Controlling the Cost of Your Move to Guam

Controlling the Cost of Your Move to Guam

Martin Howard May 22, 2010 View all blog articles

One of the factors that might come into play when you're considering your move to Guam (if you have a choice in the matter) is the cost of moving here. Not just the cost of moving your personal property, but there's that period of time that you're living in a hotel and out of a suitcase, eating in restaurants and trying to figure out where to wash your clothes until you find a more permanent place to live. On the website, there's a section on short term (month to month) rentals. You'll see they are in short supply. So you'll probably be stuck in a hotel for some number of days.

The expenses for those first few days or weeks can really add up. Maybe your company is covering it and you're in the clear, maybe you're trying to figure out if you have enough plastic to cover it. In either case, or whatever case, there are a few things you can think about, as related from someone (me) that paid their own way here six years ago.

One of the first things I urge you to consider seriously is how much you really want to bring with you. For the past five years in dealing with mostly military people moving here, I've noticed that people have a lot of stuff. I'd suggest a trip to Salvation Army or Goodwill can relieve you of a lot of stress. Not only would it reduce the amount of weight you're paying to have moved here, but most homes on Guam are significantly smaller than other places you've lived. You're not going to get a 2000 square foot home for $1000 per month here. Three bedroom homes at around 1300 square feet aren't uncommon. The suggestion here is that you don't want all your "stuff" to dictate how big your home has to be. I was recently working with a sailor that had just this problem. His budget was pretty tight, and we were having a hard time finding a place big enough for his "stuff" that he liked within his budget.

Something you should keep in mind is that Guam's hotels are set up for tourists that stay here only a few days. All the premium hotels have premium prices, and offer daily buffets for around $35 per person. Everything is tourist prices here. Laundry facilities aren't usually available in hotels, and some don't even offer a mini-fridge or microwaves for your use. Eating out three times a day or more is a fact of life when you first get here.

Guam has very limited public transportation and you find yourself faced with the problem of shipping your car here early and doing without it wherever you are, or keeping it as long as you can at your present location and waiting a few weeks for it to arrive on Guam. Rental cars average around $700 -$900 per month while you're waiting for your vehicle to get here. It's hard to say how long. I've seen it happen in as little as a month. Hotel and car packages might be the way to go for you. Ours start at $90.00 depending on what you want.

Hope this helps answer some of your questions.