Boston, MA
Long distance movers in Boston
Almost every Boston lease turns over on 1 September, so the whole city moves in the same week. We pull the street occupancy permit early, post the signs 48 hours out, and book crews before that week sells out.
- Permit pulled five business days, more in season
- Narrow streets shuttle where a trailer will not fit
- COI issued direct to management
- USDOT 2138595 · MC-744411 checkable on FMCSA SAFER
Boston, MA
What a long distance move from Boston involves
Boston street occupancy permits cost $69 and the whole city moves in one week.
We file early and quote one binding price before you pack. It sits inside the price you were quoted rather than arriving afterwards.
The rest is the ordinary work: a survey that counts what you own, a binding price in writing, our own crew loading and delivering, and thirty days of storage if your dates slip.
Moving services in Boston
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Long distance moving Out of Boston on our own trucks.
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Auto transport Open or enclosed, with $100,000 or $500,000 of cover.
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Packing and crating Partial up to fifteen boxes, full beyond, crates for the rest.
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Storage Thirty days included on a long move.
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Moving insurance What each level of cover actually pays.
Why people book us for a move from Boston
- 1,789
- Households moved
- 160
- Crew
- 28
- Cities
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Your quote is your final price, in writing after the survey
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Trained crews on our own payroll, never day labor
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Licensed and insured under our own USDOT and MC authority
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Thirty days of storage included on long distance moves
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We file and pay the Boston street permit as part of the booking
What it costs
What moving from Boston typically costs
Price comes from weight and mileage first, then access — and in Boston access means the street width and the staircase.
| Home size | Typical weight | To Los Angeles | To Chicago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio or 1 bed one bedroom of contents | 2,000 – 3,500 lb | $3,069 – $7,479 | $2,220 – $5,103 |
| 2 – 3 bedrooms the most common interstate move | 4,000 – 9,000 lb | $4,581 – $9,101 | $2,910 – $6,940 |
| 4+ bedrooms often needs a trailer to itself | 10,000 – 14,000 lb | $8,529 – $13,956 | $4,790 – $8,885 |
The dollar ranges are the MARKET rate for these lanes, not our quote: Boston to Los Angeles and Boston to Chicago. moveBuddha's monthly dataset of live quotes across vetted movers, last updated 31 August 2026. Weights are the industry rule of thumb. We price your move from a survey of your actual inventory and give you one binding number in writing, which is why no figure above is presented as ours.
Get a binding priceIncluded and extra
What your final price includes
The complaint in this industry is always the bill that grew. This is the line between included and extra, before you have to ask.
- Included One truck, one crew The crew that loads you is the crew that unloads you.
- Included Storage for 30 days Useful when a closing slips.
- Included Basic cover 60 cents for every pound an item weighs.
- Extra Full cover Pays to repair or replace what we list together.
- Extra Packing and crates Up to 15 boxes is partial, more than that is full.
- Extra Car shipping Open or enclosed.
- Extra The street permit Its own line on your estimate, not hidden in a total.
How your move from Boston works, step by step
Four points where something is decided. In September the first one decides the rest.
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Book the date early
Especially for a 1 September move. Permits want ten to fourteen days of notice in season and crews sell out before the trucks do.
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Survey, and the street
We count the inventory and look at whether a trailer can reach the address, how many flights there are, and where a shuttle would park.
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Permit and posting
We apply for the street occupancy permit and post the signs at least 48 hours before the 7 a.m. start, so the space is actually enforceable.
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Load day and transit
The crew is sized for the staircase, and the delivery is a window rather than an hour — weather and hours-of-service limits are real constraints.
Long distance moving routes from Boston
Road distance and the transit window we plan against on the lanes we run most from Boston.
- Street permit
- $69 one day, two spaces, signs included
- Metered spaces
- +$40 on top, for two
- Permit notice
- 5 business days 10–14 in peak season
- To the west coast
- 7–12 days Boston to Los Angeles, 2,991 mi
Permit figures published by the City of Boston: Parking Clerk and Public Works street occupancy fees.
Boston's moving permit and the one week the whole city moves
Boston has a moving season roughly one week long, and everything else about a Boston move follows from that.
Residential leases here turn over almost entirely on 1 September. The practical effect is that a city of several hundred thousand renters changes address in the same few days — which means permits, trucks and crews are all competing for the same window. The city itself acknowledges it: the street occupancy permit that normally needs five business days wants ten to fourteen from May to September, and especially around that date. Booking a September move in late August is not cutting it fine, it is too late.
The permit is refreshingly concrete. A one-day permit covering two non-metered spaces costs $69 and comes with the two signs; if the spaces are metered it is $40 more. Somebody has to post those signs on the street at least 48 hours before the 7 a.m. start, or the reservation is not enforceable when the truck arrives. We handle the application and the posting as part of the booking.
Then the streets themselves, which were laid out before trucks. A 53-foot trailer cannot enter much of the South End, Beacon Hill or the North End, and where it cannot, the job runs as a shuttle from a legal spot. The buildings match the streets: triple-deckers and brownstone walk-ups where the staircase decides what travels whole, and the crew is sized for flights rather than floor area.
What decides a Boston move
One date, one permit, and streets older than trucks
The date is the one nobody warns you about. The other two are ordinary once the date is handled.
1 September when almost every lease turns over
Why September 1 books out first
The whole city moves in the same few days, which is why the city itself asks for ten to fourteen days of permit notice from May to September instead of the usual five. A September move needs booking well before August.
$69 one day, two spaces, signs included
What the Boston curb permit costs
Plus $40 if the spaces are metered. Somebody has to post the signs at least 48 hours before the 7 a.m. start or the reservation will not hold when the truck turns up. We apply and we post.
