Moving across the country
 

I was wondering if anyone had any good suggestions on how to manage a move across country. Any conservative estimate on how long it will take to drive from Seattle to Southampton NY? Any safety considerations? I will be driving all alone (female). Still debating if I will pull a small trailer or whether I will have my three cats in the car or have flown them there earlier. I was going to just ship my goods and my car and fly with the cats but I am hearing such horror stories about shipping your car it has me quite scared. Advice?

go to freetrip.com for time, distance, routing, and hotels in your price range..

You can check with the airlines, but I doubt they'll let one passenger take 3 cats aboard in the cabin.

There's really no safety concern for driving cross country, unless you're going in winter time. Otherwise, biggest problem is fatigue and falling asleep at the wheel.

Anyways, the distance is about 3,000 miles. I say it's fairly comfortable to do it in 5 days driving solo, and very comfortable in 6.

Now, whether your cats like riding in cars or not - that's another issue.

Drive with the cats, avoiding pulling a trailer if you can. The cats may not be happy, but they will be happier and safer than in a plane - just plan ahead so you can get a pet-friendly hotel.

Depending on time of year, you may have to eat lunch at drive-thrus, etc. to avoid leaving cats in hot car.

Traveling once I saw a car rigged up with some sort of contraption between the front and back seat and several animals, out of carriers, in the back. All sorts of safety issues to at least consider, but I would think most cats would be happier with this arrangment than stuffed into cat carriers.

When moving with pets, another major concern is escape - they become scared, disoriented, etc and may try to flee you car, old home, new home. Movers leave doors open and pets get out. At least make sure they have current tags and collars with contact info for you, but be extremely careful they do not find a way to plan their escape.

5-6 days would work. 4 if you really, really push it (mapquest said 44 hours or so).

How you do it is the tough question. I wouldn't recommend flying with 3 cats, but driving for that long is going to be pretty stressful too. If you drive with them, I'd say take 5 or 6 days. That will give you some extra time each day to let the cats relax.

I drove with my 2 cats from MS coast to northern WI, which was about 20 hours. I did that in about 2 days and kept them in their carriers while I drove. I think it's a bad idea (safetywise) to let them roam while you drive - tried that once and will never do it again. One of my cats decided he would first crawl around under my feet, and then had to get up on the dashboard in front of my face while I was going 70 on the interstate. I can't imagine the havoc 3 cats would create if they're not in a carrier of some sort.

I stopped a few times a day for 10-15 minutes at least, and let them have food/water. I found the water just sloshed out while I drove, so it was pointless to have a bowl in their carrier. Gail's idea about confining them to the back seat sounds sorta OK, but if you get in an accident they'd become little projectiles and crash into the divider. Plus, they will have to sit in the back window at some point, and almost certainly will try to climb around on the divider, try to crawl under the seats, etc. I think it's safer and easier to keep them in carriers and just let them roam a bit every few hours. It'll slow you down, but there's no way around it.

5 days did it for us with the dog in the back seat, stopping early each evening, while it was still light and staying in decent hotels.
If the cats get along, you can get a larger crate, the sort a med size dog would fit in and pad it and let them all stay together in the crate in the backseat.
Only safety consideration I can think of is have your route mapped out before hand, know where you will be stopping , only drive in the daytime and have a cell phone with you.
I have no bad memories from our drive last Aug.
Good luck!

Wow! I am amazed that people think I can do the trip so fast. I really think it will be more than a week. I will be traveling alone so I don’t want to be on the road after nightfall. There are definitely safety issues for a woman traveling alone and out of state plates are a flag. So I would likely not be on the road for as long as most are thinking to make the trip so quick. In fact, in order to be near fair size places in the western states where I can find lodging, I think it might take like 9 days.

If I fly with the cats, they would be in cargo not in the cabin. I'd rather have them with me in the car but that is a long trip. I wanted to put up the dog barrier (I have a Subaru Forester so I could have them in the back) but they don’t open from inside. I'd have to lift open the back and no way to stop them from getting out. So they would have to be in as big of a pet kennel as I could fit in my car. It will be quite the ordeal if I do it. :)

You cannot fly pets in the summer and/or in the coldest part of winter.

