ACK! We're moving x-country the week before our wedding!

Ok, so as I've mentioned before, Mark is an MD/PhD student who's finishing up his degrees (finally!), graduating June 5th, and starting his residency. We scheduled the wedding for June 21, believing that his residency would start July 1 (even if we didn't know where that was at the time). Boy, were we wrong!

We currently live in NYC, and we just found out that he matched for his first year of medical residency at UCSD, in San Diego, CA -- nearly as far away as possible while remaining in the continental US! While we're excited as can be about it, turns out that his orientation actually starts on June 16, the day we're supposed to leave for Mexico. Um...

Hopefully he'll be able to push off the start date until the 24th (we get married on the 21st). But it still means that we have to pack up everything and move from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific sometime between June 6th and June 13th. eep!! Still not sure how we're going to do it (hire movers? Rent a truck and do it ourselves?), but we have to get us, our furniture, my parrot, and all wedding-related items to San Diego before we can leave for MX. My goodness, I can feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about it.

Normally, I'm an organizing fiend. But the thought of even beginning to figure this one out has me totally paralyzed. Any organizational clues, tips, suggestions, you-name-it would be VERY welcome!!!

Wow, that is a far move. The good thing is San Diego is beautiful and the weather is amazing!

I'm a phd student on the east coast & I see people move to california for postdocs pretty often. They usually use pods. They drop it off where you live now (if the place you live now allows that- if not I think there is another way). You fill it with your stuff & it shows up when you get there.

I would not do a UHAUL this close to your wedding. Also with the cost of gas I doubt it's any better. Here is an idea of what you could do:

1 Pack everything you need for the wedding so you have it with you. Also hold on to the necessities to get you by until you settle down again.

2. put everything is a pod & send it on it's way to california

3. get your apartment lined up in san diego (I'm assuming you are renting an apartment). Confirm with them it's ok to have a pod delivered. I've seen them sitting at my complex for weeks waiting for someone to show up. But, I'm pretty sure they have storage facilities too.

4. go have a great time in mexico while your stuff is making it's way across the country

5. when you return to NYC, pack up the last of your things & fly to california so he can get started

Would something like that work?

PODS - Reinventing Moving and Storage > HOME

Wow! That's tough, I would be freaking out too. I think Morgan's suggestion is a great one!

Wow! that is exciting and nerve wracking at the same time

did you already book your airline tix from NYC? can you change them from SD? at least you have a much faster flight.

i think Morgan convered the bases...the only other thing i would add is to inventory your boxes when you pack. you may need something and not have time to unpack every single thing.

what i recommend is (i know it sounds tedious) to make a list of everything that is going into a box (on excel if you can) and number the boxes and match those to the lists

I was also going to suggest a pod that way you guys can fly there (or drive your own car with your parrot and make better time)

It took us 3 1/2 days from Vegas to DC which is a little less of a drive from NYC to SD.

Also please let me know if you need any suggestions on places to live in SD, I went to college there and my mother lives there. UCSD is in La Jolla, which is one of the most expensive areas of town, but I would recommend for you guys to live as close as you can to there because with traffic and his crazy schedule in the hospital (I am sure residents don't get first pick at good schedules) you will want to live closer to the hospital. Also it depends on where you will work, because everyone pretty much commutes from the north end of SD to the south downtown area.

You will probably want to find a place along the 5 near La Jolla, Pacific Beach would be good, expensive but a fun place to live, you can walk to tons of shopping, eating, etc.

Okay as for your wedding...take a deep breath this is all going to work out, UCSD is a great med school and hospital and he is very lucky to have matched there so that is the best part of this all. Your wedding will work out.

Pack all your stuff up in a pod and have it moved, don't hire a moving company as that is nearly $4-5k to move cross country.

Try to see what you could possibly sell between now and then (we sold everything and bought again once we moved).

great suggestions morgan and alyssa!

On a happy note... San Deigo is so amazing you will love it there!!! Just be as positive as you can about it all and take it one step at a time. That is all you can do

Congratulations! That is very exciting and very stressful all rolled into one.

Love Morgan's ideas. I have used PODS before and they are reasonable in price and easy to use. We even had a moving company that PODS recommended come and wrap everything in bubble wrap (tables, chairs, etc) and then placed it properly in the POD.

oooo honey, i wouldnt even know where to begin... hope all turns out well, we will keep you in our prayers