The Chico Move, Handled by a Local Crew.

Chico is Murdock’s Moving & Storage's flagship market—our local yard operates here at 1160 Eaton Rd, and it's still the address our trucks return to every night. We've packed apartments off West Sacramento Avenue during August's frantic Chico State move-in week, wrapped century-old built-ins in the Avenues' craftsman bungalows, and staged portable storage containers on California Park's cul-de-sacs while a family closed on their next house. This is a city we know block by block, not just by ZIP code.

From College Rentals to Established Family Streets

Chico's housing stock splits sharply by neighborhood, and that split changes how we plan a move. Near campus and downtown—the Avenues, the Barber neighborhood, streets like Cherry, Ivy, and Sixth—you'll find narrow lots, alley access, and turn-of-the-century two-story homes with tight staircases and zero off-street parking; we budget extra time for a walking crew and often coordinate a city parking permit before truck day. Chapman and Mulberry, just south, mix older post-war ranch homes with duplexes rented by CSU Chico students, and turnover clusters hard around the last week of May and the last week of August—book early if your move lands in either window.

Head north or east and the picture changes. California Park and Amber Grove are newer, HOA-governed subdivisions with two-story stucco homes, three-car garages, and wider streets that make loading dramatically easier. Doe Mill, on the southeast edge, mixes newer construction with sidewalks and cul-de-sacs favored by families relocating for the school district. South Chico blends rental duplexes with older single-family homes near shopping and the Highway 99 corridor, useful if your move needs to happen around work hours rather than around it.

Camp Fire Rebuild Traffic and a City Still Absorbing Growth

Chico's population didn't just grow after the 2018 Camp Fire—it absorbed thousands of displaced Paradise-area households almost overnight, and apartment vacancy in Chico has stayed tight ever since. We still move families making the reverse trip, back up the ridge to Paradise as new construction finishes, and other families settling permanently in Chico because their kids are now enrolled in Chico Unified schools. If your move involves an insurance timeline or a rebuild completion date, our crews are used to that kind of scheduling pressure and can work around it. See our full service area for everywhere else we cover in Butte County.

Bidwell Park, Summer Heat, and Moving-Day Logistics

Bidwell Park—one of the largest municipal parks in the country—borders neighborhoods on the east side and shapes how those streets are laid out, with more tree cover and narrower access roads than the newer subdivisions. It's a beautiful place to live and a genuine consideration on move day when a truck has to navigate around it. Chico summers run into triple digits from June through September, and asphalt driveways and un-shaded apartment stairwells get brutal by early afternoon. We default to early-morning start times all summer, both to protect your belongings from heat damage and to keep the crew fresh through a full day of loading.

Whether you're a CSU Chico family managing a student's apartment move, a downtown homeowner in one of the Avenues' historic houses, or relocating into California Park from out of state, Murdock’s handles the full job—packing, loading, transport, and senior moving support for Enloe-area retirees downsizing nearby. We're licensed and insured (USDOT #3421940, MC #1416634) with verified insurance coverage, and Chico is the town where that reputation was built.