checked into renting a 12'x8'x8 for a month to site stay on site for a month. $98 delivery and $119 for a month's rent. Not too expensive. I believe that included the pick up fee as well.

I grew up in S. California, and have lived in Indianapolis, Rochester, NY and Nashville, TN.

When I moved from Cali to Indy I rented a uHaul truck and vehicle trailer, packed with the help of a friend, drove myself, and then had help from my new co-workers in unpacking.
When I moved from Indy to Rochester I did basically the same thing, but when I moved back to Indy a few years later I paid a moving company to pack everything and deliver it. And when I moved to Nashville I also paid a moving company.

I wouldn't use someone like '2 guys' or 'starving students' for a long move.
I'd hire one of the big companies (United, Allied, Mayflower, etc) and pay for zero deductible insurance for everything.

JM2C

@heyjoie: glad to heat you all made it safely! welcome to the west coast!