Dorm room shopping in Alabama

<p>We are from OOS and flying into Birmingham late in the evening of August 11 to allow for shopping on the 12th for items we aren’t planning to ship. Based on the comments posted here about Tuscaloosa being “shopped out” I was thinking of spending the night in Hoover as it seems that has a bunch of stores near there ( Costco, Bed Bath and Beyond, Walmart, Target, etc) that we can hit on Thursday before heading out to Tuscaloosa that night. Is this a good area to base ourselves? Is it far enough away where it wont be as picked over? My son was planning on getting a TV-- should I pick it up at the Best Buy there or the one in Tuscaloosa? We have a late morning move in Friday, so by the time we pick up stuff from Paty it seems we could be pressed for time that day and thought it might make sense to pick up the TV early…although I hate the idea of a brand new TV still in the box just sitting in a hotel lot overnight. </p>

<p>Other options to consider, advice/info on where to stay, or additional stores recommended from locals greatly appreciated!</p>

<p>That sounds like a good plan.</p>

<p>walmart has ship to store. or i guess you could ship to paty.</p>

<p>or you could purchase things from best buy ahed of time and pick them up on your way (idk where best buy is).</p>

<p>if i were you i would want to have most of the actual shopping DONE before i get there. we will be there and will have limited time. i don’t really want to plan shopping time in there. i am sure we will end up having to make a trip or two to the store anyway …</p>

<p>One thing we were discussing was how you have the use of the cart at your move in time. Therefore, we want to bring the heavier items, and the bulk of the items, at that move in time. We will use the remaining time to unpack and organize, and then if time permits, get grocery items, which can more easily carried by hand to the room.</p>

<p>I live in Hoover and can vouch for the fact that you’ll find everything you need on the Hwy.150 corridor. My son will be a freshman this year, but his older brothers graduated in May. Believe me, my memories of move-in day for them and trying to purchase things at Walmart in Tuscaloosa on that day are vivid…and awful! It was a zoo! You are SO SMART to come here first! It’s 40 minutes from my house to campus, and it’s a very easy drive. Happy shopping!</p>

<p>Regarding the use of the cart, well, there are only a handful for everyone to use. That’s why I took the advice of another mom who posts regularly and bought my own small hand truck to use. We never saw one of those “carts,” so I was glad we had our own hand truck.</p>

<p>and if your student is living on campus for a couple or more years it will come in handy a FEW times.</p>

<p>There are several hotels on Hwy 150…Hampton Inn (my choice), Residence Inn, Hyatt Place and a brand new Embassy Suites (2960 John Hawkins Pkwy). All of these are 5 min (or less) from every store you need. There is a great Target about a mile away. I think you have a great plan. If I can be of help let me know! Good Luck!</p>

<p>p.s. I agree with the hand truck purchase…bought mine at the COSTCO in Hoover :)</p>

<p>how much is the hand truck at costco?</p>

<p>It was around $80.</p>

<p>I was shopping at JC Penny today and there dorm/ back to school section had signs posted for ship to store. Target and Walmart may also provide this service…So you would pick out everything at store or on line and pick up in Tuscaloosa.</p>

<p>Also if you go with the Hoover plan I believe there is a Bed Bath & Beyond up there (Not available in Tuscaloosa). They have a very handy checklist on their web page…</p>

<p>A friend of mine used the service a few years ago. Picked everything out at home; and just walked into store to pick up box.</p>

<p>I saw a great convertible hand truck at Lowe’s, for around $80 I think. It has four wheels, so you can use it upright as a dolly or horizontally as a cart.</p>

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<p>If you can’t go all the way to Birmingham, I suggest going to the Walmart in Northport. There’s also a Lowe’s across the street from it.</p>

<p>is northport good or bad. like if we were to get a hotel there would that be a good thing or not?</p>

<p>I don’t see anything bad about staying in Northport.</p>

<p>I just went shopping yesterday at Bed Bath and Beyond, and they offer that same “shop here, pick up there” thing too, which would be really helpful for people like me who are flying in from out of state.</p>

<p>Hoover has many of the bigger stores, including Costco and Macy’s. I go shopping up there when my family comes to visit. The Highway 280 area (the Shelby County part of Birmingham) is nice, but it doesn’t have all the stores. I usually recommend the Bessemer area for shopping as it’s halfway between Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. Wal-Mart is at exit 108 off I-20/59and Target, Ross, and JC Penney are on Exit 106 off I-20/59, then Exit 1 off I-459.</p>

<p>Many stores seem to be having free ship to store or even free shipping when you order in the store. If you are having something shipped to the store, it might as well be to the Tuscaloosa location if the chain has one.</p>

<p>If going to the Northport Wal-Mart, you can stay in Tuscaloosa as it’s only a 15-min or so drive. I actually like that location better than the Tuscaloosa one as it is less busy, has all the departments in case you wanted some UA fabric or a personalized cake. If it seems that you’ve gone too far in looking for the Northport Wal-Mart, you probably aren’t there yet. Some people like to joke that it’s just past the edge of civilization (it’s just outside the Northport City Limits.)</p>

<p>I’ll second what Sea-Tide said about shopping in Bessemer. It should be less busy than shopping in T-Town.</p>

<p>How crazy is the Publix on campus going to be on August 8th? I was hoping to save that shopping till we were there, but if it’s going to be packed we can just add more stuff to the car.</p>

<p>I suggest that if you are in town the day before that you drive over to the dorms and see if they will let you move in early. We are OOS and last year around 5pm son got a call from a roommate that they were letting kids move in. I know that it was pure luck, but you might get lucky too!</p>