Moving checklist for the Charlotte metro

This is the moving guide reduced to boxes. It runs from eight weeks out to the first month in, and it includes the Charlotte-specific items that generic checklists miss: the state line, the license clock, the school enrollment, the termites and the air conditioner. Each item links to the businesses in the directory that handle it. Print it; the first-week guide is the narrative version of the last section.

Eight weeks out

• ☐ Decide the side of the state line; it sets taxes, schools and car registration. A CPA who works both states: Patricia Belcourt, Sullivan CPA, Schwinn CPA.
• ☐ Test the commute at 7:45 on a weekday.
• ☐ Check the assigned school for the address; the schools guide explains the districts.
• ☐ Get preschool waitlist names in now.
• ☐ Choose the realtor: At Home in the Carolinas, Mary Kay Portaro, Puma & Associates, The Lake Wylie Man.
• ☐ Book the mover: Port City Movers, Carey Moving, Pink Zebra, Citywide; summer Saturdays book out.

Six weeks out

• ☐ Order the home inspection, and add a termite inspection; the Piedmont has them. Carolina Pest, Action Pest, Economy Exterminators.
• ☐ Order the survey if buying: The Survey Company.
• ☐ Line up insurance for the new state: Gill-Holler, Wil Lawson State Farm, Latorre.
• ☐ Book storage if there’s a gap: Cool-Binz, EZ Cube, All About Storage, Mini Storage Depot.
• ☐ If downsizing, Bluestar Move Management for the whole thing.

Four weeks out

• ☐ Schedule utilities for move-in day; the utility checklist has every provider.
• ☐ Order internet; check fiber availability at the exact address.
• ☐ Forward the mail.
• ☐ Request school records and immunization records.
• ☐ Transfer prescriptions to a local pharmacy: Moose, Franklin Street, Lake Wylie Pharmacy, Prime Family, VIDApharmacy.
• ☐ Book the HVAC service for the first week; the air conditioner is the Charlotte house’s weak point and July finds it. Putnam Mechanical, Charlotte Heating and Air, T.Byrd’s.

Two weeks out

• ☐ Book the cleaner for the old place and the new: SaniFresh, Crackerjack.
• ☐ Book junk removal: Scrappy’s Junk World, Tough Dumpsters.
• ☐ Schedule the locksmith for move-in day.
• ☐ Photograph the meters and the old place’s condition.
• ☐ Pack the first-night box: sheets, towels, the coffee maker, the phone chargers, the pet’s food.

Move-in week

• ☐ Utilities on, internet installed, trash pickup day confirmed (Waste Pro outside the towns).
• ☐ Change the locks.
• ☐ Find the water shutoff and the breaker panel.
• ☐ HVAC service.
• ☐ Pest treatment.
• ☐ Pizza from Hawthorne’s, because there are no plates.

The first month: the state

• ☐ Driver’s license within 60 days in North Carolina (South Carolina’s window is similar); book the DMV appointment online now, bring two proofs of address, and the wait is a morning.
• ☐ Vehicle registration and the state inspection; Tuffy, Henn Automotive, 77 Auto.
• ☐ Voter registration, which comes with the license if you check the box.
• ☐ Property tax: North Carolina bills the county; South Carolina bills the car too, which surprises people.

The first month: the people

• ☐ A primary care doctor, established before you’re sick; the doctor guide.
• ☐ A dentist and an eye doctor.
• ☐ A vet: Clear Creek‘s free new-client exam, or the dog owner guide‘s list by town.
• ☐ School enrollment: the lease or deed, immunizations, last report card.
• ☐ The library card.
• ☐ A bank or credit union: Truliant, Family Trust, Nova.
• ☐ The urgent care and ER addresses saved; the emergency guide.
• ☐ A plumber’s number before the first leak: Three Way Plumbing, Superior Plumbing.

If you’re renting

• ☐ Renters insurance, required by most Charlotte leases.
• ☐ The move-in inspection, photographed, with the landlord.
• ☐ The parking assignment and the guest rules, which the apartment communities in the home services directory enforce with towing.
• ☐ The pet deposit and the breed rules.
• ☐ The internet provider the building is wired for, which may not be the one you want.
• ☐ The renewal date, on the calendar, six months out, because the moving guide‘s advice is to buy after a year and the year goes fast.

If you’re bringing a business

• ☐ Register with the Secretary of State in the new state.
• ☐ The county business license where required.
• ☐ A CPA before the first quarterly estimate: the business guide.
• ☐ A coworking desk for the first month: Flywheel, Venture X, Minti.
• ☐ A directory listing, which is the cheapest marketing you’ll buy and the reason this checklist exists.

If you’re bringing a senior

• ☐ The Medicare transfer and the new plan, with Senior Benefits Center or Bridlewood.
• ☐ The specialists’ referrals carried over.
• ☐ The elder-law documents re-executed for the new state: McIntyre Elder Law, Willett Legal.
• ☐ The active aging guide, read once.

The first month: the life

• ☐ The first lake trip.
• ☐ The first greenway ride.
• ☐ The first ten restaurants, from the one-page guide.
• ☐ The gym or the rec league, from the fitness guide or the rec sports guide.
• ☐ The town page for wherever you landed, read once.
• ☐ The tip form, for what this checklist missed.