i can tell you, from experience that there are only so many times you can ask even your BEST FRIENDS to help you move. we hit our limit at 7. haha!

plus, after moving so many times, we're pretty much pros at it ourselves, but we'll hire movers the next time.

I sympathize. We rented a U-haul once and it was a nightmare. Not to mention, back problems (from my former job which required heavy lifting all the time - I've had enough of that). If I had the money I'd definetly hire. I'm sure my friends would say yes with a smile, but I know it would be a fake smile. No one likes to spend a day lugging stuff around. If I had the money to thank them with a nice dinner, at that point I'd rather just use the cash to hire someone and have that free time to do other things (like make sure my cats are comfortable during the chaos). ;)

I hire movers. That way I don't feel guilty asking my friends. I haaaaaate the process of moving. I'd rather throw some money at professionals. OR you can ask around. I hired an out of work friend of a friend who could def use the money and it was still cheaper then hiring professionals.

Get pros with a good reputation. They will do the job more quickly and efficiently and if they break anything, you're covered. They also have experience with many different types of setups and are more likely to get your huge dresser up the skinny twisty steps (true experience) without damaging anything.

Where I'm from, unless you're a student or just young and broke, you hire movers or force family to help out. There's only so much work people will do for pizza and beer.

I truly believe that hiring reputable movers if moving more than a few hundred miles is worth it. We recently moved my dad from Minneapolis to NYC, and while the movers weren't great, they did get the job done.

I would have helped you unload! You moved to my city after all. I just helped my sister, roommate, and sister-in-law. What's one more?

We had friends help us with our last move which will be the last time for that. Professionals, I hope, are much better at not banging up walls and furniture!

Definitely movers for me.

I've had had friends helping, 3 times to be exact. While I love my friends, there were moments when I wanted to choke them. =D It's hard to confront them if they break you things by accident.

I'm moving on a budget and I'm still hiring professional movers. I've used them with my last two moves and seriously - once you've hired that job out, you can never go back. While I wish it were more economical, moving is stressful enough without having to worry about calling in all your favors, watching your friends fumble around with your heavy old furniture, and stressing about how to get your boxspring up an awkwardly shaped stairwell.

When in doubt hire out. Applies to plumbing, electricians, hair stylists AND movers. So much faster and less stressful. Moving is stressful enough. There are ways to keep costs down--I pack my own boxes, use movers to get the boxes and furniture from the house to the truck, then back to the house. Only on cross country moves, however, do I put movers in possession of my stuff. Otherwise, we drive the truck.

I'm with TravelingRae. I could not imagine my friends hoisting my sofa over the 2nd floor balcony!

You've officially reached adulthood when you stop asking/expecting friends to help you move.

Movers are for people that actually LIKE their friends :)

When we moved from San Diego to Seattle, my man's company footed the bill for movers. Hooray. When we moved across town, however, I economized by packing and hauling everything but the furniture myself. It saved us a ton of money, but did mean a lot more work for me. Still, it was nice to unpack boxes and know exactly what I packed, unlike our other move. The movers packed our stuff with little rhyme or reason and it took FOREVER to sort it all out. Also, once you hit your 30s, I totally agree with MJR: If you like your friends, don't ask them to help you move!

I ONLY hire movers. I once tried to have family and friends help and it was disastrous. My mattress was destroyed and some furniture was chipped and scratched. They also weren't as motivated to finish and kept sking for pizza and beer as payment. Except, then they became too drunk to finish helping. Le sigh. If you ask friends to help you, you also have to try to coordinate everyone's schedule and its just so tedious. This person can only help for two hours. This person is going to be late. That person doesn't want to lift the heavy stuff. It's all understandable so I avoid being in that scenario.

Now I save up for movers. Since I live alone usually in studios or 1 bedrooms, I do not have a lot of stuff. It takes a short while for two men to move all my stuff for me.

I recently saw a groupon for a discount on a moving company. I regret it only a little that I didn't buy it since I'll be moving in the spring of 2012.

Acutally let me rephrase my answer: I think hiring friends is a good choice, just to help you move the heavy stuff. That way my friends can say no and not feel guilty, because it's more about me "hiring" them and not a favor. The last time I moved I also needed furniture; a (wealthy) friend was desperate to get rid of her furntiure. I told her I'd take it and pay her $250 for the cheap furniture if she'd help me move it to my house. We both walked away happy.

