I Compared Two Quotes for My Florida to Tennessee Move
Fact Checked by: 
Wellington, FL → Chattanooga, TN
$5,200
Two-bedroom home
$5,060
$140 under my quote
723 mi
Long-distance, interstate
- I compared two quotes before I hired Safeway Moving for my Florida to Tennessee move.
- My final bill came in $140 under my original estimate after Safeway’s quality assurance team lowered my quote before moving day.
- 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 Melissa O., who moved from Wellington, Florida, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, in March 2024 using Safeway Moving. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
My move from Florida to Tennessee
My daughter was heading to grad school in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and I wanted to be closer to her, so I decided to leave my two-bedroom home in Wellington, Florida, for a four-bedroom house near her. I didn’t have local friends I could rope into helping me load a truck, so I knew I needed a full-service mover for pickup and delivery.
Movers had tacked on surprise charges to my bill in the past, so transparent pricing mattered to me this time around. I was also anxious about loss and damage, so I gave myself plenty of time to research and find a company I could trust with my things.
I’m glad I found moveBuddha early in my search. The moving cost calculator was the best tool I found for a ballpark on what my move would actually cost.
My Safeway Moving experience at a glance
Here’s the short version of how Safeway performed across the parts of the move that mattered most to me.
- Communication: Safeway answered every question I had and stayed in touch throughout the process. My coordinator was 45 minutes late for one call because of a technical issue, which I understood but still found a little annoying.
- Pricing accuracy and transparency: I’d been burned by surprise fees on a past move, so Safeway’s transparency was a relief. They cared about getting it right, and my final payment actually came in lower than my quote.
- Professionalism: The crew was professional from start to finish, on both ends of the move.
- Timeliness: Safeway showed up on time every time, and my belongings arrived in Tennessee in just five days, which felt incredibly fast.
- Loss and damage: Three of my plastic bins cracked and two pieces of furniture were damaged, but nothing was bad enough that I felt the need to file a damage claim.
- Would I use Safeway again: Yes. I ran into a couple of communication hiccups and some minor damage, but I’d still recommend them. The white-glove service was worth the extra cost, and getting an accurate quote didn’t hurt either.
under my original Safeway quote
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Why I chose Safeway Moving
American Van Lines quoted me $1,000 less than Safeway, but I went with my gut. I liked that the company is military-owned, and their per-cubic-foot pricing, rather than by weight, felt like it gave me more control over my final cost. Safeway also shows up on moveBuddha’s lists of the best interstate moving companies and best moving companies, which didn’t hurt my confidence either.
My biggest frustration was a scheduling hiccup. My coordinator was 45 minutes late to one of our calls because of a technical issue, and nobody told me until I reached out myself 20 minutes after we were supposed to talk. It didn’t derail the move, but it was the kind of thing that made me second-guess the communication early on.
rating
- GPS tracking en route
- Veteran-owned
- Dedicated move coordinator
- Flat-rate pricing
- Donates a portion of moves to charity
My move at a glance
Here’s a quick snapshot of my Florida to Tennessee move, from the day I moved to what I actually paid.
| Move date | March 18, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Moved from | Wellington, FL |
| Moved to | Chattanooga, TN |
| Distance | 723 miles |
| Move size | Two-bedroom home (1,006 cubic feet) |
| Moving company | Safeway Moving |
| Moving quote | $5,200 |
| Actual cost | $5,060 |
According to moveBuddha, users who compare movers before booking save more than 30% on average. I only compared two quotes, but doing even that much helped me land a price I was comfortable with.
Quotes I compared
I got quotes from two full-service movers before deciding. Safeway came in $1,000 higher than American Van Lines, but I trusted their pricing structure more.
| Company | Estimated volume/weight | Estimated cost |
|---|---|---|
| Safeway Moving | 1,006 cubic feet (7,042 pounds) | $5,200 |
| American Van Lines | 6,055 pounds | $4,200 |
Pickup day
Safeway assigned me a moving coordinator who checked in a few weeks before the move to answer my questions. I sent over a finalized inventory list with box counts, and I measured every single box and piece of furniture myself so the quote would be as accurate as possible.
My quote included a full slate of services: furniture disassembly and reassembly, moving blankets and shrink-wrap, loading and unloading, transportation, specialized boxes for fragile items like my TV, a large mirror, and a floor lamp, and basic moving insurance covering $0.60 per pound per item. I skipped the optional add-ons Safeway offered, like packing help, extra moving supplies, and expedited delivery.
