Hi, so I’m from the East Coast and this is hypothetical, but if I were to go to college on the West Coast, how would I get all the stuff that I need to college? What’s the best way? I’m not talking about clothes and stuff but rather the big stuff like a bike or storage bins, things like that. Thanks so much!!
If you travel/fly from coast to coast and are limited to what you can fly with, then you might have to buy things at your destination. Some students drive a carload or Uhaul across the country.
Your bike flies with you (you pay extra but less than the cost of a bike).
Storage bins you buy on location.
My friend sent her bike FedEx and thought it was reasonable although I can’t give you a price.
I’d buy stuff like storage bins and the bulky things (comforter, towels, desk supplies etc.) near the college. Bed Bath and Beyond has a great program where you can pick out stuff at your local store and they will have it ready for you at the store closest to your college (start saving those coupons). People I know who used that service were very happy. Then you can find a place to store that stuff on/close to campus for the summer.
@happy1 said it best. Many students in the same situation as you, so resources like BB&B near campuses have made it easy to order and pickup. If you are shipping anything like a bike, just make sure you have it insured - this stuff sometimes “walks away” or gets damaged in transit.
My roommate was from the West Coast my first semester of college and we go to school on the East Coast. She actually just flew with six suitcases full of clothes and important stuff to her and then rented a car and bought bedding, storage containers, etc. at Target and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I rented our fridge and brought my TV so she didn’t have to buy anything that expensive or travel over with anything that bulky. One of my hallmates is from Oregon and she drove across the country with her parents and a U-Haul and then kept her car here and they flew back. When it was time to leave they did the same thing. They flew back and drove with her back home. You definitely want to minimize what you bring, especially if you can buy it for cheap at a store nearby.
Colleges are very familiar with this and make it easy for students. So whatever local info you get from a college is your first resource. At my D’s college, for the first two move-in days the college put on free shuttle buses to a nearby shopping area and gave students numerous opportunities to get what they needed. It was a good way to get to know other non-local students too.