A new study has found one in four Americans will “try anything” to get out of helping others move.
The poll of 2,000 U.S. adults found 22% have wriggled out of helping others when asked, and 35% have faced the same from others when asking for help during their own moves.
More than a third (38%) also secretly hate being asked to help their friends and family move — they can only entice help through payments of food and drinks (38%), money (33%) or returning the favor when the time comes (17%).
Many describe moving as stressful (60%), exhausting (53%) and downright nerve-wracking (33%). So much so, 57% admitted they’ve seriously reconsidered their moving ambitions due to how tiring of a process it can be.
Almost Everyone Has Moved; Friends Are Asked First
Commissioned by Safeway Moving and conducted by Talker Research, the study revealed 97% have moved at least once in their life, and people first ask their friends (39%), siblings (27%), significant others (26%) and extended family members (24%) for help.
However, not all moving help is equal. The study revealed those who relied on their friends for help claimed they were both the “most” helpful (21%) and the “least” helpful (30%) when compared to other types of helpers.
Many movers said they’ve also used professional moving companies (16%) and hired help from apps and websites (6%) — though 14% said they’ve had poor experiences with the pros.
Those respondents shared their poor experiences resulted in several broken items (49%), misplaced or stolen items (35%) and overcharged moving rates (35%).
Sixty-nine percent said their experiences were so bad, they’d hesitate to ever use professional movers ever again.
“It’s easy to understand why people rope their friends and family into moving, rather than looking to using professionals,” explained Boris Svirsky, CEO and founder of Safeway Moving. “Moving can be a headache — people want to make it as seamless as possible, which can be hard to do when they’ve already had negative experiences with professional movers.”
Four in five turn to their friends and family for help moving, citing their reasoning for not wanting to use professional movers: not having the budget (54%), feeling like they don’t need professional help (29%) or a lack of trust (17%).
Only 15% said they trust professional movers with their belongings. The most trustworthy group people would rely on were their friends (19%).
Main Fears: Broken Items, Overcharges, and Theft
People said if they were using professional movers, they’d worry about having their items broken (45%), being overcharged by the moving company (44%) and having items stolen (36%).
Seven percent claimed their worries stemmed from being scammed by movers in the past.
“The reality is: moving doesn’t need to be a high-stress situation that’s muddied by friends who don’t want to be there or professionals who have their eyes on your wallet more than the wellbeing of your belongings,” continued Boris. “When you’re able to put your trust into people who are there to actually help you and are professional both in demeanor and in practice, you’re putting your best foot forward on your next move.”
Survey methodology:
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 general population Americans; the survey was commissioned by Safeway Moving and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Mar. 19 and Mar. 25, 2025.