Cross-Country Moving Routes: What to Expect for Your Next Relocation

Moving cross-country is an exciting adventure, one that not everybody gets to experience in their lifetime. While you may be leaving behind cherished family, friends and places, you’ll have the rare opportunity to discover all new favorites, from restaurants and parks to neighborhoods. United Van Lines understands this journey comes with a lot of expectations and logistics. That’s why it helps to partner with not just a professional, but a leader in the business.

Over the past 100 years, United has helped close to 1 million families move to vibrant cities all over the nation. With nearly 10 decades of experience, we know what it takes to manage a move, whether your new home is 50 miles or 3,500 miles away. As a long-distance moving specialist, our professional teams are experts at multi-day journeys and our protection packages come standard with all our full-service moves.

We know it can be tempting to try and handle your own move. But, with the stress of finding a new home, adjusting to new jobs and schools and simply having to live with your belongings in boxes, why not give yourself a well-deserved break? Request a free moving quote today and see how moving with the experts at United can simplify your move.

Major Cross-Country Routes: Understanding the Journey Ahead

When you’re planning a cross-country move, one that may take you more than 2,000 miles from your current home, you need to be more prepared than you would for your average in-town or regional move. This kind of long-distance move has all the typical challenges — traffic, logistics and weather — compounded by drastic changes in terrain and climate. If you’re not working with the right moving company, or if you’re going the DIY route, you may be compromising the safety of your belongings and yourself.

United can provide you with a step-by-step plan to make your cross-country relocation simple, smooth and safe. We’ll help you understand the timeline for preparations, packing and transit so you’ll feel calm and in control. In this guide, we will highlight some of the top cross-country moving routes in the U.S., and we’ll give you some pro moving tips to make your relocation a success.

The Northern Route: Interstate 90 (Boston, MA to Seattle, WA)

If you’re moving from New England to the Pacific Northwest, you’ll pass through some of the most desirable and diverse terrain in the nation. Highway 90 can take you all the way from Boston Harbor to Elliott Bay, passing through the Adirondacks, the Great Lakes, the Dakota Prairie Grasslands and the Coeur d’Alene National Forest before reaching Seattle, Washington.

Along the way, outdoor afficionados may want to plan a pitstop at Badlands National Park to see the area’s famous bighorn sheep and fossils, while foodies may enjoy an overnight in Chicago, sampling Michelin-star fare at Schwa, the aromatic Mediterranean delights of Sifr or a classic slice of deep dish from Lou Malnati’s.

But Highway 90’s snowy winter roads — and its sometimes-smoky conditions in the warmer months — make the remote stretches of this route tricky to handle in a rental truck. This is when it really helps to have United’s experienced drivers behind the wheel. We understand how to prepare for the challenges of this northern route, and you can avoid the roads altogether by partnering with us.

The Central Corridor: Interstate 80 (Teaneck, NJ to San Francisco, CA)

The nation’s first cross-country route was the Lincoln Highway, a 3,000-mile interstate that we now call Highway 80, which connects NYC to San Francisco Bay. While the road originally started in Times Square, the highway today begins in Teaneck, New Jersey, and it takes you on a nearly straight shot to California’s most unconventional northern city. You can make plenty of eccentric stops of your own along the way. Book an overnight stay in Pennsylvania’s famous Haines Shoe House, a 1949 building shaped like a work boot that’s now a charming Airbnb. Or visit the Wyoming Frontier Prison Museum, where you can learn about former residents like Annie Bruce, infamous for her poisoned pie recipe! The most notable stopping point on the Lincoln Highway is, arguably, the Donner Pass, where a band of Gold Rush settlers met an awful fate thanks to severe weather and poor navigational decisions during their 1846-47 trek.

The Sierra Nevadas are no easy pass, but United drivers manage these demanding conditions with our professional fleet of drivers. If you want to avoid the hazards of navigating a large moving truck through everything from sleet and ice in Pennsylvania to dangerously high winds in Wyoming, leave the hauling to us.

The Southern Route: Interstate 10 (Jacksonville, FL to Santa Monica, CA)

The best way to avoid the worst of the weather, of course, is to choose a route and a season where the wilds of nature won’t be out in full force. Interstate 10 — a southern connector — is ideal for winter travel. You’ll pass through Southeastern gems like Baton Rouge, Houston and San Antonio before reaching desert outposts like Tucson. If you’ve hired a professional mover like United to handle your move, you’ll be free to take detours for hiking in the Gila National Forest, indulge in a night of cultural immersion in Santa Fe or even a camping trip in the Grand Canyon, which is just 3.5 hours north of Phoenix.

Desert conditions can be taxing for a rental truck, and because much of the terrain is rugged and remote, it’s the last place you want to deal with a breakdown. United’s vehicle maintenance and safety protocols keep our drivers prepared for these extreme environments. You can rest assured your belongings will be in good hands on our trucks.

Taking the Scenic Route: Highway 50 and Historic Route 66

Making a cross-country trek isn’t something most people do more than once, so why not take the scenic route? With your belongings safely loaded onto a United Van Lines vehicle or stowed away in storage, you and your family can be free to take the path less traveled — at least by moving trucks! If we ship your car, you could even rent an RV for the journey or hop on a train. 