This last move for us which was last month we had to hire people to help. We had just asked friends too many times - plus we were moving to a new city/state thus didn't know anyone. We ended up hiring people to "help" and they did just that - not 100% of the work but 50-75% of it. It made it cheaper for us and affordable.

Was just having a discussion with someone about this! My family used friends growing up and while inexpensive if something broke, there was no insurance or reimbursement. I learned from this and always hire moving companies for my moves. It's worked out great and well worth the cost.

I love my friends, and my boyfriend's family is always willing to help move. However, I agree with everyone about hiring out. I don't mind packing the boxes myself, and would rather get tired and annoyed at myself or my boyfriend rather than getting annoyed at friends and family. It's just less stress all around when I don't have someone's constant "advice" in my ear.

The best way to end a friendship is to ask a friend to help you move. It's the express train to resentment and bitterness. If it's a good friend I will kick down some $$$ and a recommendation for a good, affordable mover.

When I moved into my last place, a two story, my knees were killing me for about two weeks after the move from lugging heavy boxes up the stairs. When I moved into my current place, also a two story, I decided it was worth it to pay someone to do the heavy lifting. I hired Two Men and a Truck and for $345 they loaded all my furniture and boxes (that I had packed myself) and unloaded them at the new place, all in under three hours. It was totally worth every penny!

We did the U-Haul + eMove/Moving Help thing a few weeks ago. We drove the truck, they loaded/unloaded. SO much cheaper than hiring movers to do the whole thing. I wasn't moving far and could have asked friends, but the building I was moving out of has a strict time limit for the freight elevator so we couldn't afford any delays. The guys we chose were great, and it's nice to be able to read reviews, see proof they're insured AND get a flat quote. Would absolutely do it again.

After relying on my friends and family to help me move every couple of years (I moved around a lot while in college), all the while acquiring more and more (heavy) stuff (namely MCM furniture, books and vinyl - my record collection is now about 6,000), about 8 years ago I started hiring movers. I cannot stress this enough: if you have more than will fit in a mini-van - HIRING MOVERS IS SO WORTH IT. Rather than sweating and straining and lifting and cursing, you get to stand back and direct, and the entire process is usually finished in an hour or so (depending on the distance, of course). I just moved again last weekend and it was a no-brainer. If at all possible, hiring movers is the way to go.

I wish we would have hired movers on our last move.. We had a week's notice that we were moving and so here I was, running all around town looking for spare boxes to pack up all of our stuff. Plus, we had items coming from all over town from family and friends trying to help out and my little car just couldn't take it all. We ended up borrowing a company van from my boyfriend's employer and enlisting both of our brothers. It took us almost a week to get absolutely everything together. It saved money, but certainly not time.

Family members. The only people who will keep speaking to you after you make them help you move. :)

I just moved a month ago - still in the same town, though. Only about 15 minutes away. It wasn't as big of an ordeal as I went from one bedroom of stuff (had a roommate and moved into her place) to my very own condo. Granted, I didn't have much, I still had some heavy/big pieces. I moved all the boxes myself (clothes, books, office things, anything I could get into a box) and the rest of the bigger/heavier things I held off until my boyfriend was able to help me. It was down one flight of stairs, into the back of his truck, and back up another flight of stairs. I'd probably have to say that if I were to move from this place to another, I'd probably hire movers - just because I've got more stuff.

There's asking friends to help move, and then there's asking for more than that. On TWO SEPARATE occasions, we have been asked to help friends or family move, when it turned out they hadn't even packed yet!

Once was good friends who sold their house quicker than expected and needed to get out before they left for 6 weeks in Europe. Fine, okay, we'll come and help load your trailers for an afternoon. It turned out they hadn't packed ANYTHING, even stuff they could have started packing knowing they were selling their house and would be moving. We spend the day dismantling furniture and packing boxes.

The other time was me and my parents helping my little sister move from one city to the other once she was done college. Her apartment was FILTHY (unbearably so!) and she, too, had not packed anything. Not only that, she didn't even have any BOXES! Everything ended up in garbage bags and thrown in the back of the moving van that my parents had rented for the day. Nightmare!

Lesson learned: I never help anyone move, and never ask for help.

Oh, the bitterness of some family members or friends if you refuse to help them move. I was called expletives (not in person, natch) for not driving across state lines on my own dime to help a close relative move. But it was worth the month-long silent treatment to know that I likely won't be asked again. And I wasn't when he moved again less than a year later. :)

Hire Hire Hire...Always.

