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Almost everyone is familiar with the process of shifting apartments. Whether you buy an apartment in Dhaka or rent, most of us experience it once or twice in our lives. You organize all your stuff, pack them up, get people to help you out, find transportation and finally re-organize everything in your new home.  You need a lot of preparation for shifting a house, and even then, it’s not the smoothest of transitions. As a part of this preparation, you also need to be aware of the potential cost of shifting an apartment. This knowledge will help you be fully ready for the move and hopefully avoid any awkward situation.

To help you get a better understanding of the costs, we’ll be doing a three-part series on how much it costs to shift an apartment in Dhaka. For our first part today, we’ll be covering the transportation types and costs that are associated with shifting home.

Trucks

The cost of shifting an apartments rises with trucks
Trucks are the most expensive method of transportation for shifting apartments

We begin with the biggest vehicle people use to move their furniture and belongings from one place to another. Trucks usually handle large orders in Bangladesh. However, trucks have been used for help in shifting apartments too; though the practice has dwindled in recent times in Dhaka. Trucks have ample room for carrying a great deal of items. The capacity to move every item in your home is the main draw for choosing trucks to shift home. On the downside, their magnitude also limits their maneuverability on smaller roads.

Trucks usually cost a lot to hire, and can also be difficult to come by. You can get trucks only in a few places in the city such as Mohakhali, Jatrabari, and Tejgaon. On average, mini-trucks that can carry over 1 ton usually cost around 4,000 BDT if traveling from Mirpur to Banani, one of the trending residential areas of Dhaka. Larger ones can cost up to BDT 7,000-8,000 for 10-15 kilometers distance per trip. The good thing is it takes just one trip for heavy trucks to shift every item in the house. So even though the cost of shifting an apartment may rise a bit, it is also faster. Keep in mind that rental costs vary depending on distance and stands- places you hire from.

Pickups

pickups used for shifting home
The ability to move quite a few items in short time makes pickups very popular

Pickups are the most popular mode of transportation when shifting apartments. They are lighter than trucks, yet capable of carrying plenty of items. Even though pickups have less space than trucks, their cost-effectiveness makes them a favorite. These vehicles can easily navigate the streets of Dhaka and travel long distances as well. This makes them perfect if you don’t have a great deal of items in your home. The blue and yellow pickups are a very common sight in today’s Dhaka, usually transporting a variety of items.

Since these vehicles don’t require much space to park, you can find plenty of pickups available for hire throughout Dhaka. Aside from truck stands, Mohammadpur, Banasree, Khilgaon, Mirpur, and Uttara are just some popular places they can be easily found. Following the previous example, in order to shift home from Mirpur to Banani, it will cost you somewhere around BDT 1,500 to 2,000. This price includes traveling from the stand to your old home and moving items to your new home. If you require multiple trips, you need to discuss this beforehand, as instead of paying double, you can often cut a deal to reduce the cost.

Rickshaw Vans

Vans are the most cost-effective method for shifting a house
Vans are the most cost-effective method for shifting a house

If you are shifting apartments to a nearby area and strict about the cost of shifting an apartment, than rickshaw vans – or vans as they are more widely referred to here – are perfect for you. These three-wheeled vans are capable of moving short distances and can carry only a little cargo at once. However, they are significantly cheaper than other vehicles. Usually, it takes a few trips to move every item to your new apartment. As such, it might require you some time to finish shifting. While they are slow, people prefer vans due to their wide availability and low-cost.

There’s hardly an area that doesn’t have a rickshaw or van stand within it. You can find them anywhere from Jatrabari and Mirpur to more upscale areas such as Gulshan and Banani. This wide availability also makes negotiating a price more favorable for you. However, distance and quantity of items play a large part in determining the cost. Using them to shift home to a neighboring area can cost as little as BDT 500 to 1,000.

Moving Services

Shifting apartments with moving services
Moving services usually provide a more organized and convenient transport system

Specialized moving services in Bangladesh are a recent addition to the way people shift home. They usually have service packages for taking care of every aspect of the move. Some of these moving services, however, offer just transportation services for shifting apartments. The benefits of availing such a service is that you don’t have to find transportation yourself. You can just contact them and hire whichever vehicle is best suited for your need. Hiring them can be a bit more costly than finding transport yourself though; prioritizing convenience over the cost of shifting an apartment. Furthermore, the cost can vary quite a bit from organization to organization. Currently, several moving services operate in Dhaka, but only a few offer individual transport services.

Transportation is usually the bulk of you cost of shifting an apartment. Finding the right transportation when you shift home is crucial for ensuring a seamless move. Several types of transport can be hired at varying costs; which is why you need to analyze your requirements and then hire accordingly.

Did you ever use any of these transports for shifting apartments? How was your experience? Don’t forget to let us know in the comments section below.

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