Go West Young Couple, Go West!

by Doug Smith

 http://web.archive.org/web/20000412222508/www.ed2go.com/news/travel.html

Let's say you live in San Diego and your girlfriend lives in Chicago. You've maintained a long distance relationship for almost three years, but now you've decided it's time for you to be together. Ok, maybe this isn't your situation, but it's mine, so bear with me.

Planning a cross-country trip is stressful enough. A cross-country move is a whole different, more stressful, more expensive monster. I need a plane ticket to fly out to Chicago; we need to get a moving truck; we need to plan a travel route back (considering weather, hotels, and restaurants); and we need a place to live when we get back. 

First--the place to live. A good online resource is apartments.com. Here you can begin an apartment search by state, using the interactive US map. Next choose the region you want to live in, then the area, clicking 'Next' after every try. Next choose your city. After this you are given the opportunity to specify your requirements, needs, and amenities desired using a well-designed, simple-to-fill-out form. After you make these choices, click the button to submit, and a list of apartments that fit your criteria will come up. The site uses colorful icons to indicate apartment features and includes high quality photos of the units and complexes. If you find a place you like, click the link for more information, and you'll get a virtual tour (using photos and text), and more information, as well as directions and contact information to go see the place for yourself. 

Priceline is a good place to look for good deals on airline tickets. Here, you put in where you want to go and when, and what price you want to pay. If an airline accepts your offer, Priceline will book the ticket for you, using billing information you furnish. The more flexible you are, the better chance you'll get what you want at the right price. 

The Moving center can help you find a moving truck. You can get free rate quotes here from Ryder and Budget rentals. In addition, there are some links to other moving services. The site will also list truck rental companies near you and give you their contact info. I'd like to be able to get a real-time, online price quote, but the one submission I tried took my information and informed me that a representative would be contacting me. U-haul.com did give me a quick easy online-quote, even though it was very high.

Now the route. Mapquest is a popular direction planner that I have used in the past. I've found it to be very useful more for local directions than a coast to coast trip. Freetrip.com seemed a little more user friendly to me. I also liked how your itinerary is instantly laid out on an easy to read and print page. You can also have hotels, ATMs, and points of interest marked out along the way. 

Mapquest is a good resource with added features like the City Guide. Here you can get information on a particular city and its weather, lodging information, and dining possibilities.

So, I'm just about ready after doing the majority of my trip planning online. Of course, not all trips are coast-to-coast moves. However, you can plan a family vacation just as conveniently and easily!