Tips and tricks for moving to Rockville alone

Are you planning to move to Rockville but you don’t have anyone to help you? Of course, it can look terrifying at first. However, with good organization, moving to Rockville alone can be rather simple really. Yes, you will have to invest more time and effort than when you have family and friends to help you. But you can always find some good moving company Rockville MD has to offer for this purpose. Professionals can actually help you a lot and make this process much simpler even if you are completely alone. And even if you decide to do most of the work on your own, you can at least hire them to handle loading, unloading, and transport. So let’s take a look at the tips and tricks on how to make this DIY move to Rockville as easy as possible.

Living in Rockville MD can be costly

Have you researched Rockville thoroughly before you made a final decision to move? Rockville is actually one of the most expensive cities to live in America. It is located in Montgomery County, Maryland, and has a population of 68,155. So it is not a big city. However, you will need to have a good plan in order to make it your permanent residence. As we already mentioned, Rockville is one of the most expensive cities in the country. It is the 64^th most expensive city in America and the 2^nd most expensive in Maryland. The average cost of living for a family of 4 is $6,183. For a single person, the average cost of living is $2,710. That is how much you will need in order to sustain a normal life in Rockville.

Luckily, the average monthly wage here is $7,648 – annually, $91,787, which is more than enough. And anything above $80,000 is considered a good salary here in Rockville MD. Therefore, if you want to make this process successful, first you need to make sure that you find good employment. That is your first task.

If you are moving to Rockville alone, you will need to find a well-paid job

Since living in Rockville is so expensive, you need to find a well-paid job. The main industries here are information technology, education, biotech, healthcare, and federal and local government sectors. If you are working in one of these industries, you should be fine. Still, bear in mind that many businesses are struggling since the pandemic. But it looks like Rockville is doing just fine.  In just a couple of months in 2022, the unemployment rate has dropped significantly. In Mart 2022, the unemployment rate in Rockville was 3.8% – in April, 2.8%. So, it looks like now is the perfect time to move to Rockville.

Food costs in Rockville MD

When moving to Rockville alone, you also have to consider food costs. Especially if you are not prone to cooking at home and you have to eat at local restaurants. For example, a lunch menu in a mid-range restaurant will cost you around $16.5. A fast food combo at Mcdonald’s or a similar fast food franchise in Rockville costs around $8.85. A bear in a pub is usually around $5.95, while a small coke is around $1.91.

Housing costs in Rockville MD

Before moving to Rockville alone, you need to learn about housing costs as well. Unfortunately, Rockville is not known for affordable housing. If you decide to rent a 42 sq ft apartment in the city center, you will need to pay around $2,192. Outside of the city center, you can find a cheaper apartment for somewhere around $1,610. And that is not all when it comes to housing costs. You also need to factor in utilities and the internet. For one person, an average utility bill in Rockville MD which includes electricity, gas, water, and heating is usually around $104. A 50 Mbps internet plan will cost you around $66 depending on the provider.

If you are thinking about buying a home in Rockville, an apartment price in the city center is $453 per sq ft. If you want a house in the suburbs, a square foot will cost you $356.

Gas prices and transportation costs in Rockville MD

Unfortunately, that is not all as far as your living expenses are concerned. Unless you are working from home, you will need to commute. If you have a car, know that the average regular gas price in Maryland in October 2022 was $3.447 – 30 cents lower than the national average. If you are using public transportation to commute, a one-way ticket in local transport costs $4.02, while a monthly ticket is $140. A 5-mile taxi ride will cost you $17.7.

Give yourself enough time to prepare for the move

Those are the most important things that you need to consider before moving to Rockville alone. If you have done your calculations and you still think that relocating to Rockville alone is a good idea, and you want to make this process as easy as possible, make sure that you give yourself enough time to prepare. Since you will be doing all the work on your own, you will need a lot of time to complete all your tasks.  Two months should be optimal if you have a lot of items that you need to move and you are coming to Rockville from far away. If you are renting a furnished apartment and you do not have anything but clothes to move, and at the same time you are moving in Rockville MD locally, you can probably complete everything in one week.

Planning a move to Rockville MD

When you have a large number of items to move, you will need a good moving plan. If you never moving before, use this article as a guide. First, focus on your belongings. When you are making a moving plan, you need to think about packing your items, and handling heavy furniture, but also decide whether you want to complete the whole move on your own, or you want to find some good moving services Rockville MD has to offer.

Should you move all by yourself or with the help of professionals?

