Machaela Casey

Sixty-one percent of companies are growing their relocation budgets, according to the Atlas Van Lines 59th Annual Corporate Relocation Survey — and a growing budget is a budget that will eventually be questioned. When finance asks a mobility leader to justify relocation spend, “it’s necessary” is not an answer that survives a cost review. What […]

For most of the last three decades, corporate relocation followed a simple logic: the job was in a place, and the employee had to be there to do it. Hybrid and remote work broke that logic, and mobility programs are still adjusting to what replaced it. The question is no longer only how to move […]

Sixty-three percent of corporate mobility teams now use artificial intelligence somewhere in their relocation programs, according to the Atlas Van Lines 59th Annual Corporate Relocation Survey — and the broader category of relocation technology, from management platforms to expense dashboards to candidate-facing apps, has moved from a differentiator to an expectation. For the HR leaders […]

Quick Answers Specialty moving covers the pieces a standard move can’t safely handle: pianos, fine art, antiques, sculpture, wine collections, chandeliers, and other high-value or fragile items. What makes it different: custom-built crates, climate-conscious transport, specialized equipment and trained crews, condition documentation, and proper valuation coverage — applied as standard, not as surprises. The risk […]

Quick Answers PCS = Permanent Change of Station — a government-ordered relocation, run through your installation’s transportation office and the Defense Personal Property System (DPS/MilMove). Two main paths: a government-arranged HHG move (a carrier ships your household goods at no cost to you, up to your weight allowance) or a PPM/DITY (you move yourself and […]

Quick Answers What it is: the string of coastal towns north of the city of San Diego — Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad, and Oceanside — each distinct, all within about twenty minutes of one another The decision: not *whether* North County, but *which town* — they differ far more in character and price […]

Quick Answers The story: North County’s largest, most diverse, and most accessible beach city — long anchored by Camp Pendleton, now a genuine coastal destination after a decade of downtown revitalization The economy: the Marine Corps base (Camp Pendleton), a growing life-sciences presence (Genentech’s Oceanside campus), tourism, and the harbor The coast: nearly four miles […]

Quick Answers The character: North County’s surf town — laid-back, wellness-forward, and built along a walkable stretch of the Coast Highway (101) The communities: Leucadia (bohemian north), Old Encinitas/downtown (walkable 101, Moonlight Beach), Cardiff-by-the-Sea (beachy south), and New Encinitas/Olivenhain (inland, larger lots) Schools: among the best in San Diego County — Encinitas Union (elementary) feeding […]

Quick Answers What makes it distinct: a genuine job center *and* a beach town — most coastal California communities are one or the other The economy: action-sports and consumer brands (Callaway, TaylorMade, Acushnet), tech (ViaSat headquarters), and life sciences (Thermo Fisher, Ionis Pharmaceuticals) The coast: seven miles of beach, three lagoons, and the walkable Carlsbad […]

Quick Answers There’s no single “best” answer — the right destination depends on whether you’re optimizing for career, cost, climate, or staying close to home. Career & corporate: Dallas–Fort Worth, Austin, Charlotte, Nashville Warmth & no income tax: Florida (Tampa, Naples, Palm Beach), Texas, Tennessee Value with four seasons: North Carolina (Charlotte, Raleigh), South Carolina […]

Quick Answers Distance: ~1,480–1,500 miles (Boston to Tampa, Naples, or Miami) Full-service move cost: $9,500–$17,000 for a typical 3-bedroom home Delivery window: 5–12 business days The real drivers: Massachusetts’s 9% top income rate (the 4% “millionaire’s tax” on top of the 5% flat rate), a low-threshold state estate tax, high cost of living, and winter […]

Quick Answers Distance: ~925 miles (Chicago to Dallas) Full-service move cost: $8,500–$14,500 for a typical 3-bedroom home Delivery window: 4–9 business days The real driver: not income tax (Illinois’s flat 4.95% to Texas’s 0% is modest) but the *total* burden — Illinois’s ~2nd-highest property taxes, its estate tax, and a far lower cost of living […]

Quick Answers Not a Dallas suburb: Fort Worth is one of the dozen largest cities in the U.S. and among the fastest-growing, with its own economy and identity The job base: aerospace and defense (American Airlines HQ, Lockheed Martin, Bell), plus healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, and financial services Median home price: roughly $330K — below the […]

Quick Answers The engine: Micron’s ~$45B Boise expansion is adding 4,000+ direct jobs (many six-figure) and an estimated 17,000 indirect ones Idaho income tax: a flat 5.3% — well below California, Oregon, or Washington’s capital-gains reality for high earners Median home price: roughly $500K in Boise proper; higher in Eagle, more accessible in Nampa/Caldwell Where […]

Quick Answers Distance: ~1,550 miles (Newark to Dallas); ~1,600 to Houston; ~1,700 to Austin Full-service move cost: $9,200–$16,500 for a typical 3-bedroom home Delivery window: 5–12 business days The tax headline: New Jersey’s top income-tax rate of 10.75% drops to 0% in Texas, and property-tax *rates* fall from the nation’s highest The honest caveat: Texas […]

Quick Answers Distance: ~2,000 miles (LA to Nashville); ~2,200 from the Bay Area Full-service move cost: $11,500–$19,000 for a typical 3-bedroom home Delivery window: 7–14 business days The tax headline: California’s top rate of 13.3% drops to 0% state income tax in Tennessee The honest trade-off: Tennessee has the nation’s highest average combined sales tax […]

Quick Answers Distance: ~1,550 miles (NYC to Dallas); 1,630 to Houston; 1,740 to Austin Full-service move cost: $9,200–$16,500 for a typical 3-bedroom home Delivery window: 5–12 business days The tax headline: New York’s top rate (10.9% state + up to 3.876% NYC local) drops to 0% state income tax in Texas The honest trade-off: Texas […]

Ask most people what a “global mobility manager” does and you’ll get a vague answer about “handling relocations.” The reality is far more substantial — and understanding it is increasingly important for the many companies that move employees but have never formalized the function. A global mobility manager sits at the intersection of HR, finance, […]

On paper, the do-it-yourself relocation looks like a bargain. Hand the employee a lump sum, let them book their own movers and manage their own move, and the company’s relocation line item shrinks to a single predictable number. It is an appealing simplification, and it is why lump-sum-only and self-managed relocation has spread, especially among […]

The moment an employee relocates across state lines, a quiet but consequential set of payroll and tax obligations shifts with them — and the companies that miss the shift create real liability for themselves and their employees. Relocating an employee is not just a logistics and benefits exercise; it is a multi-state payroll event. The […]