I’d worried about getting an 18-wheeler into my neighborhood, so I sent Safeway photos of the roads ahead of time. They promised to have a shuttle truck on standby, and waived what’s normally an extra fee for it.
On moving day, Safeway gave me an arrival window of 9–11 a.m., and the crew called when they reached the gate around 10:30 a.m. I would have liked a heads-up call before they actually arrived so I could move my car, but that was a minor thing.
Once the crew realized the 18-wheeler couldn’t fit in my neighborhood after all, they brought in the shuttle truck to move my things to the hauler. They wrapped anything that wasn’t already boxed in moving blankets, plastic wrap, and tape. Loading took four hours, and my coordinator called afterward to walk me through the next steps.
If you’re booking a full-service move, measuring your own boxes and furniture ahead of time gives the company something concrete to base your quote on, especially if you skip an in-person or virtual walkthrough. It’s one of the easiest ways to get a more accurate estimate.
Delivery day
Safeway told me to expect my things within 2–10 business days, though I’ve since learned that estimate is unofficial. Movers can legally take as long as 30 days to transport your belongings, so it’s worth checking your own contract for the real timeline.
My logistics coordinator called the day before delivery, on March 22, to give me a window, and the truck showed up right on time at 9 a.m. on March 23, five days after pickup. That was quicker than I expected, and I was thrilled to finally sleep on something other than my wobbly air mattress.
Only two people showed up to unload, compared to the three who loaded me, which surprised me at first. I’ve since learned that’s normal: two-person crews typically handle unloading on less complicated jobs.
My driver only spoke German, so I pulled out a translation app on my phone to communicate with him. It was an unexpected wrinkle, but we made it work.
The crew laid moving blankets through the house before bringing anything inside, and split the work: one person unloaded while the other reassembled furniture. They scanned a barcode on every item with a handheld scanner to confirm all 132 pieces made it, and the whole process took just under five hours.
Not everything arrived in perfect shape. Three of my plastic bins cracked, a small leg broke off a cabinet, which Safeway repaired on the spot, my couch got a small tear, and a dresser door came loose. None of it was bad enough for me to want to file a damage claim. My coordinator called and texted me later that day to check in and close everything out.
Final thoughts
Looking back, my own habits made this move go as smoothly as it did. I measured my boxes and furniture with more precision than most people bother with, which is worth doing if you didn’t get an in-person or AI-powered virtual quote. It gives the moving company something concrete to work from and gets you a more accurate estimate.
I gave myself three months to prepare, and spent the first two decluttering before I called a single mover. I also picked up some free moving boxes from a shopping center near my old house instead of buying everything new, and kept a notebook with my own pre- and post-move checklists covering insurance updates, address changes, finding new doctors, and setting up utilities.
I got a $400 discount by booking with Safeway while I was still on the phone with them, which worked out well for me. Still, I’d tell anyone to get at least three quotes and take the time to compare them, since you can sometimes save a lot more than $400, especially if you find a mover that offers price matching.
It was kind of Safeway not to charge me for the shuttle, since I know shuttling adds a lot of extra work for the crew on their end.
If I had to do it again, I’d still choose Safeway. My final cost came in under my quote, there were no surprise charges, and the few hiccups I ran into were minor compared to the peace of mind I got from working with a company I trusted.
Curious what your own move would cost? Try the moveBuddha moving cost calculator for a free, no-obligation estimate.
My ratings
Here’s how I rated Safeway’s performance on a scale of 1 to 5:
- Communication: four out of five.
- Timeliness: five out of five.
- Quote accuracy: five out of five.
- Overall experience: five out of five.
More moving resources
Tips for future movers
These are the practical steps we recommend based on Melissa O.’s experience:
- Measure everything ahead of time: give your mover precise box and furniture measurements, especially if you skip an in-person or virtual walkthrough. It gets you a more accurate quote.
- Keep a digital moving checklist: an app like Google Keep keeps your to-dos accessible and harder to lose than a paper list, or start from moveBuddha’s printable moving checklist.
- Get at least three quotes: comparing more than two movers, rather than booking on the spot, can save you well beyond a one-time phone discount, especially if one offers price matching.
- Pack boxes to the brim: filling boxes fully, or padding them with paper or towels, helps keep them from cracking in transit.
- Ask about shuttle fees upfront: if your street can’t fit an 18-wheeler, ask whether the shuttle fee can be waived before you sign anything.
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