The distance of your move should be a big factor when making this decision. If you are moving to Rockville from Arlington or even Baltimore, you can probably handle most of the work without professional help. If you are relocating to Rockville alone from across the country, please consider hiring some good long distance movers Rockville MD has to offer at least to help you with transport. Bear in mind that driving a loaded truck across long distances is extremely risky. So that is something that should be done by professionals.

Getting rid of excess items before the move is beneficial in many ways

Once you complete your moving plan, start sorting out your moving inventory. That is one of the most important things you have to do if you are organizing a DIY relocation to Rockville MD. You do not want to drag all your items if you do not have to. Bear in mind that almost all local movers Rockville MD has to offer charge by the hour. Long distance movers, on the other hand, will also consider the weight of your moving inventory.  Therefore, you want to lighten your moving inventory as much as you can. Besides lowering the price of your Rockville move, by removing excess items, you will also simplify the process significantly.

Best ways to get rid of excess items in Rockville MD

If you decide to get rid of a large portion of your items, you can also benefit financially. As you probably know, your upcoming move will not come cheap. So why wouldn’t you make an effort to sell your excess items and increase your moving budget? You can organize a garage sale in Rockville MD without a permit but you will need to meet certain standards. Also, bear in mind that, in order to organize a successful garage sale, you will need a lot of time. So make sure that you can do it properly. If you are not sure that you can organize a proper garage sale, find a furniture thrift store in Rockville and try to sell your items there all at once.  Here are some of the best thrift stores in and around Rockville MD:

• Planet Aid Thrift Store – 5520 Randolph Rd Rockville, MD 20852
• Goodwill – 725 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852
• Goodwill – 4816 Boiling Brook Pkwy Rockville, MD 20852
• Unique – 12211 Veirs Mill Rd Silver Spring, MD 20906
• Humane Together Thrift & Gift Shop – 1328 E Gude Dr Rockville, MD 20850
• Uptown Cheapskate – 1038 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852
• Urban Thrift – 10730 Connecticut Ave Kensington, MD 20895
• Potomac French Market – 12211 River Rd Potomac, MD 20854
• Help4People – 8099 Snouffer School Rd Gaithersburg, MD 20879
• Life4Animals – 15938 Luanne Dr Gaithersburg, MD 20877

Other options that you can use to get rid of your excess items are selling them online, donating to charity, storing them in some good storage Rockville MD has to offer or calling a junk removal service.

List all your items before moving to Rockville alone

Once you get rid of the junk, the next best thing that you can do is to make a list of the items that will be moving with you to Rockville MD. This list will help you comprehend the task in front of you and you will have an easier time determining the moving boxes you will need to prepare. Another benefit of preparing a moving inventory list is that you will have an easier time keeping track of your items. And, if you decide to hire some residential movers Rockville MD, you can get a precise online moving estimate as well.

Now it’s time to prepare a moving budget

After you sell your items and make an inventory list, you can start preparing your moving budget.  You will know how much money you have, how big of a moving truck you will need to get, what moving services you want to hire, and how much packing materials you will need. Remember that moving is costly and there are a lot of situations where unexpected costs might occur, so make sure that you give yourself a sort of leverage when it comes to money you have and how much you plan to spend.

At least hire labor only moving services

Even if you are moving to Rockville alone, you should still consider hiring moving professionals. At least to help you with transport. If you do not have experience in operating a moving truck, then hiring movers is a must. So find some companies that offer labor-only services and hire them to help you.

Prepare packing materials and pack your belongings

If you are hiring labor-only services, and even if you don’t, packing your items is the next task you have to handle. This is also the final task that you need to complete before moving out. Still, you will need to find good packing materials in Rockville MD in order to prepare your items for transport. Use your inventory list to figure out how many boxes and wraps you need. Or ask your movers to give you advice. Once you gather the necessary materials, carefully pack your items.

Tools that you will need to move, load, and unload your items

Hopefully, you are following our advice and you hire a moving company to transport your items. If you still decided to do everything on your own. You will need proper tools to load everything into a moving truck and unload it after you arrive in Rockville MD. For this, you will need moving straps, four-wheel dollies, and maybe even a loading ramp if your truck doesn’t have one. Dollies and ramps can be costly to buy so see if you can rent them somewhere.

Getting to Rockville MD yourself

That is just about everything you need to know about moving to Rockville alone. Now, all you have to do is find a way to get to Rockville yourself. That is if you hired movers to drive a truck. Luckily, there are many ways to get to Rockville. Unfortunately, there isn’t an airport in Rockville but there are five airports in the nearby vicinity. The nearest one is College Park Airport, which is 14 miles away but there are also Reagan Washington, Washington Dulles, Baltimore, and Harrisburg which is the furthest one – around 80 miles from Rockville.