I've done it twice. Once when I moved from NM to PA, and once when I moved from PA back to NM. PA to NM, I kept whatever would fit in a 1969 Buick Riviera, and PA to NM I kept what would fit in a 1981 Toyota Landcruiser FJ60. It was never a start from scratch purge, just a "pick what I can still fit" situation. In both cases I was poor at the destination end, so both purges took 5 years or more to get my studio back in usable shape. Personally based on those experiences, I'd keep what you can fit and not go too far in the purge.

I won’t exactly be in Pittsburgh, but an hour south in Morgantown just across the state border. My wife and I are used to a certain standard of living over the years and to keep it that way with our income I need to be careful that I don’t move to a very expensive area and Morgantown fit the bill. We are going to be able to purchase a very large home over there for the 500,000 to 600,000 budget we have for home. I’ve been wanting to live in a smaller area in the last few years since the Boise metro area was getting too large for me. Morgantown only has a metro population of around 130,000, so it fits the bill of not being too big, but not too small. It’s going to be awesome living only an hour away from Pittsburgh, as the Pittsburgh Steelers have always been one of my favorite football teams. In fact, years ago I visited Pittsburgh back in my single bachelor days and almost moved there just because of my love for the Pittsburgh Steelers. LOL. I remember taking that tram thing up Mount Washington to get some good pictures of downtown Pittsburgh. Beautiful city!

Yeah, that would suck taking five years to get all your studio equipment back in order. Luckily my wife and I are in a place in our lives where we could buy everything back in just a matter of months once we purchase the new home. The real estate market in Idaho has just been going through the roof (thank you Californians). We just bought our home less than five years ago and will almost be selling it for double what we paid for it, that’s how insane the prices have gone up over here, especially in the awesome area where I live at. Because of my physical conditions getting worse over the years, the thought of moving a lot of stuff, putting it in storage, then getting it back out is more painful than the thought of just selling and re-buying a lot of it. Sad but true! I still don’t know for sure what I’m going to do, but it’s interesting reading what others have done in the situation.

I sure haven't moved 27 times (and really haven't enjoyed the process of ANY moves I've ever had to do, especially with family in tow) but I've done it enough times to remember that the "fun" or "non-essential" purchases tend to take a backseat to the "necessity" or "infrastructure" purchases for quite a while after getting settled.

In my personal experience with it, we always seem to get into the new place and despite best planning and intentions we seem to find ways to make big unplanned decisions on stuff like "Well, you know, all this nice furniture we brought with us really doesn't match this new place, so let's get all new stuff" and for some reason finding that perfect new dining room table (and 12 freaking chairs!!!!!!!!!) always seems to be more important to my wife than stuff like those damn keyboards...

If you make a living with your gear I'd make sure you keep enough to stay productive (or budget to replace what you need *immediately*). If you love it and/or need it, find a way to keep it. If you don't love it or need it, I guess you could think of this as a perfect excuse to get rid of it... I made a decision to downsize a little bit the last time I moved (across town) and I've ended up buying most of what I sold back at more than I sold it for...

So I personally hope to NEVER EVAR move again, but if I do my studio will be completely factored in whether that be for climate-controlled storage for the "in-between" stages or other means until the final setup gets realized. Got any friends in the new city that could "borrow" some of your gear for a while? In-laws have any extra space for the short term for storage of electronics? Anyway, good luck with it!

Thanks!
bax

Hey, welcome the Pittsburgh...I mean Morgantown is almost a suburb these days. We had a great football team that is kinda beat up right now, but who isn't? N Stuff is the best music store in the area. I like the guys at Pittsburgh Guitars too, but they are more a guitar store.

I have never moved my gear more than a few miles. We will be downsizing now that I am retired, maybe in a couple years. I bought a desk with built in racks, so as long as there is a corner to tuck the desk into and room to store a dozenish guitar cases and some mic stands I'm good.

