Most high school students beginning their college search will probably tell you that there's a little more to choosing a college than just educational opportunities (much to their parents chagrin).  They might even tell you that while the campus is a hugely important decision-maker, the surrounding city is just as important.  The college experience reaches far beyond the classroom walls— students care about what there is to do off-campus too.   

Check out this infographic just released in the U-Pack Press Room.  It Ranks the Top 7 Cities in the U.S. with the Highest College Student Population.  Certainly worth a look if you're in the market for an enjoyable (and educational) college experience.  I have to say, I was surprised by a few of these.

What was your college experience?  Do you prefer a smaller, more intimate college or living in a true "college town"? 

This week we're going to mix it up a little.  Instead of Flashback Friday, how about Flashback Thursday?  It doesn't quite have the same ring, but I'll be out of the office tomorrow, so we're going to get a little crazy and post this one early.  It's a great post too; 24 Ft. Truck – Just How much Does it Hold?  Both the 24 ft. and 26 ft. rental trucks are popular sizes for moving three to four-bedroom homes, so this has been an extremely helpful post for a lot of customers. We hope you find it helpful too!  Happy Thursday! 

You're moving a large 3-bedroom home.  Using a 24 ft. truck sounds like a reasonable plan, right?  Unfortunately, there could be a problem:  how do you know your belongings will fit?  For some, it's more than enough room; for others, it's not nearly enough. But there's a company that solves that problem— U-Pack Moving.  You pay only for the space you use, and it's always available if you need more. 

Here's how U-Pack works:
ABF delivers an empty 28 ft. moving trailer to your home. You load into the amount of space you need, and install a secure divider wall when you're done.  Just indicate on your Bill of Lading how much space you loaded into, and that's what you pay for. Simple.  And getting an instant moving quote from U-Pack is easy too.  Just call or click— 800-413-4799.

If you're still deciding between a 24 ft. truck and services like U-Pack, here are a few details you may want to consider:

How much space am I actually getting with a 24 ft. truck?
The inside dimensions of most 24 ft. trucks are around 24' x 7' 5" x 8' (lwh), and have a capacity of around 1380-1400 cubic feet.

The inside dimensions of an ABF moving trailer are 27' x 8' x 9' (lwh), and have a capacity of 1,944 cubic feet.  Since U-Pack trailers are wider and taller, 19-20 linear feet is equivalent to the 24 ft. truck.

How much will fit into a 24 ft. truck?
Since moves differ from household to household, and everyone packs and loads differently, it's difficult to say exactly what will fit into a 24 ft. rental trucks.  But U-Pack's space estimators (especially the room-by-room estimator) do a great job of providing a good approximation— very helpful for knowing what to expect.  We estimate that a typical large 3-bedroom home will fit into a 24 ft. rental truck— or 19 linear feet of a U-Pack moving trailer.    

What happens if I don't use the whole 24 ft. truck?
That's the problem with rental trucks:  If you don't quite fill the entire 24 ft truck, you still pay for it.  And if it gets down to the end, and you discover everything won't fit, you may have to leave stuff behind. Not ideal, either way.  

It's not a problem with U-Pack though.  You only pay for what you use, and more space is always available.

How much does it cost to fuel a 24 ft. truck?
Though this question isn't related to the truck's size, it is important info to know before you make a decision.  Most 24 ft. trucks get around 8 mpg.  That means, on a 1200 mile move your price to fuel the truck will be around $550-$600.  If you're driving your own vehicle, that gets 26 mpg, fuel for the same trip would be around $150-$200.  That can make a difference.

Get a free moving quote to compare your 24ft truck charges to U-Pack rates. You'll likely be surprised at how much you could save!

If you're moving across the country and in the market for a new home, maybe one of the houses on Yahoo! Real Estate's 12 Celebrity Homes For Sale list could be in your future?

OK, so maybe these aren't quite in your budget; they're still great fun to look at! I have to admit, my first though when I saw the square footage of Carmello Anthony's home was, "how in the world would I keep a home that large clean?"  I have a feeling he figured it out.

