<p>I happen to be on the East Side of Providence tonight, visiting family.</p>
<p>It’s also move-in weekend here at Brown. I’m not sending anyone here, but just for kicks, I read Craigslist/Providence tonight.</p>
<p>My observation: what a help it is to attend college in a city of reasonable size surrounding the university. There were numerous items listed for sale, relevant to an academic lifestyle. Bookshelves, computer desks, fans, even wastebaskets were all things we (parents) rushed around to buy quickly at outlet malls for full price during move-in weekends in other cities. </p>
<p>I thought if I had to outfit my kids’ rooms again, I’d rely more on Craigslist and leave the mall stores alone. A lot of dorm/student apartment furniture can be bought “gently used.” I mean, can anyone tell a new bookshelf from a used bookshelf?</p>
<p>Providence is a fine community for college living. Good wishes to all moving in for Brown U this weekend.</p>
<p>just be careful in purchasing furniture out of someone elses home. Bedbugs travel that way, especially in stuffed furniture. They can travel in other furniture/stuff that has crevices for them to get into as well. The same is true about used luggage. Budbugs galore. I am sure there is a way to clean/rid furniture of bugs, but you would have to look into it to find out.</p>
<p>OK, so it’s next weekend? I thought I read differently, and right here on this forum!! Must be the heat affecting me. My relatives don’t believe in A/C. </p>
<p>Bedbugs are serious business, certainly. It’s not advisable to ever bring up from the street anything upholstered, or a mattress. These get abandoned on curbs in university towns this time of year.</p>
<p>From Craigslist, I’d just recommend to take care. A key question to ask when buying is whether a couch or upholstered chair came from a store BRAND NEW into the apartment that’s now reselling. If so, you’re likely okay… or about as safe as visiting any person you know and sitting in their living room for the evening. </p>
<p>Luggage is indeed a problem and I wouldn’t buy it used. ever.</p>
<p>If you’re buying a bed with wood frame around it, just ask to lift the mattress and look in crevices of furniture where there is glue. They go to glue when disturbed. Then look on mattress for traces of blood or black streaks. If you , see any, don’t buy that bed! Run!</p>
<p>For hard-surface desks, bookshelves, coffee tables and such, bedbugs are less likely than from upholstered items. As always, use your common sense and intuition.</p>
<p>A lot of people have had good luck buying bikes (which, obviously, do not carry bedbugs) on Craigslist.</p>
<p>As hollyert mentioned on another thread, AEPi (and sometimes other frats) have furniture sales at the beginning of the year. ADPhi also sells fridges. Prices are fairly cheap.</p>
<p>I got my bike on Craigslist! Oh, it’s a beautiful bike. That said, I did get it in Cambridge, MA and not in PVD… but Craigslist is Craigslist is Craigslist.</p>
<p>EDIT: There is also a really awesome bicycle recycling collective based out Olneyville in PVD. It’s recycleabike.org and they’re non-profit. I would really recommend checking them out. They are located in a sort of small artisan community that is attempting to revitalize Olneyville.</p>
<p>The only reason I didn’t get my bike from them was that their bikes were too tall for me! (I’m quite short.)</p>
<p>Lots of great things on Craigslist! Use it all the time. I was not putting down buying or selling on there at all. I was just trying to warn about bedbugs, as I had a friend that had a terrible issue w/bedbugs because of stuffed furniture purchased off cragislist. I just wanted to pass on the info for others that had not thought about that.</p>