Driving in a city I'm not all that fond of. But highway driving -- ohmygod the love.

If the destination is CA, you might want to read up on their emissions stuff. If you buy it here, let's say, you'll probably (I can only speak from buying in one state and then moving 2 years later) have to pay title and registration fees where you buy it, but will have to do the same again when registering it at your destination. Plus, you'll need to switch insurance. Not really big things, but something to keep in mind. (Note all this stuff is from my behind, so I may be getting parts wrong. But stuff to check.)

On a more pro-buy now side, how busy are you going to be once you move? Is buying post-move going to overwhelm you more than buying now? Roadtrip- yeah! or crap! ?

If all other things end up equal, you can start shopping (here and there, love the web!) now and if a really good deal comes up in either place, it can't hurt, right?

Ship a lot of your stuff anyway.

I feel like it would be that smarter thing to buy there, but I would REALLY want to buy NOW, if I were you, to eliminate potential stressors after moving.

Could you buy on-line and have a car wating for you in CA?

Also, in case your parents are making you crazy with absolutes, I think this is the sort of thing that really depends on the person and some of it is just fuzzy logic.

Yeah, more and more I'm thinking that buying there is the right choice. It's just that that means putting my cat on an airplane (shudder), shipping all my stuff, and condensing all the stuff I absolutely positively must have for my first week or so in a new state and a new job into a few suitcases.

Could you buy on-line and have a car wating for you in CA?

My brother did this! Well, ok not exactly, but he's bought cars on ebay. I'm not kidding. Mostly parts cars, though. I do recommend driving it and taking it to a mechanic (exception to the latter if it is brand new) before signing anything.

Could you rent a small truck and drive to Calif. in that? Then, buy something when you get there.

I think buying there is a good choice because Calif has stricter emissions regs that most other states. And, you won't have to pay to register it twice.

putting my cat on an airplane (shudder)

Drugs! For both of you!

but I would REALLY want to buy NOW, if I were you, to eliminate potential stressors after moving.

There's that too.

It comes down to that I was planning on having a car and driving cross country, and kind of looking forward to it. Even though it's probably more sensible to fly and buy there, it's a lot higher stress and a lot lower fun. But as vw reminds me, if things go well with the job, I really won't have time for a cross-country drive.

But this means really packing or disposing of everything I own, not just most of it and then tossing what's left in the car.

I hear they don't like to sedate pets for plane trips anymore. But god, poor Norineko. Not that she'd have been thrilled about driving cross-country, either.

Renting a truck for the move is likely to cost between one and three thousand dollars, which gets into the why-bother area.