Friends!

I guess it depends on your age and where you are in your lives, but as a young couple just starting out and moving into our first home, we relied greatly on the help of friends.

Not only did they graciously help us move from Apartment -> Storage in extreme heat, followed 1 month later by moving from Storage -> House in pouring rain....they even stuck around to help us clean, unpack, take down wallpaper, paint, tear up carpeting, install new quarter round, bring us food AND got us very generous housewarming gifts. If your friends say no to helping you move, you need new friends =]

But if you're too lazy to even participate in the move yourself, or return the favor later, then hire someone!

I haven't had to move yet, but I rather hire movers than to bug my friends. 4 of my friends have moved recently, 2 used movers and it was done quick & smoothly. The 2 that had friends help was a nightmare. So yeah I'll hire movers.

Use movers for all the heavy lifting (and driving).

Save the friends for an unpacking party. Complete with beer and pizza. ;)

I am only willing to help move family and close friends (who don't move frequently). I feel that friends who ask me to help them move frequently are pushing it. My advice to those who move and ask for help from friends: Extend your friends the courtesy of having everything packed and ready to go. My advice for people who move often: Don't own too many things, for the sake of your friends' backs.

If you're moving a dinky one bedroom apartment, sparsely furnished, then go for it with the friends. Especially if you are a student.

OTOH, if you have a proper home full of furniture and dishes and cookware and books and the LOT of it? Shame on you for thinking your friends want to spend their spare time hauling your sh*t around!

If you are a relative minimalist and moving locally on a flexible time frame, friends may be a good option. Last move I had to pay rent in the old place for a month after I got the keys to my new place. Pricey, but it gave me the luxury of time, so I used that instead of movers. I packed up everything small over the course of a couple weeks and moved it a car load at a time. Then it took me and two friends two hours with a U-Haul to get the furniture across town. Pretty easy.

The move before that, however, I moved half-way across the country and had a stipend from my job. I used my own boxes, and packed them myself, but let movers do the rest. Worth every penny.

It only takes one move into a 5th floor walk-up while you have the flu to sell you on pro movers forever!

I feel like once you're out of your 20s (and not in grad school or something) it's pretty hard to ask friends to do a bunch of heavy lifting in exchange for pizza or donuts. I will enlist their help (or family) to watch the truck during loading/unloading, help with packing or unpacking, and general moving-day moral support.

If at all possible, pay for movers. Good real movers. A friend of mine lived with me for a year before her fiance relocated to our area. When she was moving out, she hired movers on Craigslist to load the uhaul. It turned out to be a mom and her two kids, they showed up 4 hours late with no apology and left gouges in my walls in a couple of places. She missed the service elevator window she'd reserved at her new apartment, and it was a total fiasco. You'd think she'd learned her lesson, but when she and her fiance moved again a year later, they again went to craigslist, and hired a guy who said he was "licensed and insured." Sadly they did not actually ask for proof of that statement. He and his crew were similarly awful and actually broke an antique table, and they had to sue in small claims court to get him to pay. They ended up spending a lot more $$$ and aggravation than if they would have just hired someone reputable in the first place.

By contrast, when I moved last fall, I hired the best-reviewed company I could find on yelp and they were AWESOME. Three Russian guys, they had my entire 3 story townhouse moved into my new house in 5 hours, with everything reassembled and without so much as a scratch on anything. Worth every penny.

I was lucky: owning a piano meant that I never asked family/friends to help me move, it would have been dangerous to them or the piano. So I've always had movers, although friends have helped pack and unpack - that's enough work for pizza and beer!

For distances my family helped me.
For a same city move... I asked a friend or two to help move manageable boxes a day or two before I got the movers to move the furniture, which almost wasn't worth it.
Seriously, not one 30-something woman complained about hauling boxes up a three story walk-up... but the movers were whiney babies!
They whimpered that I didn't inform them that both apartments (to and from) were third floor... well guess what... no one asked! It didn't even occur to me that it would be an issue - I'd never hired movers before.

Next time... I still think I'll move the small stuff myself and get a couple beefy men to help with the few furniture pieces I have. Better than dealing with cry-babies.

It all boils down to whether you can afford it. If you can afford it, of course you should use movers. If you can't, then ask friends.

