Finding a right Los Angeles moving company is as important to moving to LA as is choosing the neighborhood and communities to live in, as bad Los Angeles movers will sour your experience of moving to this dream city and LA is full of such companies. Got it, but why to move to LA?

Why LA is so famous

LA is so famous among people because of its entertainment industry, of which Hollywood is a big part. Television, recorded music, and interactive games may not be individually as big as Hollywood, but regardless each one of them entertains its audiences driving the LA economy in the process. Talking of economy I should mention here that apparel, fashion, tourism, technology, aerospace, and petroleum are other economic forces that move the company.

Cultural centers of LA

It will not be too much to say that Los Angeles is the cultural center of the world. It has many world-famous movie theaters, concert halls, amphitheaters, entertainment centers, etc., which makes living in LA quite fun. I am going to talk in very brief about four very famous cultural centers that will make your life joyous once you move to the city.

1. Hollywood Bowl: It is famous modern amphitheatre located in the vicinity of Hollywood. It is used primarily for music concerts. The amphitheater has a seating capacity of 17,376 people.
2. Grauman’s Chinese Theatre: It’s a movie theater. A movie theater with a difference. It is located near the historic Hollywood walk of fame at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard. It is opened after the success of Grauman’s Egyptian Theater.
3. Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre: Located in Hollywood Boulevard, this is the world’s most famous movie theater. It was opened in 1922, and has an honor of becoming the movie theater that hosted the first ever Hollywood premiere.
4. Walt Disney Concert Hall: The Walk Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 South Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles. It has a seating capacity of 2,265 people. This place could be considered home to the Los Angeles Master Chorale and Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra. These are just some of the in-numerous reasons why so many people want to live in LA. This is a place where an outgoing mobile person will never get bored. Now, let’s see how you can find a decent relocation company to shift you to the City of Angels.

Choosing the right Los Angeles Moving Company

Step 1: Ask for recommendation. If you know someone in LA, or someone who has moved to LA in the recent past then ask the person if he knows any decent moving company in the neighborhood. Following the recommendation, make a list of moving companies.

Step 2: Contact the relocation guys. Call the Los Angeles movers on the list that you made by asking for relocation. If you are satisfied by one or more of them then your initial choosing is done, but if you are not then move to step 3.

Step 3: Research online. Go to relocation forums, read blogs and ask questions, read reviews, and ask an online expert; do each one of these things and make a list of top 5 relocation companies, and repeat step 2 before moving to step 4.

Step 4: Check papers and ask for quotation. Checking various licenses of all the LA movers you talked is very important because you cannot do much to a company that runs illegally. If any document or license is missing then just bid adieu. You need to keep yourself safe from scamming companies. Once you are satisfied, ask them to give quotations

Step 5: Schedule the moving and get it in written. If you are satisfied by the papers shown to you and rate offered. It is time to fix the date and time. When everything is done to satisfaction, get it in written and properly signed. Call the moving company an hour in advance before scheduled time.

Each of the steps dealt above is important in choosing a reliable Los Angeles moving company. Do not hurry. You will not like to end up with a bad moving company that breaks your goods, and because of their legal status you cannot even do too much to them legally.

No matter in which part of Los Angeles (LA) you are going to move to, a good Los Angeles moving company will always be there to safely transport your goods as well as to pack and unpack them. A good moving company will always be there in LA, no matter how many bad LA movers mushrooms in the city.

How do you tell if the LA mover you are hiring is good or bad? It is simple to tell, if you know what to look for. There are some attributes that all good LA movers share and which are missing from bad ones. You need to look for the following attributes in a LA mover while discussing your requirement with him. This will save you from falling prey to scammers. I must warn you beforehand that LA moving scams are rising in LA neighborhood, so you need to be careful.