No trailer across much of the old city
Streets that will not take a trailer
Beacon Hill, the North End and much of the South End will not take a 53-foot trailer at all. A smaller truck works the door and transfers, and on a triple-decker the crew is sized for the flights rather than the square footage.
Permit fees and notice periods published by the City of Boston.
Protection
Moving insurance: what your belongings are covered for
Every interstate move carries released-value liability by law, and it is lower than almost everyone expects: sixty cents per pound of the item, not what the item is worth. On a walk-up in a hundred-year-old building that gap is where the argument happens, and it is worth settling before the day rather than after.
- 60¢ / lb
- released value — free, but you have to choose it
- Full value
- the federal default if you choose nothing
- $100k / $500k
- auto transport, open or enclosed
What comes apart on the landing is decided at survey.
What each level actually paysMoving on 1 September?
Then the date is the thing to settle first. Two ZIP codes gets it started.
Where we load in Boston
Three kinds of address, three kinds of load.
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Seaport and Back Bay
Back Bay · Seaport · Financial District
A booked dock and a certificate to management, arranged with the building before the street permit is even filed.
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Old city, no trailer
Beacon Hill · North End · South End · Charlestown
A 53-foot trailer will not fit at all. A smaller truck works the door, and on a triple-decker the crew is sized for the flights.
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Inside Route 128
Cambridge · Somerville · Brookline · Newton · Quincy
Separate cities, each selling its own curb permit. On 1 September all of them turn over at once, which is the booking problem.
Reviews from customers on our long-distance lanes
“I had a different mover scheduled prior to knowing Cross Country Movers, but at the last minute the other company had expired paperwork and no insurance so we cancelled on moving day.”
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Matin G.
Read on YelpI was originally moving with another moving company which wound up turning out bad on the day of. So, I scrambled to look for a more reputable moving company and called these guys up which Matthew answered and was able to quickly handle our critical situation. Read the full review Read less
I was originally moving with another moving company which wound up turning out bad on the day of. So, I scrambled to look for a more reputable moving company and called these guys up which Matthew answered and was able to quickly handle our critical situation. The phone call took less than 20 mins and the movers were scheduled the next day amazingly. They were much accurate in their phone estimate and overall professional than the last company so I must say that I am very satisfied with their service. It is a few bucks more but in the end it's definitely worth the hassle.
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Katelyn C.
Read on GoogleAs a real estate professional, I frequently stage homes for sale, which involves a lot of furniture and accessory movement. This has become a regular part of my job every month, and I couldn't dream of accomplishing it without the help of this fantastic moving team. Read the full review Read less
As a real estate professional, I frequently stage homes for sale, which involves a lot of furniture and accessory movement. This has become a regular part of my job every month, and I couldn't dream of accomplishing it without the help of this fantastic moving team. I've had the pleasure of working with them for over five years now. Their crew members are tremendously professional and incredibly efficient. They're always prepared and punctual, showing great attention and care to all items. They've become an integral part of my staging team, diligently assembling and placing my pieces exactly where I need them. They've even managed to pull off the seemingly impossible task of fitting a large couch through a garden door! Working in Modesto, with its crowded streets and three to four-story townhouses with tight spaces, can be quite challenging. But these movers handle it with ease and a smile on their faces. And what's more, their services come at a very reasonable price. Quite simply, I couldn't imagine moving anything without them!
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Alan E.
Have to say that these guys are amazing they are really out going and number one in my book I would like to give a shout out to Juan, and Ralph for there help thanks again guys
Read on Yelp
Where to go next
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Movers across Massachusetts
state guide
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Movers in New York
the lane we run most south
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Long distance moving
how the price is built
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Areas we serve
the states we run into
What does the street permit cost?
The city charges $69 for a one-day permit covering two non-metered spaces, and that includes the two signs. If the spaces are metered it is $40 more. We apply for it as part of the booking.
How far ahead does it have to go in?
Five business days is the minimum, but from May to September — and especially around 1 September — the city asks for ten to fourteen days. The signs then have to be posted at least 48 hours before the 7 a.m. start or the space is not enforceable.
Why is everyone moving on 1 September?
Because almost every residential lease in Boston turns over on that date. It means the entire city’s moving demand lands in the same few days, so permits, trucks and crews are all scarce at once. If you are moving that week, the date is the thing to settle first — well before August.
Can a full-size truck get to my street?
Often not. Much of Beacon Hill, the North End and the South End will not take a 53-foot trailer, and some of it will not take anything large. Where it will not, a smaller truck works your door and transfers to the trailer parked on a through street — a line on the estimate, priced at survey.
I am on the third floor of a triple-decker.
Then the staircase is the job. We size the crew for the flights and the turns rather than the square footage, and decide at survey what travels whole and what comes apart on the landing.
You are an interstate carrier — what about a move inside Massachusetts?
Different regulator. Interstate is federal: USDOT 2138595 and MC-744411, checkable on the FMCSA register. A move that starts and ends in Massachusetts needs an operating authority certificate from the Department of Public Utilities, which also sets a minimum level of cargo insurance and requires the mover to file its tariff of rates — so the pricing is public. Ask any in-state mover for its DPU authority.
What is my furniture actually insured for?
By default sixty cents per pound of the item — the federal released-value standard, included at no cost. That is weight, not worth. Full-value protection is the paid alternative on an inventory we declare together.
Moving out of Boston?
The permit pulled, the signs posted, and a binding number before you commit.
Get a price for your move from Boston
Two ZIP codes and a date is enough to start. A coordinator confirms the permit, the street width and how many flights there are before anything is booked.