How familiar are you with Boston? Have you ridden the T before? With four suitcases I would recommend taking a taxi from the airport. I assume that you have arranged for early check in at your hotel. If the hotel is in the Copley/Prudential area then a short ride on the Green Line E would bring you to campus. The Green Line isn’t as bad as some claim. In fact the Blue Line has been the problem child this past week.
Hopefully @PengsPhils can provide more detailed information.
I spent the first half of my life in Connecticut and then moved to Seattle. I have been reacquainting myself with Boston this past year. We took the Logan Express to Kenmore Square and stayed at a hotel by there. Then we Ubered all the other times to and from the airport. We did try the Green line from Copley to NU but we haven’t taken the train from Logan. I wanted to try a mode of transportation that my daughter will most likely take on a regular basis and since they say traffic will be bad, I was thinking the train would be the best option. Although at 6 am, the road should be wide open for a taxi. Now, I am leaning towards a taxi.
Taxi/Lyft/Uber def makes the most sense at 6AM, and even if there’s traffic it doesn’t sound like there’s a big rush given how early it is. You can lug your stuff on the T (Green and Orange line both work just fine, Green has better accessible elevators for transferring off the Blue line. Both Mass Ave and Northeastern have escalators or are ground level once you get there) but it’s really only worth the savings for those penny-pinching and with only a bag or two. The T will likely be the best choice for most trips after the initial move. The green line gets local hate but is the line NEU students will use the most easily. Though for fun, my favorite T graphic, as a local who really likes the MBTA:
In terms of hotels, in the area you’re likely booking them they are probably close to both so it probably doesn’t matter. Copley is the most convenient area for both lines and generally for moving in IMO.
I would be careful with mailing - you and every other freshman family out there have thought of it, so picking up packages will be an hour or more line for the first two weeks of the semester. A trip to Target/BBB in Fenway will probably also be busy, but a Lyft/Uber back is pretty easy and has the advantage of seeing it all in one place in person.
Generally, I’d say you’re doing it right! It’ll be hectic but that’s par for the course given how many people are moving in.
Thank you for the great advice. I decided I will taxi/Uber/Lyft my way from the airport to the hotel and then Green/Orange Line it to the school when it opens unless the Uber/Lyft app says it will be a quick/easy ride.
I hadn’t thought about the long lines to pick up stuff from the mail center so maybe we will get there before they open and wait. I already Amazoned a mattress topper we really like to NEU but plan on shipping misc. stuff to BBB for pick up.
We are starting to look for a pair of winter boots and coat and wondered if most kids wear the big puffy jackets or do they wear long wool coats. We also heard Bean boots are very popular but my daughter is looking for a different kind of boot. It sounds like everything gets shoveled pretty fast and you need boots with good traction for the ice. I know we have time for winter items but we are starting to look anyways.
Big puffy coats - they keep you warmer and dry. Yes, they shovel, but the Boston streets drain poorly (too much cobblestone and brick) and puddles are constant during rain and snow. Get boots that keep her both warm and dry. You will find kids wear everything - not just one particular style. Invest in some gloves and hats also.
Your child's password to her suite/room will be here last 4 of her NEU ID followed by the #.
There are shuttle buses that will be doing trips to certain stores, target, bed bath and beyond that will be happening that week of move in.
During Move in hours, you will only be required to check in formally once, after that your student just has to be present and you can walk into their residence hall. It is usually a full check in every time during non move in/move out dates.
Also I am 99% sure it is free dining to parents during Move in, it has been like that the past 2 years so I assume they'll carry it forward.
5.You will have suitcases which means you won't need a big hamper which is a plus as it will save you time.
Mailing, students will get a notification when their package is ready for pickup. When amazon, or fedex, usps drop off a package at the school it has to be processed for student pickup. This usually takes a couple of hours after delivery as long as it is within the business hours of rez mail. These hours are extended during move in/ move out hours.
I think this is all I could of general tips for move in/move out.
Best of luck and happy to welcome you into the Husky Fam
Well during move in, the school provides huge hampers so students can move all their items from the cars to their suites/rooms. If you are bringing suitcases you will be able to just roll them up to their suites and rooms (saves time in my opinion). The reason I say this saves time is because to get a hamper from the school you have to go to certain locations on campus to get them and you will have to leave them your an ID so that way you return the hamper later.
Laundry is operated by your phone, husky ID card, or coins. Every student has their preference, personally I used a regular laundry bag and threw in tide pods and put everything to wash even the laundry bag that way I didn’t have to worry about bringing the a laundry hamper back to my room and I’d leave my laundry to wash on my way to my first class and put it to dry when I returned.
does the “Bed space assignment” really matter? or can my roommate and i just take which ever bed?
His Bed space assignment is 1 and my is 2, don’t know which side is which!
In East village the volunteer kids with the giant rolling hampers were right outside and helped unload the car into the hampers, then we rolled them up to the dorm. Very efficient!
We got our D’s box number in time (I believe it was six days before move in) to add it to everything that had been hanging out in my Amazon cart for Prime purchase, and it all arrived before we did. The mail room was a little nuts those first fews days. Even with the box number, some of our purchases were not found the first time we went to pick-up. We had much better luck with purchasing online for pick-up from the local Target, but the actual shelves of Target were as bare as Old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard. Uber & Lyft were great for us. We had a driver from Florida who was there just for move-in week. He said the ride share companies provided big bonuses for drivers to accommodate all the college kids/parents overtaking the city!
They don’t want fabric on the walls or windows that could be flammable (including curtains) - that is probably what the flags/tapestries restriction is about.
And that one is regularly broken so I wouldn’t sweat it - just take it down for inspections (a grand total of 2 per semester) and don’t drape it over any heater etc. The fridge/microwave things is honestly the only thing I’ve seen them be strict on.
@PengsPhils If I am remembering correctly, you are in CCIS, right? Can you give me a ballpark figure for the price of books each semester? Do you remember what first semester cost was (approximately)?