As I've gotten older (no in my 40s), my friends inevitably have gotten older as well. I strongly believe in making room in my budget for movers as I really don't want any of us getting hurt. I don't want to be responsible for any of my friends having loss work time due to a back or other injury. Everyone's time is so valuable and scarce now also, I don't want anyone spending their Saturday helping me move instead of getting in their much needed down or family time.

more than 3 total flights (up or down) = movers
over 30 = movers.

Moving in a few weeks and everyone who I have ever helped move in the past twenty years has volunteered their backs and knees but I have already hired a mover. I have zero interest in moving myself from a four story walkup to a three story walkup, or enlisting anyone to help me move since I recently began telling folks no. Too old and tired..

I pack myself, with the exception of china and crystal. If I am moving across town I move all of the boxes I can lift myself (and I pack so there are very few I can't handle myself). I hire professional movers to move the furniture and any large items I can't lift safely. It's not a bad experience if you are VERY organized. Last time I moved across the country and had only one full trash can when we drove away ten minutes after the movers left. I think there are just too many ways to ruin friendships in a moving situation, and if you plan carefully you can minimize the expense.

I wanted to hire movers for my last move but the quotes I got were outrageous. Over $600 to move the contents of my 500 sq. ft. studio to my new condo barely two miles away.

Hire movers. End of story. My husband and I helped some friends move across country earlier this year. They decided that the contents of their suburban, single-family home would fit in a 26'L box truck with a 12'L trailer attached, so movers were unnecessary. Being a good friend, my husband volunteered us to help - saying it was a disaster is an understatement. After taking 8 days of paid time off between the two of us, and driving 1200 miles, we were exhausted, completely under appreciated and became part of many uncomfortable, dysfunctional family disagreements. It was a miserable experience and no one should be subjected to that type of situation. Out of love for all our friends and family, we'll be hiring movers when we ditch our 1bdrm condo next summer.

I've always used friends and/or family, and I've never minded being asked to help. As my friends and I get older, that might change, based on decreasing strength and increasing available funds. I did use ABF rather than renting a truck and driving it myself across country, which was totally worth it. I packed it, and they picked it up and drove it. It was great, and cost the same as a rental truck once I factored in the gas. The biggest tip I have is to be fully packed, organized and ready when anyone shows up to help with the move. If you're all packed up, even amateurs can get you in and out quickly. If you're not really ready to go, you'll just annoy your friends and waste their time, and if you've hired movers, you may have to pay extra for packing or you may not be able to find your stuff when they're done.

A very timely post.

I'm now having a hard time understanding why you WOULDN'T hire movers... at least in Chicago. When we moved into our last apartment, it cost $150 just to rent the giant cargo van. UHauls and the like are also very expensive in the city. This last move into our new apartment cost $350 with professional movers. SO WORTH EVERY PENNY.

I hired the moving company which had the best Yelp reviews, and boy, they did not let me down. I was so impressed by how polite, quick, and careful they were (New City Moving in Chicago).

My fiance and I are 27 and I just feel a little too old to ask friends to help us move. Notably, no friends of ours have asked in the past few years to help them move. I think we've all just kind of grown out of that phase.

I like helping friends move. Am I the only one? It's a nice gesture and it's nice to do a little manual labor every once in a while.

I hire movers, but ask a friend or two to guide movers to the correct set-down places and - this is important - stick around the truck to make sure nothing gets stolen.

Hire movers. It's just not cool to ask your friends to move your stuff. No matter how much beer and pizza you offer them. Besides, movers really cost less in the end.

After 17 moves (including 2 across country) I had to hire a moving company for my last move. I had heard very good things about Two Men and a Truck moving company. I cannot recommend them enough. They arrived on time, packed the truck and unpacked the truck in record time. I am getting older now and my family members are older than I am so asking them to help was out of the question. I saved up for my move and believe me it was worth it to hire them.

@sherrio - I like helping friends move too, but then I've never had a bad experience like others are posting, and I am lucky to be young with no physical problems.

My family never hired movers and we moved nearly every year of my life (in a UHaul) until I bought a condo 8 years ago with my bf. But we never had anything precious and the largest item was the mattress.

the more times you ask friends to help you move, the fewer friends you'll have to ask in the future

I'm an adult now. I hire movers. My friends only job is to come over and drink wine at the house warming party.

Movers are for people who love their friends.

I've hired movers for the previous three moves. A one bedroom apartment cost me around $400-$500 including truck. I shudder to think what the 2300 square foot home I now live in will cost. None of my experiences with movers was really great but it sure beat killing the backs of my friends and family to save a few bucks.