Believe me, it is not an ordeal at all. Boring maybe, but not an ordeal.
My son expected us to take 10 days , driving from Florida to Oregon, we could have done it a bit faster but made it easily in 5 days.
We left the hotels by 8:00-9:00 at the latest in the am and stopped driving around 5:00 pm- 7:00, depending on how far we had come and how much we felt like driving later. But it was summer, we stopped when it was light, had a nice dinner, walked the dog, watched some tv and slept.
Not an ordeal at all.
Alone or with company, you will listen to the radio or CDs and you will have a great adventure to tell about.
As said, the biggest safety concerns are not to drive at night, stay in decent hotels ( females alone are usually told to have rooms near the front desk) and being sure the car is in good shape and will not break down ..
Get AAA or someone like that to map out the trip for you. Using that map, you can figure out how far you will go each day (miles wise) then you can figure where you will stay-and find hotels and book ahead if you wish. We did that the first 2 nights then just ended up driving up to the hotels and asking for rooms. We never had a problem..and we stayed at La Quintas because they allow all pets with no charge. Keep that in mind, when traveling with the cats.

Don't need to worry about having out-of-state license plates. On the interstates, high percentage of cars are out-of-state anyways.

All cellular networks have coverage along the interstates as well, so you can easily get help with a cell phone.

If you're traveling in summer, you get many hours with daylight along the northern US.

I do have a couple of suggestions in regard to safety, however:

- Avoid using the rest areas along the interstates. The staffed welcome centers are okay, but not the regular rest areas. Go to a gas station or truck stop instead.

- Learn how to change a flat tire.

Your most important piece of safety equipment is your cell phone.

I like the idea of bigger crate or crates so they can roam a bit - and it will also hold a litter box.

How far you can drive in one day depends on your tolerance and alertness level. I find myself (female, out of state plates, driving Boston-Savannah) that after 8-10 hours of driving - plus stops, so really 10-12 hour day - I am quite fried. Two days of that is plenty. You might consider 2-3 days driving and then stopping mid-country for 24 hours to let you and cats stretch your legs a bit.

Give some thought to what you will do with cats in hotel room - read posts here about travel with dogs, since most people don't travel with cats, regarding leaving them in hotel room, etc. At least they don't bark, but you have same issues of escape if housekeeping enters as you would with a dog.

As far as driving time, Mapquest lists trip as just under 3,000 miles and 44 hours - I have found them to be generally accurate, but you must add time for traffic, construction and any stops you make - so that is just the time car is moving.

Sounds like you have received some excellent advice.
Do you belong to AAA in case of car trouble? It also allows you discounts in many motels.

I drove NJ-WA last Sept.Just me and my dog.. Took me 4 days (49 hours).Originally thought 5 or 6.Picked a basic area on the map that I wanted to get to each day, but usually drove further.My personal thought process was that I would rather be "getting there" instead of sitting in a hotel room.Always stopped when I was tired. Didn't do any sightseeing,since it was too hot to make Frankie sit in the car unattended. I signed up for AAA,thankfully still to this day never having needed it. I drive a 4Runner and pulled a trailer. The trailer kills any gas efficiency you may have! I spent just around $800 in gas for the trip,having left the week in Sept gas was at it's highest point. (Save ALL hotel,gas,toll receipts for tax write offs next year!!)My hint will always be don't assume there is a gas station just up the road. There are long stretces on 80 with nothing,and some "gas signed" exits lead you to "Children of the Corn!" Don't ever go under 1/4 tank.

Never felt unsafe, just bored. A cooler,twizzlers,and audio books are great for helping that! Stopped a few times a day for us to stretch (remember leashes and poopie bags- or their litter box!)I stayed in plain little Motel 6,because they were all cheap,clean, and Frankie was no extra $.Then again,it was only to shower, sleep and go first thing the next morning. If I was taking a more laid back trip,I would have stayed in nicer hotels.