Things to look for in a LA mover

• Are you being offered the unbelievably cheap deal? Well do not get surprised if I say this is one of the main indicators of a scammer. A LA moving scammer will offer you any deal that you asked for because he has to trap you, and as it is he is not going to honor the deal. Always remember there is a certain minimum price for everything, and anyone offering you a price lower than the minimum the industry is a scammer. Deal hunting is good, but it may lead you to the glossy door of moving swindlers.
• Agreeing on anything. This is another sign of a scam moving company. The person on the other side of the table will invariably agree to whatever you say. He will try to win your confidence by agreeing to even your unreasonable demands, which by the way you don’t know are unreasonable. What is the harm in agreeing to everything, if there is no intention of working on any of them?
• Bad reviews. If the Los Angeles moving company you are dealing with has loads of bad reviews littered on the Internet then beware, you are in for a trouble. Having said that I must tell you that you must apply your own sense of judgment and read between the lines of good as well as bad reviews written about an LA mover on the internet. People get paid to generate good or even bad reviews.

All this is so good, so insightful, and so telling, but where should I live in Los Angeles?

Well, this is a valid question, which you need to answer before you take any of the measures suggested above. If you do not know where to live in LA then how “which LA movers you choose” is not going to matter even a bit? So, let’s figure out that part as well.

The city of Angels, as LA is known as, is straggled in 498.3 square miles area, of which land encompasses 469.1 square miles, and the rest 29.2 square miles is water. The city is divided into several neighborhoods. They are: The Eastside, Downtown LA, Northeast LA, the Harbor Area, Hollywood, South LA (or South Central as called by the locals), the Westside and the San Fernando, Wilshire, and Crescenta Valleys.

You can choose to live in any part of the city, as each one of them is as exciting as you can expect it to be. If you want, you can ask permission to be part of any of the LA’s famous communities; of which Baldwin Hills, Bel Air, Benedict Canyon, Brentwood, Century City, Downtown Financial District, Hancock Park, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Koreatown, Leimert Park, Los Feliz, Pacific Palisades, Silver Lake, Venice Beach, Watts, Westwood, and West Adams are the most famous. Living in some of the above discussed communities is quite expensive, while, living in others goes easy on the pocket. And as usual, it all depends upon how deep your pocket it.

By coming this far, you have not only educated yourself about the City of Angels, but you have also learnt ways to pick out a reliable Los Angeles moving company from the ruck of not-so trustworthy LA movers.

Los Angeles or LA or the City of Angels, call what you may, but the charm of the city will not fade in the dark cloud oblivion. Everyone moving to the city knows that and so do Los Angeles movers. It is because of this pull of the city that so many Los Angeles Moving companies are mushrooming. Some of them are good and some of them are not so good, and the process of separating wheat (a right LA mover) from chaff (an agglomeration of crappy LA movers) is so daunting that it leaves most of gasping.

Well, after reading this article, it won’t be so.

Let’s begin to understand why more and more people are coming to the City of Angles, which on its own will explain the reason behind the surging demand for LA moving companies.

Why LA of all the cities?

In the United States, indeed, there are many more cities with all the world-class amenities, but none of them is LA. Yeah, it’s about Hollywood, but not only about Hollywood. LA has many more things to offer than that.

Colleges and university

The city has 3 public universities (California State University, Northridge [CSUN] and University of California, LA [UCLA], and California State University, LA [CSULA]), 21 private colleges, and 9 community colleges.

City transportation

LA’s subway system is the ninth busiest subway in the United States, and its light rail is the third busiest light rail system in the United States. Total combined ridership of bus lines, subway, and light rail across LA County is 1.7 million, which is handled remarkably well by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and various supporting agencies.

Crime and safety

In the last couple of years there has been a significant decline in crime rate in LA. Unlike early ’90s when LA was a hot favorite destination for crooks and criminals, crime has dropped in 2007 and 2008. In 2007, crime has reached 37-year low (recorded just 392 homicide), and in 2008, homicide rate dipped lower to reach 9.6 (per 100,000 population), which was 21.1 (per 100,000 population) in 1993.

Economy

Entertainment sector (movies, television, music, and games) is a major driver of the city’s economy. Other contributing sectors are petroleum, international trade, technology, aerospace, tourism, fashion, and apparel.

Finding a right LA moving company

Now you know why this City of Angels is so hot, it is time to talk about finding a right LA mover.

Search, research, and re-research

I have emphasized on research this much just to tell you how extremely important research is in the process of finding a relocation company for you. Moving to another city is not a small thing. You will have to move everything from knickers to sneakers, from books to goods, from carpets to computers, from DVDs to music system. And an unreliable relocation company will simply jeopardize your mental well-being by breaking things up, at least one. One breakage may cost you more than the time you need to invest in finding a right moving guy to relocate you to LA.

