While there are many other websites that you can visit, such as the site of the Households Goods Forwarders Association of America and the sites of state moving associations, consumer groups, chambers of commerce, trade associations and offices of attorneys general, the three websites are sufficient. For people moving out of the country, however, it is helpful if you also check the HGFAA website.

BBB is an unbiased organization that gives accreditation to business organizations and charities that adhere to ethical business practices. It was established in 1912 and it has spread out into branch organizations across the U.S. and Canada.

To check moving firms, visit the BBB website of your state. If you are looking for a certain BBB, go to the national site bbb.org and click Find a BBB. You can check the moving company you have in mind or you can see a list of accredited moving companies operating in your state. From this list, you can choose one and then check on its BBB status and if there are complaints filed against this certain firm.

On the AMSA website, you will be led to its moving.org site, where you can check the reliability status of your chosen moving firm. If you are still looking for a mover, you can fill up an online form to get in-home estimates from six ProMovers firms. ProMovers is the mover referral program of AMSA.

The AMSA website also shows links to the J.D. Power customer satisfaction survey which listed Mayflower Transit, Allied Van Lines and Two Men and a Truck as among the best-rated full-service moving companies in 2009.

The FMCSA site, protectyourmove.gov, is one of the most helpful sites for people planning to move. It allows you to search interstate moving companies and view their complaint history. It offers you useful tips that start from moving checklist to choosing a mover to insurance options and cost estimates. As FMCSA says, its mission is to prevent moving fraud and to help movers plan and execute a successful move.

If you have visited these three websites and checked the moving companies you have in your short list and have followed relevant guides, you can have a successful move.

Texas has been topping the annual relocation report of Allied Van Lines since 2005. Its net relocation gain for 2009 was nearly 2,000, higher than its gain of around 1,900 in 2008.

Allied Van Lines, founded in 1928 and one of the largest moving corporations in the world, ranks destination states by estimating net relocation gain – number of inbound moves minus number of outbound moves done by the firm. It has been issuing its annual report on the top magnet states for the past 42 years.

Ben Hurwitz, head of Houston-based Westheimer Transfer and Storage, one of the top international and domestic agents of Allied, said that his company moved a diverse group of people to Texas in 2009, including retirees, singles and families from various backgrounds. He added that Texas welcomes different ethnic and cultural groups.

Bill Hammond, head of the Texas Association of Business, said that Texas is still the best state in the country to work, raise a family and live.

His statement was affirmed by Bill Jones, head of the Texas Association of Realtors. Jones added that the state has wide spaces for businesses and housing development, has various fine arts facilities and recreational opportunities and has affordable housing for families and individuals.

According to Hurwitz, his moving company also helped a lot of corporations move to Texas, showing that the state is among the friendliest states for businesses.

Texas had nearly 8,800 inbound shipments, second only to California, which had nearly 11,000 inbound shipments. Florida ranked third with more than 8,600 shipments. California was cited as the most mobile state because it posted the highest number of total outbound and inbound shipments.

Michigan had the biggest net relocation losses in 2009, with its 2,210 outbound shipments overwhelming its 1,019 inbound shipments. The troubled auto and housing sectors of Michigan may have pushed residents to move out of the state.

In 2009, Michigan ranked eighth in foreclosure rates among states, posting more than 118,000 foreclosure filings during the year. The three other states with the biggest net relocation losses were Illinois, Pennsylvania and California.

Moving company Allied also reported that the three other states with the biggest net relocation gains were Arizona, with a net gain of 566; North Carolina, with a net gain of 564; and Colorado, with a net gain of 508.

Las Vegas has been the personification of high life, according to all those movies. It is a place, to which every person longs to move into. Ask the movers and they will tell you this. Hey, don’t panic. There are moving companies in Las Vegas too! So, if at all, you save enough to live life, to its fullest, and have fun all day, every day, make sure you move into Las Vegas. However, coming back to the point, these movies have portrayed Vegas in a fairytale manner. Of course, there are movies such as 21, where people get screwed up at this paradise. But, hey, it happens in real life as well. The point I want to make here is, Vegas has become the hotspot of the entire world, for getting high on life, and non- stop party action, replacing Alps, Hawaii and those other exotic destinations, as the most desirous vacation of many around the world. Least do these people know, they stand to lose more than make a quick buck, at the world renowned casinos of Vegas. But, I guess the experience is a wholesome one, and losing money is a part and parcel of this place. Damn! It sounds friggin’ cool! I will make it there one day!

Hence, sticking to the above statement of mine, I woke up late, the day we were to move to a new house. My dad asked me to pack my stuff into the cardboard boxes which had been stacked in a corner of my room. I ignored his pleas as usual, stepped out of bed, and slid directly into my computer. 2 new updates from facebook and a couple of emails. I checked them out. One of the emails was something to do with moving. Hence, I thought exploring it would be of help. At least, I could boast of something when my dad narrated the incident to his friends and relatives! Clicking on it, it took me to a page, which captioned as moving companies in Las Vegas. Whoa! If I could move into that city, it would be paradise forever.