"So I would likely not be on the road for as long as most are thinking to make the trip so quick. In fact, in order to be near fair size places in the western states where I can find lodging, I think it might take like 9 days. "

Whether the cats are with you or not, there's no way this should take 9 days. Driving time of 44 hours - that breaks down to 5 hours a day. I don't think it's humanly possible to drive that slow. :) Especially in the West, where the speed limits are higher.

Seriously, 5-6 days would be doing it comfortably. You'll be on I-90 most of the way. Even in the western states, you're going to be able to find a motel in smaller towns - you don't have to stop for the night in a big city.

Ship your stuff.

Drive your car, yourself and the cats, no trailer.

I did Vermont/Seattle move years ago. I would be more scared about flying three cats than shipping a car, as far as fear factor.

I would allow 7-9 days, so you don't have to push it. I don't see the worry about personal safety as long as you stick to main routes, have AAA service, and a cell phone.

I would definitely have the cats in carriers not loose in the car! Get a couple good size ones, like for small dogs.

Drive with the cats.

Airlines allow only one animal per passenger (one of my neighbors flew with two cats and had to pay a friend to bring the second) and they will not allow 3 animals in any cabin.

As for your stuff - it depends on how much you have. In my experience belongngs multiply when you move and unless you have practically nothing I would pay a mover. That way you and the cats can be settled in the new place when they arrive.

Perhaps a silly question, but how do you deal with the cat relieving itself in a carrier and not ruining the carseat or carpet?

Thanks for all the good suggestions. If I fly the cats WILL NOT be in the cabin. They would be checked, which is a climate controlled area not cargo. I am mid 40's, cancer survivor with some back issues so I won't be driving 8-9 hours (not counting breaks) to make it in 5 days. I guess I have more issues with the safety because I had two people close to me attacked while traveling. One was murdered. She had three dogs with her, including a Doberman. That is why I would want to stay in a more populated area where I can be sure it is a nicer motel/hotel. I'm still debating. I get scared about flying the cats but I would only do it with a direct nonstop flight. Then there’d be only the drive from the airport and it would be over. Not sure how they will be after over a week in a crate in a car. And of course there is the thing with having to catch them every morning to get back on the road. :)

How unfortunate that you had 2 people close to you attacked while traveling. There are hundreds (?thousands) of people posting here and it does not seem to be a common event to those of us who travel a lot - so do not take these attacks as the norm - these people were either very unlucky or in more dangerous situations than you are likely to be in on a trip such as you plan.

Before you go any further in your decision making process, check with the airline - since some posters here say you can not fly 3 cats with one ticket-buying passenger, even in cargo. If you can not, your decision will be made for you.

Cats adjust to being in a crate and they can get out when you are in the hotel room, you will feed them and let them use their litter box.
My grandmother had show cats, Siamese and drove with them. They slept with her ( 2 of them) and ate and roamed the room and behaved very nicely. Then everyone got back in their crate and into the car-they napped and looked out the windows and when they got home, they were just fine.
They don't think about it, while they are traveling-that is their new life. When they get home, that is the new life again, but familiar lol.
My worries about traveling with Pup are that he gets lost, let loose, stolen, or dies from the pressure/non-pressure in the area they fly in. They are not that climate controlled, because animals die in these things all the time.
We are considering a long flight for a long trip and Pup is my biggest worry. If I could drive or take a ship, it would be eaiser for him.
So my advice, if you are worried about the cats, drive with them. If you are that worried about yourself and something happening to you, fly.

Are you sure you can;t take a ship with Pup? A friend of mine moved to europe with her dog and refused to put him in an unsafe semi=pressurized cabin. She took a freighter - took only a couple of days longer than a cruise - and they are usually happy to take animals as long as you're responsible for them.

Here's another vote to drive and take the cats.

My two cats travel well in a carrier together in the car.

I keep the water bowl dry but add a little at a time and the litter box lined with paper only.

Out of curiousity, where were your friends when they were attacked?

The interstates are pretty safe and the rest stops are continuously patroled.