I sold almost all my gear recently and made a similar move for similar reasons from Boston to Chattanooga. The area we lived, and the city as a whole, just got way too big. It was cool when we were younger, and we could have sold our condo and afforded a nice "adult" house for the area, but a smaller city was just way more appealing. And like where you're headed we feel like kind of a suburb of Atlanta/Nashville/Knoxville/Huntsville/Birmingham being about 2 hours from all of them.

Selling was a good idea and I did move a few things. I kept the DIY stuff I built, an old Ramsa mixer, a Kurzweil Midiboard, an Akai S6000 sampler, my Equator monitors, plus sum other random rack stuff and studio plumbing that fit in a road rack that the moving guys could handle easily. Also a vintage Ludwig kit, a 60s SG Junior and a 50s Gibson Falcon cause they were my first instruments.

Some of the stuff I ended up wanting to buy back and was kind of a pain to get or went way up in price like an OTO Biscuit and a Space Case Tape Echo. Some stuff I miss and just won't buy again cause the prices to get a similar condition to what I had are crazy. Like I had an Otari MX-5050 8 track and the prices are just insane now. Same with tons of what used to be cheap but good stuff like an Ensoniq ESQ-1.

Anyway that's all to say that selling stuff felt great and getting new stuff was fun and I'd do it again. It's just "stuff" is true but also it's cool to be sentimental about some things. I was 11 when I pulled that guitar out from under my Dad's bed and pulled out an entire closet of stuff to find that amp, so they weren't going to be left behind.

Also PGH is sweet, that was my second choice to move, but my wife hates the cold so it got ruled out pretty quick. Also I don't know if I ever could have rooted for the Steelers. Haha.

Thanx for your answer !
I know it’s Gearslutz but it’s a strength not to be attached to gear - and further more, objects. If you can afford it and enjoy the process of building a studio and purchasing synth then... :-)

Boise then Pittsburgh : Will be quite a contrast, temperatures wise !!!

Not an hour from Pittsburgh! (I grew up in Erie, lived in State College for a time during college).

If you're worried about heat and humidity nonetheless, there's always Iron Mountain.

In Morgantown the actual temperatures were pretty similar in winter to Boise from what I checked on Wikipedia. Boise gets much less snow in the winter though, but gets hotter in the summer, which I am not a fan of our constant high 90's in then.

Boise's only "pro" music store in Guitar Center and the SUCK! They never have high-end gear due to the smaller population. I would think Pittsburgh's 2+ million metro population should have much more music stores than in Boise.....but I could be wrong.

I will be about 1 hour south of Pittsburgh in Morgantown, WV. I like smaller populated areas where I can see the stars more easily (I'm an amateur astronomer). I don't mind cold winters and prefer them much more to hot summers. The average low in Morgantown during the winter is almost identical to Boise, but the average high in the summer is about 8 degrees cooler than in Boise.....which I like.

Thanks! I'm very excited to finally get to watch a Steelers same at Hines Field in Fall 2021.

I was down there a couple of years ago, and it's not like it used to be. If you recall, it flooded out a couple of times in the late 90's/early 00's, so they moved the whole store out to Robinson, where it had to compete with Guitar Center. They've been back in the Rocks for a few years now, but everything's on one floor and there isn't nearly the selection there once was. Pianos 'n Stuff is by far the best.

To the OP... Not to get too far into your business, but have you ever spent much time in Morgantown? I was only there once, and it was alright. But it is a college town, and the first thing I think of when I hear that name is "burning couches". The second thing is Don Knotts.

Also, I vote for keeping almost everything. Maybe dump some things where the $/lbs ratio makes it silly to move them. The idea of selling everything and "living free" for a time is very romantic when one is young and unattached. But once one is further along in life and has a pretty good idea where and how he will be living after the move, it just seems like an unnecessary hassle.