Inquire. No, grill!

By deciding to relocate to some other city, you are shifting your entire life with you, so will you take a chance in that? Put each and every relocation company through tough sessions of questioning about their prices, quality of their fleet, knowhow of the locality, responsiveness, security, insurance, and damage control, etc. Let them face the heat, so that you don’t during the process of relocation. Either of you has to. Let them be the one.

Get it written

Words come cheaper, and spoken words doubly so. Do not rely on the words. You are not there to make friends out of every LA movers. Be professional. Get everything in written and duly signed. This way you can take them to the court of law, if things don’t go as expected. These steps will filter out many fake and second-rate Los Angeles movers, and after this what remain will be the companies you would like to deal with. This is how I suggest you to choose a Los Angeles moving company.

Moving to Los Angeles (LA) is a dream many people cherish, but not everyone can fulfill this desire. You should feel lucky to get this opportunity to become a part of this happening city. But in order to survive here, you will have to adapt to the idiosyncrasy of the city, and this Los Angeles moving tips guide will help you in that. It also teaches you how to find a right Los Angeles moving service.

Los Angeles moving tips

• Make yourself familiar with the surroundings (the city is divided into 10 neighborhoods), climate (it has Mediterranean climate), people (many live in their cars, and wears open-toed shoes in the winter), traffic situation (7-10 AM and 3-7PM are the busiest time of the day), etc., before you move in to the city.
• Learn Spanish. Spanish is a major language here as the life here is heavily influenced by the Mexican culture. The packaged goods, trash cans, and even restaurant menus are bilingual here. Not only that, one-third of the radio stations plays Spanish music. Being bilingual with Spanish also helps in getting job in this part of the country.
• If you are bringing your car in city which was not sold in California then you will have to pay more than $300 to the city as Smog impact fee. If you bought your ride in California then this charge will not be levied on you, as your car already follows the California emission guidelines.
• Keep a Thomas Guide handy. It doesn’t matter if you have GPS or not, this one is must for making your way through the city.
• Do not move nonessential items with you. They will be more of a hassle then convenience.

How to hire a Los Angeles moving service

If you were jittery about moving to Los Angeles then you must have gathered confidence after reading the moving tips I wrote above. Now, it is time to remove the anxiety related to finding a good moving service.

• Make a list of movers available in the week you have planned to move.
• Call each one of them and ask for their rates.
• Strike out those who are out of your budget.
• Prepare a new list comprising of the Los Angeles movers who is willing to serve you in the chosen week and within your budget.
• Run a background check to see the past record of the mover. Is the record clean or has the company got lots of bad reviews because of the bad moving experience it gave to its past clients.
• To avoid any fraudulent LA mover, make sure to verify the company’s legal status, and whether it has required permits to move people in and out of the city.
• Conduct a reputation search of the company you want to use for moving to Los Angeles.
• Ask if the truck has GPS attached to it for tracking or not. Also ask if the driver knows the route.
• Ask the mover about the insurance coverage of the goods, in case it gets damaged.
• Can the service provider be sued in the Californian court of law? You do not want to do that, but if things go wrong, you may have to do that.

If you follow the suggestions given above, moving to Los Angeles will be fun, which may not be so, if you decide to overlook the advice.

Moving to Los Angeles (LA) sounds exciting to most of the people because LA is the city of dreams where many have made it. But for every “who has made it” person there are countless “who never made it” people, so you should be cautious when deciding to relocate to this huge city with 4 million people and 498.3 square miles ground area.

Moving to Los Angeles is not difficult as there are many Los Angeles Moving Companies serving the needs of people moving in and out of the city, but before you book any of the Los Angeles Movers to relocate to the city, you should consider the following LA moving tips.