We moved cross country many times, and quite a few of those were with 2 cats. They did better out of their carrier, but when we stopped, before we opened a door they were put back in the carrier. We did not want to take any chances. The litterbox was kept in an old drawstring laundry bag that was tied closed when not in use. You do not want cat litter flying around if you make a sudden stop, lol! In the hotel rooms, we kept the cats in the bathroom. That way they could not crawl up under the beds or anywhere else that would be hard to pry them out of.

I can understand your concern about rest areas and such. When you stop, anywhere, just always take a good look around and if you have a bad gut feeling, leave. Sort of like day to day living, always be aware of your surroundings.

Wishing you a fun and safe trip:)

nyt, yes, we can take a ship ( I think) .. I would rather be the one sick ( seasick) than have Pup die or be injured..I cannot imagine that flight, not being able to see if he is ok until they unload him...shudder!
Remember the Whippet from the dogshow that was lost at the airport in NYC? That runs through my mind every time I consider traveling with Pup.
I figure when I win the Lottery-we can just charter jets and it won't be a problem anymore :)

For Barry, you take a small portable tray of cat litter that you either keep in the back of a large crate or on the floor of the car if the cat is loose.

For Kaleyna, Fortunately the cat I moved cross country with was extremely tame and social-able and answered to her name. She easily moved in and out of hotel rooms and walked on a leash.

That is very sad and scary that you had two friends murdered, whatever the situation. I can see your reluctance about the long drive, and in your situation I guess I might look into flying yourself and the cats, and shipping your car and furnishings, and/or selling and buying new at the other end.

I just had my car shipped 1/2 the country, Chicago to Portland. Make sure it's a trailer truck (not rail or a wacky driver) and you shld be fine. I think it was just over $1000 so maybe double it for your move. With gas prices the drive and time and hassle seem to be excessive.

Oops, my mistake, one attack and one murder, still really scary.

I don't mean to add to your confusion but a cross country move is a big undertaking, as I'm sure you realize.

I would try to step back and think creatively of all the possibilities. How much of your stuff do you really need to move and how much can you get rid of? Do you know where you'll be living at the other end yet? It might be a smaller place than you have now. Do you have a friend or relative you could talk into driving with you if you bought them a one-way ticket to get back home? Would you consider adopting out any or all of the cats and not moving them? Or leave them with friends, you drive back, then have the friends put the cats on a plane after you are settled?

These are tough questions but some creative thinking might give you more options than you had thought about.

I'm still debating. It is a hard decision.

One was one of my mom's best friend. I called her my 'aunt'. She was in a nice motel while driving through an inland northeast state. She put the dogs in her room and ran to her car for something and was grabbed, raped and murdered. The other was a friend from college who was traveling in the US for business. She was in a 4 or 5 star hotel and answered the door for someone who said they were with the hotel and was raped.

I know attacks are rare but I do have concerns being a woman traveling alone in a car especially through states like Montana where it is pretty desolate for long stretches.

I haven't seen any limits for flying domestic pets in the hold as 'baggage'. I’ll have to call the ones who fly direct nonstop to NY from Seattle.

http://www.animalfair.com/travel_flying.html

I was looking for the website that I got my info on what type of kennels etc for flying pets and came across this.

It sounds like your main issue with driving is safety. Don't you have a friend who'd like the adventure of a drive across country? Maybe if you offered to pay for a plane flight home, someone would join you on the trip to share driving and be company.

Most airlines will only allow 2 pets on 1 flight, so I doubt you could take all 3. We drove from San Diego to Atlanta in 4 days. Why not trailer your car ? Plus you have the added bonus of using your vehicle for storage!

We drove a U-Haul rental truck towing our Volvo wagon on a flat bed from the Lehigh Valley to Eugene, Oregon, in mid-summer. The Volvo was completed off the ground (rather than being dragged behind with the back wheels on the ground). Riding in the Volvo was our pet lop-eared rabbit and our two parrots (there was no room for them in the driving compartment of the truck). We stopped regularly to check on them and they did just fine. The only problem ;-) was in Montana, when we took our rabbit (in her traveling cage) into a diner with us and the patrons all stopped to admire her, then added: "we eat those around here, you know."

We kept the windows on the Volvo partly rolled down to give the pets fresh air. Whenever we had to park, we tried to find plenty of shade for them.

