After two weeks on the road, we made it to Colorado. We had a lovely visit with my husband’s sister and family in Boise ID, an overnight stay in Wyoming, and another grand visit with my brother and his family. We enjoyed their gracious hospitality and the opportunity to catch a breath before engaging in the flurry of activity to get settled.
We had a great experience shipping our stuff with U-Boxes through U-Haul. Through their Moving Helpers program, we were put in contact with independent contractors on both ends of the trip. The Portland folks brought the boxes to our townhouse, loaded them up, and delivered them to the U-Haul depot. (They did an amazing job utilizing every square inch of space and thereby reducing our storage needs by one quarter.) U-Haul transported them to a Colorado depot. The Denver folks brought the boxes to our new home, unloaded them, and returned the empty containers to the depot. Everything made it here without a scratch (and for a very reasonable price). I have nothing but great things to say about the experience.
For the past two weeks, we’ve been unpacking, putting pictures on the wall (with several more left to go), restocking our supplies, and getting ourselves established in community. My brother and his wife spent a couple of days with us as stellar helpers. Their able assistance proved a major shot in the arm when things felt a bit overwhelming and made the process more fun. And, of course, the move from Oregon to Colorado has meant:
- New utilities and household contractors
- All new doctors and dentist
- A new veterinarian, groomer, and County registration for our dog
- New Driver’s licenses and vehicle registration
- New voter registration (in time for the election!)
- A new banking relationship
- A HUGE number of address changes
I’ve gotten great referrals from a dear friend who moved here a few years ago and from our new neighbors who’ve stopped by to welcome us to the area. It has made us feel like the big, scary move isn’t so big and scary after all.
We’ve been blessed with fantastic weather while doing all of our running around. The season of snow will be upon us all too soon, and this California girl will likely be a bit tentative with her driving until she gets the hang if it. It’ll be nice to be settled in before the first snowflakes fall.
After all is said and done, we love the new house and the new neighborhood. We feel great about our decision to move here, and look forward to what this next chapter of life will bring.