You may be moving long distance because you're starting a new job, or perhaps there's been a death in the family, or maybe you're getting divorced and are moving away to start a fresh new life.

Whatever the reason, we're here to help make your move as smooth as it can be, and hope our Guide to Moving Long Distance will be very useful for you!

Generally, if you're moving long distance you'll know about it some months in advance. It's tempting to think that your move is months away so you don't need to do anything about it just yet, but that's a fatal mistake to make. The best thing you can do is make the most of the time you have and plan everything well in advance; You have to be prepared day by day before the move to avoid panicking on the day of the move!

Try to be as organized as possible.

Why not start a "moving file" which you can use to keep all your paperwork on your impending move in? Each time you get a new piece of information, add it to your file so that you know exactly where it is should you need to get hold of it quickly.

Know everything there is to know about your new place.

You may already know a little about the place you're moving to, but there are many things that you probably take for granted with your current city, such as where the shopping mall is, where your nearest fitness center is, the library, entertainment, restaurants etc etc. Research as much as possible about your new city so that you don't feel completely lost when you get there!

The Chamber of Commerce often has a new resident's welcome pack which they can send you and this should prove to be an excellent source of information. It's important that they have their contact details on the Internet.

Moving long distance is a great opportunity to throw out things you don't need anymore!

By preparing well in advance you'll have time to properly sort through all of your belongings and to think about what you would like to keep and what you no longer need.

Consider the idea that your belongings will be weighed by your moving company. Now think about how silly it would be to lug a load of unused items to your new house and have to pay extra to do so, only to put them in the back of the closet for the next five years until you move house again! Sounds stupid, doesn't it?!

Group items together that you can sell at a garage sale, or ones which you can give to charity or to friends and family. Then make an inventory of everything you're keeping; this is very useful for two reasons: one, you will have a list of all your belonging and can use that list to figure out what goes where in your new house and two, this list is very useful to give to your insurance company should you ever need to make a claim.