Oh! And that was within the same city move. It would have cost more for me if I had moved out of the metro region.

I just moved out of my 4th floor apartment after 15 years. I never even considered asking friends. I have too much valuable and heavy furniture combined with treacherous, curved steps (58 of them!) to subject friends or family to the rigors of moving. I've watched enough delivery men gasp at my stairs to know that it was a tough job even for the four professionals who did the move.

I had the keys to the new place for about a week before the move and brought over all my plants, the pantry, the bathroom stuff, and some antique glassware myself.

Everything else was boxed and ready to go, but it was still a six hour move - climbing up four flights to get every load of boxes and piece of furniture takes time. There was no breakage, no damage, and no regrets.

My favorite is when my cheapskate friends bought a house in the Bay Area (probably cost >$750k) and then asked friends to help them move. If you can afford to buy a house here, you can afford movers.

There comes a point in your life (shortly after the age of 30, if you are single) when your friends stop helping you move. Even offering to pay them doesn't work. If you have little enough furniture, your family may help you, but I'm officially at the point in my life where my friends are either sleeping in with hangovers or up at 5 AM with toddlers, neither of which I want helping me move my grandmother's art work or my new TV... Hiring is defined by your position in life than by your finances.

Last time we moved, we were lucky that another couple we knew was moving the same summer, so we traded work, but that was the last time. Next time we are hiring movers. Our friends did fine, but I was sore for three weeks. :/

At my last place, we had to vacate due to new ownership, but were given money & a discount for rent as incentive at another property to soften the blow. I took advantage of that and hired movers. There's not much I spend a couple hundred dollars on, but that definitely was worth it. When you recruit family & friends, you have to help too. It was so nice to only worry about packing and unpacking. Also nice to know your property is insured.

I've moved 2x when my 2 girlfriends helped me move. I was still single and all my belongings were conveniently in plastic storage boxes. No one broke their back. I had only 1 big dresser/desk to move.
With this recent move, we only had some tables and chairs and a refrigerator, no other furniture yet, we had my 2 brothers-in-law help with the muscle. My husband and I both realized we really should just hire professional movers next time we move. You can only ask so many favors.

I get friends and family to help with moves (never the same people within the same 5 year span). We have a few guidelines - everything in boxes ahead of time. All dressers taped up or drawers removed. All beds broken down. It rarely takes us more than 2 hours to get everything out of the house and the same to get it into the new one. We make sure to feed them and provide food, as well as a gift certificate to a restaurant / movie.

That being said, we've accumulated some heavy furniture in the last 4 years including a quality leather sofa. I think we're going to hire movers next time.

My husband and father had a falling out after our 2nd-to-last move and it was very stressful for me to be in the middle of it. When my hubby and I bought our first house (our last move), we hired movers for the move from a 1-bedroom apartment to a 4 bedroom, 2-story house. I decided that since we won't be moving for a very long time, the splurge was ok. My dad was offended at first, but when he got to just see the house instead of work on it, he forgot that he felt insulted (and he got right to work helping with some improvements). It was the best $380 of my entire life.

I've both hired movers and asked friends to help move me. I think most people ask their friends for moving help when they can't afford professionals or are afraid of experiencing a moving nightmare. Today, If I had to move, I would likely hire movers and ask friends to help me with the packing.

The best move I made with friends involved basically an all day moving party where people helped out for a few hours at a time throughout the day. If you have enough friends to do this it's an excellent approach to moving.

When you own enough high-quality furniture and your friends all have kids and jobs, you hire movers!

when you're young and more physically fit plus have less stuff to move, you use friends. when you get older and have back problems/injuries and waaaay more junk, you use movers. LOL. i recommend ABS "U-Pack Movers" as they are relatively inexpensive and no hassles.

Hire movers for the big/heavy stuff. Ask a few good friends to "hang" with you during the move (moral support, help facilitate where things go, etc.) They can also help with precious things you don't want the moving company to touch. Everyone wins!

I like my friends way too much to ask any of them for help in lugging my two enormous bookcases up or down a staircase. I found a good moving company in my area, so I just call them instead.

we asked a friend last time and he actually hired 2 guys to help us. i would advise against this. we ended up with a lot more furniture then we had planed to take with us. but you definitely need a big truck. making only one trip makes it a lot easier. and I would go with friends if they are strong. if they aren't that strong, even if they want to be helpful, there's not a ton they can do other then watch the truck while you load and unload.

Just had to share this -
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/moving

Movers. Always.