Historic Route 50 — sometimes called The Loneliest Road in America — starts in the nation’s capital and ends in San Francisco, passing through many of Nevada’s ghost towns before reaching the eastern shores of Lake Tahoe. Route 66 begins on the “Third Coast” — the southern edge of Lake Michigan in Chicago — and travels through the country’s lush, central region, hitting historic cities from St. Louis to Tulsa before meandering across the northern boundaries of the Southwest corridor — Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Barstow — and finally ending in Los Angeles.  

With those sunny palm trees in mind, using this travel time for relaxation can be the smartest move you’ll make during your relocation. United Van Lines can handle the rest, from packing to unpacking and more.

Logistical Expectations and Planning with United Van Lines

Whether you plan to travel immediately to your new home or take a relaxing detour along the way, there are a lot of details to nail down about your journey. That’s why it pays to partner with a logistics expert like United Van Lines. The MyUnited Move Portal keeps track of your contacts, dates and inventory, so you can track the progress of your move in real time, 24/7. All our full-service moves are managed by a personal move coordinator, so you can speak with a dedicated staff member anytime you have questions or concerns.

No matter how large or complicated your move may be, we’ll help you plan everything, start to finish. Check out our packing lists, pro tips and other moving resources to get a jumpstart on your upcoming move.

Moving Timelines and Delivery Windows

So, how much time does it take to make a cross-country move? If you’re driving only your personal vehicle coast to coast and you’re aiming for efficiency, you can make the trip in as little as six days. We recommend travelling no more than 400 miles per day. That’s because driving cross-country is fatiguing, and you’re unlikely to have perfect weather and ideal traffic conditions each day of the journey. Giving yourself a little breathing room will minimize the stress of travel, and taking it more slowly will also be easier on your car.  
 
Because your shipment will take extra time to reach you, taking a more leisurely approach can have other advantages, as well. When you have a general idea of the route you want to take, have your family members select must-see destinations along the way. Designate certain days for driving and others for seeing the sights, taking detours when your hearts desire it. Some families may enjoy an outdoor-themed trip, stopping to camp in Rocky Mountain National Park, Joshua Tree or the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Others may want to hit the museums and restaurants in Houston, Chicago or St. Louis. However you want to use this transitional time is entirely up to you. Your move coordinator will work with you to identify a predictable delivery window based on your shipment size. 

Vehicle Preparation and Car Shipping Services

Moving long-distance on your own is stressful — not just on you and your family but on your car. Over the course of a multi-day, cross-country drive, you’ll put thousands of additional miles on your vehicle and subject it to all sorts of conditions. The worst time to get a flat tire or have your radiator conk out is in the middle of a move, where you’ll have to rely on emergency services.
 
You can avoid these headaches — and the bills that go with them — by using United Van Lines’ door-to-door auto transport services. Shipping your car is a safe alternative to driving. It’s especially helpful if you own more than one vehicle, and United can even ship vehicles that are inoperable, like collectibles and antique cars. United’s vehicle shipping is backed by the same guarantee as our other services, and a dedicated move specialist will handle all the details.

Financial Expectations for Cross-Country Relocations

Whether you choose the do-it-yourself or the full-service route, the experience of moving can seem daunting. And, if you’re looking to save money by handling everything yourself, the cost of a DIY move may be a rude awakening. Once you tally up the expenses of the rental truck, supplemental insurance, moving supplies, highway tolls, moving assistance, lodging and gas, you may spend thousands of dollars and still have to manage the entire job own your own.

United Van Lines offers transparent pricing and customized plans that eliminate many of the stresses of moving. We can handle every detail of your move, from packing to shipping your car to storage, so you won’t have to coordinate your move with multiple vendors. When you request a free moving quote from United, you’ll never be asked to put down a large deposit, and we’ll give you plenty of time to review the estimate in writing. If you have questions about your move or need additional services, your personal move coordinator will be happy to assist you. When you book a full-service move with United, you’ll never have to go it alone.  

Why Choose Professional Relocation Over Alternative Method

While non-traditional moving methods may sound fun, if you have more than a couple of suitcases worth of belongings, you’ll still benefit from hiring movers to handle the heavy stuff. Besides, when you contract with a federally licensed, interstate mover, you can actually use any method you like to transport yourself to your new home. Find a moving company like United who can ship your car and hold your belongings in storage while you take that cross-country bike trip or the scenic route on a train.  
 
During your move, United Van Lines offers the added security of full-value protection plans to keep your shipment safe. You can track the progress of your move in real time with the MyUnited Move Portal. 

Start Planning Your Next Long-Distance Move with America’s #1 Mover® 

Start your move on the right foot by working with the most trusted name in the moving industry. United Van Lines offers all the services, amenities and protection you need for a stress-free cross-country move. The moving process begins with a precise moving quote, tailored to your needs and based on a professional assessment. All of our full-service moves are backed by protection plans to ensure the safe transport of your belongings. When you choose United Van Lines, you’ll know we have accounted for every detail, so you’ll have more time to relax and look forward to all the joys of your new home. 
 
See how United can simplify your move. Request a free quote today!