my wife and i moved across the country via amtrak. it was fun and you can bring something like 6 bags per traveler at virtually any weight for no extra cost. i also shipped 3 bikes at 15$ each on the train.

we sent everything else media mail and sold most furniture.

apparently you can also ship stuff cheap via greyhound without riding it which i didn't know until recently.

Thanks for asking this question! I've been wondering the same thing. All the quotes I've gotten have been WAY expensive, and I'm starting to freak out. Which leads me to ask: where across the country are you moving, and when? I've been trying to find someone who is also moving in order to share moving costs/pod/uhaul space or whatever. I'm moving from Seattle to the Boston area at the end of June, and would be interested in talking about saving money by working together if at all possible.

You can ship stuff via amtrak pretty cheaply, provided you're willing to drop it off at the train station and pick it up at the other end. When I did it, they shrink wrapped all my earthly belongings to a wooden pallet and everything arrived intact in on the other end.

I moved from seattle to albuquerque by placing an ad on craigslist under ride share. I found a 19 year old with a broken arm fresh out of the army in alaska, driving to austin. He had a truck with a hitch, so we put a $20 u-haul hitch on the back and I paid for half the gas. I was already here, so I put my faith in him (I actually talked to his mom on the phone even, to make sure he was a "good kid"). He made is here in two days and it cost me a total of $200 (half of the gas and $20 for the hitch-on trailer). I moved mattress, box spring, tables, rugs, art, books, book case, kitchen, bathroom, art supplies... you name it.

Cheapest move across country ever.

I moved using ABF many years ago: http://www.upack.com/, and I remember it being very economical (and I was broke at the time), you only pay for the space you use. Though it was a while back. Our quote was way over what we actually paid, since they underestimated our packing ability.

No, that's pretty much the best option. Pack as much as you can into your car and sell the rest.

Look at it as a chance to get all new stuff. It's not a bad thing!

Get more quotes from several companies compare and choose one. This site might help you in getting free moving quotes http://www.moversglobal.com/freemovingquotes.aspx

This is all good advice. I've moved across country several times, and I can tell you that cheap furniture is cheap. It costs more to move IKEA junk than it does to buy new. What I did when I figured out the smart way was sell everything that wasn't a book or a record, and mail all of those for the media rate. Whiskeypony's mushroom is well-earned.

Careful with media mail. I strongly suggest putting a piece of paper (or a business card) with your name and address inside every single book. That way, if your books become separated from their box (as mine did) they can get each book back to you. Also, insurance, insurance, insurance.