Other than actually living in Morgantown, we’ve done everything we can do on the Internet in investigating it, including talking with people who have lived there and who currently live there. Morgantown is the closest that we want to move to my wife’s family who live in New England.... which will only be an 8 Hour drive there in our RV which we will be able to do many times a year. We want a small town, but not too small, lakes and rivers, scenery and nature.... and where our money can go the farthest. We may consider Bridgeport, a smaller city a little south of there, but Morgantown may be best for us due to needing therapists for our disabled son. We lead a very low-key life and I’m probably the most boring musician you would ever meet. LOL. I’m 51 years old, so my young single crazy days, if I ever had any, are well behind me. A simple life with with my wife and son, living in a nice home with peace and beauty all around me is all that I want..... and of course lots of synths.

Good to know. I do remember the Robinson shop. It didn’t last long. The first time I was ever at their store was when they were located up the street from the current location in the Rocks. There was a fire in their building and they were doing a fire sale. I was just a kid and was there with my brother and his bandmates. I think I remember the flood at the current location. They had some unfortunate luck. I remember when Pianos n Stuff was in the Carnegie area. They are the best shop in town, but the store is tight to walk around.

You'll probably do alright down there. West Virginia, along with PA's Laurel Highlands across the border, is really nice country. I've done a fair amount of hiking and kayaking down that way and could easily see myself settling there one day.

It's amazing how much they cram into that rather small store. And it's the only place that carries anything decent. I hear tales of Guitar Centers in places like LA and NY with Moog Ones and such on the floor, but I've never seen anything remotely like that in the ones here.

You’ll have to let me know then if you settle there one day. My goal is to help turn northern West Virginia into an electronic music & synthesizer mecca. LOL

Morgantown is a hidden gem, and it would be a decent choice if you wished to be within short driving distance of much of the Eastern United States.

I’ve been working at this for 41 years, the only stuff I still own from the 70s are my two mxr pedals, a phase 90 and a graphic eq. I also have some early boss pedals (ce 2 chorus and a ge7) - I sold everything else in 1985 and moved to LA.

Fast forward to moving back east and I now have a fairly large collection of guitars, amps, keys (including a grand piano) and miscellaneous stuff - acquired over the last 30 plus years, I’ve often wondered what I’d do if I had to move again - for example, would I sell the Yamaha C5 and get a Steinway model B?

I think I’d simply keep things that are irreplaceable, and sell the rest - that means I’d probably keep the mxr phase 90 and boss CE2; it’d be pretty hard to find those in good condition these days! All my synths are easy to replace, and the old stuff that sits in my closet will likely never get used again, and my Rhodes always needs some kind of TLC, so be gone with all of it!!!!

It is great hearing that. We also have been hearing that impression by others. We do plan on taking regular road trips in an RV to explore the entire Eastern USA.

This has been a really interesting thread to read! I've moved across the country twice in the last ten years. First from Austin to New York, when I got rid of everything except my clothes, instruments, computer, books, and records (had those last two media-mailed from a post office in Austin to a post office in Flatbush, Brooklyn...) Fit everything into my 2007 Toyota Corolla. Then sold the Corolla to Prince's horn section leader after arriving in NYC. I'm mainly a session musician and composer, so I didn't have to worry about tons of hardware, just stacks of instruments. I got rid of a few extraneous things like MIDI keyboards and didn't bring any furniture.

After marrying a native New Yorker who wanted us to escape the anxious east coast back to Austin, we put everything we could into my Ford E-150 tour van, which I'd bought a couple years prior for my band. I'd accumulated some good gear during my time in NYC, but the Econoline made it possible to bring most of it... most of what we got rid of was furniture, I didn't have to let go of any gear.

I do think moving cross-country forces you to "Marie Kondo" your life in a very good way. It makes you prioritize what you really value and allows you to shed clutter. That being said, I'm glad we don't have plans to move again anytime soon!

