My $5,789 Louisville to Boston move with North American
Fact Checked by: 
Louisville, KY → Boston, MA
$5,789
Guaranteed price quote, 4,000 pounds
$5,789
Exactly what I was quoted
980 mi
Long-distance, interstate
- I compared six quotes before I hired North American for my Louisville to Boston move, and they ranged from $3,664 to $14,676.
- My final bill was $5,789, exactly what I was quoted, because North American gave me a guaranteed price rather than a non-binding estimate.
- I shared all of it, my quotes, my bills, and my ratings, as part of moveBuddha’s Better Moves Project.
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This account is based on a conversation with Alexander D., who moved from Louisville, Kentucky, to Boston, Massachusetts, in November 2022 using North American. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
My move from Kentucky to Massachusetts
I was heading 980 miles northeast for a new job, taking a one-bedroom apartment’s worth of things from Louisville to Boston. About 920 square feet, roughly 15 boxes, and somewhere near 4,000 pounds all told.
What I cared about most was a price I could count on. I’d read enough about estimates creeping upward between the quote and the final bill that I wanted a number I could budget against, and I wanted my things to arrive in one piece. I didn’t buy additional moving insurance beyond the coverage included in my quote, which is a decision I thought about again later.
I gathered quotes from six companies and used moveBuddha’s moving cost calculator alongside the best interstate movers list to see how the numbers compared. According to moveBuddha, users who compare movers this way save more than 30% versus taking the first quote they get.
My North American experience at a glance
Here’s what stood out most about moving with North American, good and bad.
- Communication: Solid before the move and thinner once the truck was on the road. I’d have liked more proactive updates while my things were in transit.
- Pricing accuracy and transparency: I paid $5,789, exactly what I was quoted, because North American gave me a guaranteed price quote rather than a non-binding estimate. My Veterans Advantage benefit knocked $138 off the total.
- Timeliness: Pickup and delivery both landed inside the agreed windows. The contract also carried a $100 per day guarantee if delivery ran late, which gave me some peace of mind.
- Care and professionalism: The crews were courteous and worked hard. My sense in Louisville was that the loading crew were subcontractors rather than North American’s own people.
- Loss and damage: This is where it went wrong. The screen on my 65-inch television arrived bent, and my kitchen table and entertainment center both came off the truck dented.
- Would I use North American again? I gave them a 3 overall. The price held and the schedule held, and the damage is what keeps me from rating them higher.
over my original North American quote
Find out what a move from Kentucky → Massachusetts actually costs before a mover tells you.
Why I chose North American
Six companies quoted my move and North American wasn’t the cheapest. What set them apart was the kind of quote they were offering. Theirs was a guaranteed price, not an estimate that could move once my shipment hit a scale, and after reading about final bills coming in well above the original number, that certainty was worth paying for.
Two other things tipped it. As a veteran, my Veterans Advantage membership took $138 off the price, and the contract included a $100 per day compensation guarantee if my delivery arrived outside the agreed window. Between a locked price, a discount, and a penalty clause on their side rather than mine, it felt like the lowest-risk option on my list.
rating
- Custom crates for electronics & art
- Satellite shipment tracking
- 1,500 local agents covering all 50 states
- Self-packing option
- No deposit required
My move at a glance
Here are the basics of my relocation, including what I was quoted and what I actually paid for my Louisville to Boston move.
| Moved from | Louisville, Kentucky |
|---|---|
| Moved to | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Distance | 980 miles |
| Move date | November 10, 2022 |
| Move size | 1 bedroom apartment (920 square feet, about 15 boxes) |
| Moving company | North American |
| Moving quote | $5,789 |
| Actual cost | $5,789 |
We found that when you use moveBuddha’s moving cost calculator, you can save 30% on moving costs compared to customers who go with the first quote they receive.
Quotes I compared
Here’s how my six quotes stacked up, cheapest to most expensive. The spread on the same one-bedroom apartment was more than $11,000, which is the whole argument for gathering more than two.
| Company | Estimated weight | Estimated cost |
|---|---|---|
| Safeway Moving | 3,409 pounds | $3,664 |
| Mayzlin Relocation | 4,438 pounds | $4,446 |
| International Van Lines | Not provided | $5,200 |
| North American | 4,000 pounds | $5,789 |
| United Van Lines | 4,084 pounds | $7,031 |
| Two Men and a Truck | 4,088 pounds | $14,676 |
Look at the weight column rather than the price column for a moment. Four of the six companies sized my apartment within 700 pounds of each other, and the quotes still ranged from $3,664 to $14,676. The weight isn’t what separated them.
Pickup day
The crew arrived in Louisville on November 10 and got to work. They were courteous and moved quickly, and something about the operation made me think they were subcontractors rather than North American’s own employees. That’s common enough in this industry, and it’s worth knowing before your move day rather than working it out in your driveway.
Everything came out of the apartment and onto the truck without incident as far as I could see. Looking back, the load is where I suspect the damage happened, and I couldn’t watch every item go on.
Delivery day
My things reached Boston inside the delivery window. That mattered, because my contract carried a $100 per day compensation guarantee for a late delivery, and I never needed to invoke it.
Then I started unwrapping. The screen on my 65-inch television was bent. My kitchen table and my entertainment center had both picked up dents. None of it was catastrophic and all of it was avoidable, and it’s the reason a move that went right on price and right on timing still felt like a letdown.
Final thoughts
I rated North American a 3 overall, which surprised some people given that the price held to the dollar and the delivery landed on time. Here’s my reasoning. Communication and timeliness both earned a 4 from me, and quote accuracy earned a 5, because a guaranteed price that actually holds is worth a lot. The damage is what pulled the average down.
A moving company’s core job is getting your things from one place to another in the condition they left in. Mine didn’t manage that with three pieces, and I’d only taken the released-value coverage that came with the quote, so there wasn’t much of a claim to make. If I were doing this again I’d buy real coverage on the television and the furniture I cared about, and I’d ask directly whether the crew loading my truck works for the company I signed with.
Would I recommend North American? With qualifications. The guaranteed price is genuinely better than a non-binding estimate, the veterans discount was real money, and the delivery guarantee gave me something to hold them to. I’d just go in knowing that a locked price protects your budget and not your belongings.
Ready to compare quotes for your own move? Use moveBuddha’s moving cost calculator to see what long-distance movers are charging for routes like yours.
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Tips for future movers
These are the practical steps we recommend based on Alexander D.’s experience:
- Ask for a guaranteed price, not an estimate: Alexander D. paid his quote to the dollar because North American locked the number before the truck loaded. Ask which kind of quote you’re being offered before you put down a deposit.
- Get six quotes if you can get six quotes: Alexander D.’s ranged from $3,664 to $14,676 for the same one-bedroom apartment. Use moveBuddha’s moving cost calculator to set a baseline, then collect numbers from several of the best interstate movers.
- Buy coverage for the things you’d hate to lose: Alexander D. took the released-value coverage included in his quote and ended up with a bent 65-inch television screen and two dented pieces of furniture. Full-value protection or a third-party policy costs far less than the items it covers.
- Ask whether the crew works for the company you hired: Alexander D. suspected his Louisville loaders were subcontractors. Ask who is physically handling your things and how the company vets them.
- Look for a delivery guarantee in the contract: Alexander D.’s included $100 per day if his shipment arrived late. He never needed it, and it’s the kind of clause that changes how seriously a carrier treats your window.
- Check whether you qualify for a discount: Alexander D.’s Veterans Advantage membership saved him $138. Military, veteran, senior, student, and union discounts are common, and our guide to moving discounts covers who offers what.
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