Here is the shortened version of the Yahoo! list:

• Michael Jackson's 17,171-square-foot estate is listed at $29,995,000.
• Ricky Martin's Golden Beach, Florida home is on the market for just under $19 million.
• Dr. Phill McGraw's 11,036-square-foot home in Hollywood, CA is only $16.5 million.
• Uma Thurman's 5-story apartment located in Manhattan's Greenwich Village is listed at $14.2 million.
• The price for Mel Gibson's 6-bedroom, 5,403-square-foot Malibu, CA home dropped from $14.5 million to just $12.75 million.
• If you're moving to Littleton, CO, you may want to check out Carmello Anthony's 21,083-square-foot home.  It's listed at a mere $9,500,000.
• Nick Lachey's home overlooks Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean, and is listed at $6,800,000.
• The late Ed McMahon's 7,013-square-foot home is on the market for $4,600,000.
• Jerry Garcia's 5-bedroom, 6-bath home, just north of San Francisco, CA is listed at $3,995,000.
• Pierce Brosnan's 3,412-square-foot-home, located in Malibu, CA is listed at $3,900,000.
• Real Housewives of D.C.'s Mary Schmidt Amons has her 15,000-square-foot home in McLean, Virginia listed for $2,350,000.
• John Wayne's former home in Newport Beach, California is on the market at $2,263,000

Affordable Moving Alternatives

It's Flashback Friday!  Each week, U-Pack revisits a blog topic that has been helpful to our readers. Today's flashback— "Affordable Moving Alternatives".  Who isn't looking for a low-cost move these days?  U-Pack is a great way to save money without having to drive a large moving truck cross-country!

Moving on a budget? It's often hard to manage a budget and find creative ways to make the funds you've allocated stretch as far as possible. If you're looking for an affordable moving alternative, U-Pack Moving is a sure way to stay on track and within budget. U-Pack offers affordable prices and flexible options while maintaining an excellent reputation in the industry.

U-Pack gives the cost conscious mover affordable moving options, such as a partial trailer move or moving in a ReloCube.  As the mother of three college students, I'm always trying to stretch a dollar!  So if you're on a budget and are making a small move, the ReloCube is a best bet to know your exact costs; the price includes drop- off fees, the driver, delivery charges to the final destination, and taxes! If you need storage before you move into a new place, the storage and moving costs can be rolled into the same transaction; allowing you to set funds aside to pay for the move and not worry that the price will change later. This helps keep your budget within its limits and you can pat yourself on the back for being so thrifty!

The moving trailer option also gives an affordable moving alternative with ’tons' of flexibility— you can literally load up to about 6 tons of household goods into a trailer, which is more than any rental truck you might consider. Again, all transportation fees including fuel, tolls and taxes are included. You pay for only the space you use.  Whether it's a small one room apartment, or a full house, the trailer option remains at the top of the list for affordable moves where you're in control of your wallet or purse strings!

If you need packing and loading (or even unloading) services, you might want to consider another affordable moving option: MoveBuilder. Experienced movers pack, load and unload your items (or any combination of these services) with no worries about overtime since each move is handled by the size of the load, not the number of hours it takes to complete the job. If you prefer to handle the majority of the move yourself, and just need help with the larger items, you can choose to have MoveBuilder secure a load or unload team by the hour (minimums usually apply). By choosing the services that fit your situation, you're still in control of the budget!

No matter which option you choose, moving is stressful and part of the stress can come from feeling like someone else is pulling the strings. Keep the puppet master at bay: stay in control by choosing the service that best meets your needs.

Questions or comments? Call us at 800-413-4799.

This is part three of a five-part series written by guest blogger Josh Knoll about his experience moving with U-Pack from Arkansas to Arizona.  Since moving involves much more than just packing up a moving truck, we thought his post on how he found a roommate in Phoenix was very interesting.  Make sure to check out Moving to Phoenix Part I and Moving to Phoenix Part II while you're at it!

*The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are solely those of the original author. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of U-Pack, the blog.upack.com staff, and/or any/all contributors to this site.

Moving to Phoenix with U-Pack – Part Three
For anyone living in or planning a move to a large metropolitan area, I cannot say enough good things about craigslist.  You can find anything and everything you need, many things you want, and lots of things that fall into neither category!  I needed a perfect roommate.  Craigslist can make the impossible very possible. 

