3 ms·

I haven't thought of this until now, but it's going to be interesting to see the impact of self driving trucks on human migration. Today many people feel trappe

I haven't thought of this until now, but it's going to be interesting to see the impact of self driving trucks on human migration. Today many people feel trapped where they live because it's prohibitively expensive to move. Once self-driving trucks are common, the cost of moving across the country should plummet. Imagine being able to move everything in your apartment or home across the country for a few hundred dollars.

alphaalpha101 9y ago
I think that's really just an excuse. Deep down those people know that they don't need all the particular things they happen to own right now. That particular couch? Sell it, buy a new one at the destination. They don't want to move (fear of change), and that's a convenient reason they can use to justify to others and themselves why they aren't moving.
kansface 9y ago
I've moved across the country a few times now - I'm not sure the expense of physically moving stuff was ever the largest.
- ryandrake 9y ago
  They were for me, by far. What other expenses are there?
  - chii 9y ago
    The fact that you'd first have to secure employment at your destination city?
    - malandrew 9y ago
      The only move I've coordinated cost quite a lot. It involved moving a 4 bedroom house from the South to New England and cost about $4-5k with labor and boxing and only unloading at the destination. The majority of the cost was the labor after everything was boxed and loaded.
ams6110 9y ago
If you're loading and moving yourself, a U-Haul or similar is not that expensive. I've done interstate moves and the truck rental was never more than a few hundred dollars.
- malandrew 9y ago
  True, but there is another cost there, opportunity cost. The week you take to drive cross country is a week that you aren't working and earning money. You're no longer paying the truck driver for his time, but you are now using your time. Overall, this self-move approach works for short moves of maybe 1-2 days time, but the moment a move will take more than a weekend, you're disrupting your earning opportunities. With self-driving trucks, you will be able to move for a few hundred dollars and be able to focus on employment.

alphaalpha101 9y ago

I think that's really just an excuse. Deep down those people know that they don't need all the particular things they happen to own right now. That particular couch? Sell it, buy a new one at the destination. They don't want to move (fear of change), and that's a convenient reason they can use to justify to others and themselves why they aren't moving.

kansface 9y ago

I've moved across the country a few times now - I'm not sure the expense of physically moving stuff was ever the largest.

ryandrake 9y ago
They were for me, by far. What other expenses are there?
- chii 9y ago
  The fact that you'd first have to secure employment at your destination city?
  - malandrew 9y ago
    The only move I've coordinated cost quite a lot. It involved moving a 4 bedroom house from the South to New England and cost about $4-5k with labor and boxing and only unloading at the destination. The majority of the cost was the labor after everything was boxed and loaded.

ams6110 9y ago

If you're loading and moving yourself, a U-Haul or similar is not that expensive. I've done interstate moves and the truck rental was never more than a few hundred dollars.

malandrew 9y ago
True, but there is another cost there, opportunity cost. The week you take to drive cross country is a week that you aren't working and earning money. You're no longer paying the truck driver for his time, but you are now using your time. Overall, this self-move approach works for short moves of maybe 1-2 days time, but the moment a move will take more than a weekend, you're disrupting your earning opportunities. With self-driving trucks, you will be able to move for a few hundred dollars and be able to focus on employment.