‘Get yourself together and start packing’, one of dad’s moronic calls. Seriously, I hate being a rebel, but I always end up being one. I glanced at my watch, time for a snack. As I made my way into the kitchen, I saw mom helping the moving service people, with cardboard cartons into a huge truck. I looked around the kitchen; it did not look like one anymore. However, my task was accomplished, as there was an opened box of cereal and a carton of milk. I just took plain cereal and shoved some into my mouth. Suddenly, something snatched the box away from me. No prizes for guessing the villain here. Dad of course!

The time in the year had come for the moment of truth. I switched off my cell phone, to avoid her calls. But, nevertheless, she turned up at my door to see me move ‘all by me’. There was a pamphlet of Miami movers lying on the coffee table in my living room. She picked it up, tore it into bits and pieces and dumped them in the bin. I was helpless, I had no prior experience of moving. All I knew about moving was from seeing my uncle move once. You needed cardboard boxes. But, I had crates instead. Empty beer crates! Looking at my dismal efforts to move, I bent low on my knees and pleaded to her, a second time now, as the first was when I proposed to her. She laughed, picked up the phone and threw it to me! Screw resolutions!

So, back to business. It was move number 8, and my wife was at her usual best. ‘Can you get me the boxes from the lawn?’ she asked me. I shrugged assuring her in the affirmative and moved towards the lawn. However, on reaching the place, I found the neighborhood kids fiddling with a baseball and a glove. I walked up to them, ‘Hey boys. No one to play around with eh?’ the boys looks suggested their boredom. I grabbed the glove, picked up the ball and chucked a few throws at the boys, attempting to play catch with them. ‘Stuart! Are the boxes there?’ a howl from my living room.

I came out to my house balcony. Ah! A sight to watch, a nice way to kill time. I ran inside and got out my high zoom Binoculars. The neighbors were moving. A truck with the peculiar name stood at their porch. It was probably owned by the moving company. Boxes after boxes were rolled out of the house and stacked into the truck. As I kept zooming in, someone came closer to me from the neighbors. It was the neighborhood chick (pardon my language, but she was one!). ‘Uh. Mm… Could you give us a hand with the piano?’. She looked great. What would any guy possibly do here? I did the inevitable. Dropped my binoculars, jumped over my balcony and went across the street to her house. I was looking for at least 4 people, as it happened to be a big one. But, found only 1 puny guy across the other end of the piano. ‘Ready?’ he smiled. I nodded and puffed all my breath out while lifting my end of it. A few minutes later, it was inside the truck, and I had a twisted backbone. ‘Thanks! That was sweet of you.’ That’s all I got. Movers and their lame tricks!

Sometimes, it occurred to me why one needed to pack while moving. Home movers did a fantastic job, no doubt. But, why pack? I mean, when all you were going to do was unpack! My logic can go awry many a time, as I lose my sense of mind more than quite often these days. Blame it on my cubicle and the insane presence of files in it. Well, I did not have all day, but still, to make it a last minute affair, I decided to take a nap, and yes, as usual before that, the usual hourly check of the mail. Yes, a howler from the boss. Transferred it to the Spam folder. Next, a mail concerning moving. I had registered in a couple of sites to get tips on moving into a new house. But they were sending me offers from Austin movers instead! ‘Nice Tip’ I shrugged, shut down my baby, (sorry! I call my Mac as baby) and dozed off on the couch. ‘Brrrr’ my phone vibrated its entire might, only to find the lazy me pick it in slow-mo. Oops! Time to move…

I accepted his offer, and decided to drop by their place. There are some excellent moving companies in Miami. I had used their services over the last decade a couple of times. Wondered, why the neighbors could not use them, considering the fact that they were moving a good 40 miles away. I dropped into the neighbors that evening, and looked around. The moving had started. Stuffs were strewn around though. It all looked like a bowl of spaghetti, thrown around a room. I went up to Mitch, he looked worried, the reason for which I later discovered was that, he had to report to the office near his new place in a couple of days. I shuffled through my pocket for my wallet and pulled out a card from it.

‘I don’t think I can afford one.’ He exclaimed. I pulled out my Movers Privilege card as well and requested him to use it to avail a 15% off on services. His face lit up and he literally hugged me!

Moving on is not a task as easy as it sounds. ‘Move On’ in those promos were in relation to the break up of a relation between guys and gals, and that, they needed to ‘Move On’, wearing those watches and shades. It was attempted at the teens and the age group of 16-25. This was obviously their target audience. But, coming back to my topic, moving on, is a task which is complicated. The mind battles with itself on leaving sometime, so dearly loved. Tears flow, and finally, they decide to break up as the relation seems to struggle, and is no longer smooth. When I discussed this with my friend, he laughed over it. He exclaimed, “Even I thought the promos were for movers of houses!” He continued, “See. I have broken up, and ‘moved on’, its no big deal dude!”. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal after all. I had not committed myself to a girl so far, and hence, maybe thought it was all a big deal and stuff. But I sincerely believed this was the way things worked. That people, who at least claimed who loved each other, did not really want to part. My friend had a bad experience with his girl, and he got over it. He seemed perfectly normal to me. The promos still air on the television screens. Even advertisements have been made on them. I still wonder when I see them, is it really not a ‘big deal’ or is that, just a phrase to console each other, and heal the wounds of ‘moving on’?