OP, if you're like me, you'll miss those beautiful mountains of Idaho dearly (my parents lived in Moscow ID for fifteen years before moving to Oregon). Fortunately, you're going to a very naturally beautiful part of the eastern USA, as you undoubtedly know. But there's something special about the mountains of the west, they're more wild and dramatic. I miss them a lot. At least you'll be close to Primenti Bros sammiches... Mmmm...

Yes, I am definitely going to miss my beautiful mountains, but I think right now it is important for my wife to be able to do many visits to her family per year, especially her mother who is declining health. Being so far away in Idaho currently, and the difficulty of traveling with our disabled son, she can only see them about once every year or so unfortunately. My father passed away last year which also makes it easier to leave beautiful Idaho now. I promised her a 10 year commitment of living in the east, then after that we will be looking to come back to the western USA to “officially” retire, as she also really loves the mountains here just as much as I do. I’m thinking one day we will eventually retire perhaps near the Teton’s on the Idaho Wyoming border, as when I become an old fart I want to be looking at the beautiful mountains by day, then the incredible Milky Way at night.

That sounds like a good plan. The Tetons are incredible.

Great things about the Appalachians too, though! Plus an easy drive from lots of excellent American cities from where you'll be. Pittsburgh would actually be a really ideal city as a hub for touring...

Why would you move to a city, though?

Rats, cockroaches, homelessness, corrupt politicians, high taxes, crime, bad schools, traffic, pollution, bad smell, disease, bad services, crammed space, inflated costs, people trying to impose on to you, nosey neighbors, home owner associations, prudes, rude people, a rat race culture, etc.

So uninspiring for a musician to be amid all of that. I get most of my inspiration from nature. Fresh air. Hiking. Mountain climbing. camping. the great outdoors.

Sure, the incomes are generally higher in cities. But so are all the costs. What's your net position?

I live in an area that is growing into a city and I'm looking to move out again.

I realize some of you may not have as much choice. You go where your career takes you, I guess.

Fortunately, I have a diverse enough skillset that I can make a modest living in practically any town. I can fix just about anything. I'm probably not going to get rich in rural America, though.

I have accumulated a lot of music gear, not unlike you. I'd probably rent the largest truck I could drive without a CDL and hold on to most of it. Selling everything just to buy it again down the road is a huge hassle that'd I prefer to avoid. Moving a lot of stuff is a hassle, but less of a hassle than trying to find all those pieces of gear I lust for on the used market again.

I certainly have no desire to live in a large city. We are moving to a metro area with just above 100k population, then still we are going to be on the outskirts of that area. If we didn't have a disabled child who needs special therapies, I would be out in the middle of nowhere where I can see the Milky Way every night, and have Elk and Moose take a dump in my back yard whenever they felt the need.

Pictures pls.

I'd like to get the lay of the new land.???????

We are still waiting to sell our Hidden Springs, Idaho home in March....for double what we paid for it just 4 years ago. Thanks again to all the Idaho potato-loving Californians that are invading Idaho and driving our home values through the freakin' roof!!!! We are looking at buying the new home near Cheat Lake, WV, so stay tuned and I'll eventually post photos when the time comes. I'm budgeting $60k for my new music room and am excited!

Let's try this...


Why would you move to the country, though?

Mice, mosquitoes, homelessness, corrupt politicians, no public services, property crime and meth, bad schools, dirt roads, polluted well water from drilling or mining or agricultural runoff, the bad smells that come with those, lack of health care, no public services, nobody to socialize with, deflated economies, locals trying to impose on you, nosey neighbors, rundown towns, prudes, rude people, a culture of malaise, etc.

Sure, the costs are lower outside the cities. But so are the salaries at all the jobs.


...for the record I have no problem with either. But you can paint the cities and the country with an equally broad, cynical, and ultimately incorrect brush. Some of us are inspired by calm and open spaces and some of us are inspired by bustling cities and the energy around them. There's no reason for one to completely write off the other.