LA Moving Tips

• Do not travel around the city during rush hours, which is 7 to 10 AM and 3 through 7 PM.
• Ask the property owner or the realtor, if there is back-lane access to the building in the urban area for unloading the truck.
• Before moving to LA, accustom yourself with the oddities and idiosyncrasy of the city. Many get baffled by the “living in car” lifestyle of LA, by people wearing open-toed shoes in winter, and by personalized license plates, etc. Hence, first experience the city then decide.
• Visit the city before you move to LA. Do not go just by what you see in TV soaps. It is not always sunny in LA. You will face cold and rainy as well as dry and hot days in the city. LA has a Mediterranean climate.
• As not everyone can make it here, so you should have contingency plan B and plan C in place. No one likes a broke aspirant here. You need to have thick skin to survive here.
• Check the air quality and see if it is breathable for you or not. LA doesn’t suit everyone, and air quality is not very good.
• Visit the city before you move in to see which neighborhood you want to live in. The city is divided into the following neighborhoods: Downtown LA, South (referred as South Central by locals), Crescenta Valleys, The Eastside, San Fernando, Northeast, Harbor Area, Wilshire, The Westside, and Hollywood.
• Properly pack the essential items because finding things in a city where you will not know anyone is going to be difficult.
• Do not move non-essential items with you, it will create unnecessary hassle.
• Keep a GPS device handy. It will help you locate things in the neighborhood.
• Buy a Thomas Guide. It predates GPS, and Google and yahoo Maps. This is essential to find your way through the sprawling landscape of the LA neighborhood.

If on one hand, the city has shopping centers like Hollywood and Highland complex, Robertson Boulevard, Melrose Avenue, the Beverly Center, Rodeo Drive, etc., then on the other hand it also has Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Hammer Museum at the University of California, Los Angeles, the Huntington Library art collection and botanical gardens, the Norton Simon Museum, and the J. Paul Getty Museum, etc.

There are many live entertainment centers and sports center as well. The City of Angeles (as LA is commonly known) offers one thing or other to everyone, thus your decision to moving to Los Angeles’ neighborhood should be governed by the kind of lifestyle you have. All the Los Angeles Moving Companies do have such information handy, and many among them will be quite willingly help you choose the right location in the city, so seek their help.

I hope this LA moving tips will help you a great deal in moving to Los Angeles.

First things first – do your homework on choosing a suitable mover. Picking the wrong movers could result in major financial losses due to bait and switch tactics, as well as damage to your precious personal treasures – not to mention potential theft. Prior to engaging a moving company, you will want to see if there are complaints against them at the Better Business Bureau. Also, check out this new website called www.movingscam.com, designed just for monitoring bad moving companies.

The Department of Transportation reports that there are specific signs that your moving operator may be less that ethical:

1. The mover doesn’t offer or agree to an inspection of your household goods prior to giving an estimate. These estimates are often too good to be true – a bait and switch tactic.
2. The moving company demands cash or a large deposit before the move – anything more than $100 should be cause for concern.
3. The mover doesn’t provide you with a copy of Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move, a booklet movers are required by Federal regulations to supply to their customers.
4. The mover claims all goods are covered by their insurance is not likely being candid.
5. The company’s website has very few details about the licensing or physical address.

Long time moving company owner in Los Angeles, Stan Korski, says, “Many moving companies prey on last minute movers – most legitimate companies require weeks of advance booking, so when a last minute mover calls, some movers take advantage of the situation.” An integral part of a low cost move is clearly advance planning.

At Los Angeles Professional Movers, they recommend booking at least six weeks in advance, which means you should start researching your moving company at least 7 weeks prior to your planned move date. Another advantage to booking early is that you can often negotiate the cost of the move and other details, as well as make special requests from your selected moving company.

Industry experts recommend avoiding summers and weekends when booking your move. Increased demand during those periods result in higher costs and diminished availability of quality moving services. In 2008, most violations, in proportion to the total number of moves, were discovered by the FMCSA. Poor planning blended with a move during a busy season could significantly narrow your moving service alternatives and make you more vulnerable to predatory operators.

Almost all moving companies charge additional fees for special requests or contingencies sometimes not totally disclosed, so prepare for it. It is important that you ask pertinent questions about extra costs, insurance policies, license numbers, and the mileage that is or is not included.

All in all, the most important thing to remember is not move without a plan. Sometimes a move is decided on impulse. When it comes to hiring a moving company, impulsiveness can be expensive.

This is an article written by Sydney Welkinson – I thought I would share these tips on my blog.