For a woman driving alone, my advice would be to make sure you do most of your driving only in daylight hours. If that means taking a bit longer to do the trip, I think it's worth it.

Pick decent motels (see the thread on La Quinta hotels) that allow pets and, if possible, will let you park close to your room. Before making your hotel reservation, check that the hotel isn't located in a dodgy area. Make sure you are checked into your hotel and have eaten dinner before dark. Also, keep a close eye on the weather forecast--if there are severe storms (thunderstorms or snowstorms, depending on when you plan to move), adjust your plans accordingly. Our first day, we knew there were very strong t-storms predicted for the Toledo, OH, area, so we pushed it and got ourselves and pets into the room literally 10 minutes before the big storm hit.

We were glad we towed our car behind us rather than having it driven across country by a stranger.

Our pets came through the trip absolutely fine. One of the highlights was staying in a Marriott outside Chicago. The hotel catered mostly to business travelers, so the staff enjoyed the novelty of our entourage.

Finally, if you haven't driven through Montana before and you're not traveling in winter (which I strongly recommend against), give yourself some extra time there. It's such a beautiful state.

When you call airlines, you must get your terminology correct - direct and non-stop are not the same thing.

You want a non-stop flight.

Direct merely means from point A to point B it has the same flight number - it usually means you do not get off plane, but the plane does stop someplace.

I have an idea! Have you looked into Amtrak? Can pets go? Could you get a sleeper cabin?

I have been thinking (sympathetically) about your situation since I first read this posting. I have only driven across the country once (when I moved to Seattle). I truly hated the drive, and would never do it again. It was LONG and BORING. I know some people love road trips but I'm not one of them. Plus I had a friend along for company and only 1 very tame cat.

With your complex background, health issues, two horror stories a little too close for comfort... I really would encourage you to find another way to make the move rather than drive solo.

Kind regards and best wishes, Suze

Only service animals are allowed on Amtrak.

darn, thanks GoTravel, i was afraid that might be the case.

Yeah. I checked Amtrak earlier. I thought that would be a blast but no pets.

I still have yet to find any notice on the airline websites about maximum number of animals that can checked as baggage. I have seen maximums for in cabin. I’ll have to call around to see what is what.

I know what direct is but just added it as an extra word to nonstop for emphasis. :)

I think there just isn't any easy answer. I'm not sure what I will do. No one I know can take time off work or away from family to make the drive. I've begged and pleased.

I forgot to add my own personal travel scare story but I wasn’t hurt and it happened a long time ago so it slipped my mind. A guy friend and I were driving together from the NY/NJ area back to college in Atlanta after freshman summer and one night we stopped in a motel (kind with doors to rooms outside) somewhere along the way. The room didn’t' have a phone which we thought very odd but we didn’t need to call anyone (these were the days before cell phones) so we shrugged it off and settled in. In the middle of the night some guys started banging and pounding on the door saying "You got a girl in there? Let us in." over and over. We locked ourselves in the bathroom and simply had to wait until they left which was a LONG time later. No one came to help. We weren't sure if hey were drunks looking for a girl (but why our room?) or if someone in check in told someone a brown guy had checked in with a white girl (my - platonic - friend was of Latin American descent.) It was scary as hell.

All these stories make it sound like I don’t like traveling! I love traveling. :)

We plan to move with two cats and a small dog, so I am reading this post with interest. I certainly do not think my cats would happily go in a car for the two days's drive necessary for our new move , not to mention four or five days. So either we will find homes for one or both the cats or ship them. I imagine that we might fly with my husband having the dog- a Pomeranian under his seat and I would have the tamer of our two cats under mine. The other cat is a feral cat and while she is devoted to us from a safe distance, I am not sure I can even catch her to put her in a carrier. I am hoping that one of our neighbors will take care of the feral cat.

Moving animals is always difficult. When we moved here twelve years ago, we bought a cat, a large active German Shepherd and a large Cocker-poo.It was only a three hour drive. Both of the dogs were given tranquilizers at our vet's suggestion. I will never do that again because the Cocker-poo died the day after our move.