Trust me! I am living in a gorgeous condo with a waterfall pool, fitness center, laundromat, and barbecue patio.  I can walk to the light rail station that takes me through downtown as well as seven area stadiums/sports arenas, parks and greenspaces, a myriad of restaurants/bars, several big box chain stores, and the university I will eventually be attending.  I have my own private bedroom and bathroom.  All utilities are included in the rent price of $400/month, and my roommate/landlord has become a great friend in the course of just a few weeks.  It is almost too good to be true.

How did I find this amazing bachelor pad?  I started checking craigslist daily a few months before I intended to move.  There is a section in every city labeled "rooms / shared" where those in need of an already established roommate can go to find rental spaces (both furnished and unfurnished) with amenities and prices listed alongside pictures of the available room(s). Oftentimes these ads include links to a map of the neighborhood so you can visit the available sites via Mapquest or Google Maps in addition to seeing whatever pictures were posted in the ad.  (Occasionally, you may even run across a face pic' of an available roomie.)  You may also fine tune your search by putting in keywords like "cats OK," "pool," or "public transportation."  

Save Money Moving to Alaska

It's Flashback Friday!  Each week, U-Pack revisits a blog topic that has been helpful to our readers.  Today's flashback is about saving money on your move to Alaska.  Since a long-distance move like this has the potential to get very expensive, this is an important topic for a lot of customers.  Keep reading to see how you can save!  And while you're at it, make sure to check out the comments below— U-Pack customers often ask great questions and provide helpful insight!

If you're moving to Alaska, you've probably discovered that with some moving companies it can get very expensive. But, there is an easy way to get there that doesn't break the bank— moving with ABF U-Pack. The price is similar to truck rental— but ABF does the driving. 

Here's how it works:

• A professional ABF driver drops off a moving trailer or moving container (your choice) at your location.
• You load.
• ABF moves the trailer to Alaska (it travels to Tacoma on an ABF trailer then we'll put the trailer on a ship in Tacoma, WA to sail to Anchorage.)
• We deliver to your door in Alaska (ask us about direct service points).

That means you can enjoy the drive down the Alaska Highway in your own vehicle, by ferry or you can catch a plane. And you'll be hard pressed to find a better price for moving to Alaska. Especially when you consider that your U-Pack price includes fuel and the driver!

Getting a moving quote from U-Pack is easy, and it's free.  Just enter the city and state you're moving from, the city in Alaska you're moving to, an estimated move date and what size home you're moving (here's a space estimator if you need it).  Within 24 hours, we'll tell you how much it costs to move to Alaska with U-Pack.

Moving to Alaska with U-Pack Vs. Moving to Alaska in a Rental Truck
Since rental trucks are normally the cheapest route for in-town moves, you might think they're the cheapest way to move to Alaska too.  Probably not.  And for two reasons: 

1.  There's not an easy, fast way to get to Alaska in a rental truck.  Of course, you can take the Alaska Highway, and granted it's beautiful and well-maintained…but there are areas that are narrow and winding.  So in late fall, winter and early spring, road conditions aren't good.  Not ideal when you're driving a huge truck containing all of your worldly possessions.  I like adventure, but I think I'll pass on that one. And the fact that rental trucks are limited to speeds of 55 mph. doesn't help either.

2.  The price may not be right.  When you're moving 3,000 plus miles, there are a lot of moving costs involved— like hotel stays, eating out, fuel, snacks on the road, etc.  Let's just say you're moving from Denver to Anchorage— 2330 miles, or 55 hours in a passenger car— even longer in a rental truck (man, that's a long drive!)  You can expect to spend at least $400 in hotel stays and $1200 in rental truck fuel (you can check out how much it costs to fuel a rental truck here.)  So, whatever your rental truck price is, add $1600 to $2000 to it.  And remember…you have to drive it.

I don't know about you, but I like the idea of saving money moving to Alaska and letting someone else drive the moving truck so I could drive my own, familiar vehicle. If you have questions about moving to Alaska with U-Pack, give us a call or leave a comment below.  We'll be happy to help!  800-413-4799