I am relocating to Jacksonville because I am in the military. What steps can I take to make this move as painless as possible?

Being relocated to Jacksonville certainly isn't a bad thing. Jacksonville has tons of attractions that draws in new residents in all year long. One can find an apartment in Jacksonville that is located central to work and fun. But, if you are ill prepared for your move, things can go from 6 to midnight really quickly. As you prepare to move into your new Jacksonville apartment, use a checklist keep your move stress free as possible.

Once you commit to an apartment and move in date, start gathering materials for packing. This list includes boxes, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, heavy duty tape, and sharpie markers for labeling. You can purchase these items at any Uhaul location. But, this can become expensive quickly. One way to minimize your packing expenses is to go to local grocery stores, restaurants, and furniture stores and ask for extra boxes. They throw them out. So, usually they will give them to you free of charge. However, it may take some time to gather enough boxes for your move to Jacksonville. So, start early to avoid any last minute scrambling and expenses.

As you are preparing for your move to your new Jacksonville apartment, make sure you have your utilities set up for the day you move in. You can call cable and electric companies before you move and get everything set up for the day you move in. It can be more than a minor inconvenience if you move into your new apartment, but can't get an internet connection for a week because you procrastinated.

Let the USPS know that you will be moving. You can even update your address online. In addition, leave a forwarding address to your current landlord. Sometimes it take a while for the USPS update your address in their system. In order to avoid missing important documents, leave a forwarding address to your new apartment.

Your move in inspection may seem like a nuisance, but look at this as an opportunity. Your Jacksonville apartment should be cleaned, painted, etc. by the time you move in. But, sometimes things are missed. Carefully inspect you apartment for prior damage. Take pictures and document this. If you don't go through the entire apartment with a fine toothed comb, you risk the chance of being charged for these property damages.

These are just a few tips on how to make your move to your Jacksonville apartment as smooth as possible. We provide a Jacksonville Apartments Moving Checklist that was developed by our experts that holds additional tips and advice about making the move to Jacksonville.

These are the opinions of writers and not the opinions of RentJax.com or any of our advertising partners.