<p>I asked this on the admissions webinar thread, but I thought it made sense to start a thread for my question specifically since it’s not really related to admissions webinars. 
For anyone who has driven from the Philly area or NJ/DE/MD/NY, do you do the drive in one day or split it up? Google Maps is saying it will be about 14 hours, and I can’t really imagine doing that in one day! But from reading some of the posts it seems like some people do make it in one day, so I figured I would ask. Trying to figure out our logistics for move-in…</p>
<p>Lisa6191,
We tried to figure out a way to ship sons stuff as opposed to all of us driving down. I was thinking maybe we fly, rent a SUV or something and go shopping. Son says he wants to bring things down that he’d rather not ship so I guess we’re driving. Several parents here in our town who have made the run to UA said it is 16 hours. I would prefer that we go in one shot with 3 of us driving, then remembered that it will only be two coming home.</p>
<p>When I look at mapquest, it says 15+ hours from Philly to T-Town, not 14 hours, so other poster is more realistic. It’s ~960 miles. If you share the driving, it could be doable. I drove from Chicago area to T’town in around 12 hours, with 2-3 short stops. Adding an additional 3 hours is doable in daylight, but I would hate to do this in winter or when it starts to get dark by 5 pm. I drove my return trip home alone, and it was a very tedious 750 miles. That additional 200 miles in your case would be torture for me.</p>
<p>Also, don’t underestimate the benefits of spending HOURS of uninterrupted time with your son by doing this drive with him! I would suggest driving down with just him, putting other parent on the plane and picking up at airport enroute, so you have private time on way down (and extra seat to fold down to put extra gear in), but also have a companion of the return journey? There will be more posts/threads about this journey and how to handle it over the coming months. Brace yourself! It’s a tear-jerker!</p>
<p>We have driven from NY, and although it can take about twenty or more hours (depending on traffic), and we only have two drivers, we have always driven down without stopping at a hotel. Now, let me say that you definitely need to build in plenty of breaks to stop, to eat, to stretch and probably even to pull over for a while. But personally, whenever I have a car full of items, I don’t want to leave that car in a parking lot unattended. However, if the weather turns bad or such, we just rethink our decision for safety’s sake. It is not worth driving in very bad weather.</p>
<p>On the way home, we often stop for a night (or even two) to have a little mini-vacation. Believe me, by then, you will need one!! :)</p>
<p>We live in the northern part of VA. If I am driving alone (usually with the younger son who does not have a license yet), then we split up the road time. We often stay around the Knoxville area going down and Bristol, VA/TN when coming back. When my husband is along, we often make the trip in one day.</p>
<p>Tear -jerker for sure, already welling up. Anyway I am actually surprised to see how many drive the long drive rather than shipping items/shopping at Walmart locally, (was kind of what I was envisioning). From Rochester NY it would be 19-20 hours, ouch! But has anyone considered renting a car one way for the drive down, then flying back? That actually might be something I will start to think about, I love the idea of the uninterrupted time with S…this is starting to get real :):(…</p>
<p>Our typical drive from Nashville to family in Mercer County, NJ takes about 13 hours no matter how we slice it. Depending on where in Philly you are, I think the 14 hours sounds too optimistic. </p>
<p>We typically do it in one shot, but my DH is a little rigid on how we do it: 2 stops along the way for fillup/food/bathroom, one at the TN/VA border & one at the VA/WV border. He’s all about the destination & not the journey 
So take that into account; will you need more breaks? The time we drove it with my elderly mom, we had to split the drive; she couldn’t sit that long in the car & needed more breaks. </p>
<p>Also, if you’re coming down for move in, you may not need to make it all the way to T-Town the day before. You don’t want to be completely exhausted on what will be an emotional day. If your S gets a late morning/early afternoon move in time, you can easily stay 3-4 hours out the night before, get up early & still be there in time for the assigned time.</p>
<p>We drive from STL, and it is about 8-9 hours. Last summer for Bama Bound we drove, then drove on down to Orange Beach after. On the trip home, we drove from Mobile to STL in one shot, but that wasn’t exactly desirable. I have found the drive to T-Town to be plenty for one day.</p>
<p>The point about being well-rested for the move in arrival cannot be overstated. We stayed in town the night before so we were fresh the day of. Also, remember you can move in as soon as the building opens. They don’t advertise this, but as soon as the staff (RAs and such) are in, you can be too. I don’t think we would have moved in the day the building opened, but one of my son’s freshman suite-mates from Atlanta moved in early for some reason. We actually moved my son in the night we arrived (day before the official move in day) and I was SO THANKFUL we did. The crush of day of will be madness despite the best of intentions by all.</p>
<p>Philly suburbs here, too. DH and I are probably a bit older than the usual parents here, and we tend to plan for all possibilities. We would find it to be too risky to expect to travel the 16 hour trip without delays, and I don’t think my back would allow it anyway. </p>
<p>I recall DD had a Saturday move in, so she and DH left home on Thursday and drove to just southwest of Knoxville. That allowed them to get into Tuscaloosa in the early afternoon on Friday, so they did some shopping and opened a post office box.</p>
<p>We packed the car with a trunk with wheels and the suitcases in the backseat, so that for the overnight at a hotel they could bring all the visible items inside. She kept the trunk under her bed during the school year.</p>
<p>This year, DD has a car. Our tentative plan is for DH to fly down after finals to drive her home, and I’ll drive back at the end of May for her internship and fly home. She has to bring the car back for inspection.</p>
<p>Also, I would recommend taking I-81. Good luck!</p>
<p>“She has to bring the car back for inspection.”</p>
<p>This may not be relevant to your situation, but it may be relevant to others. I’m not clear about what type of inspection this post is referring to, but if your state has a mandated emissions inspection program, ask about a waiver for OOS students. I recently learned that in Georgia, students who are OOS full time students may get a waiver within 60 days of their annual tag renewal date. The waiver makes the emissions inspection unnecessary. This was welcome news at our house since D will remain in Tuscaloosa this summer and so will her car. Food for thought for those affected by this mandate.</p>
<p>I hadn’t thought of that, Bamagirls. She will still need a vehicle inspection, but maybe we can save some money on the emissions test.</p>
<p>Sorry for going off topic, but here’s a link to the Georgia site describing how to obtain the emissions test waiver for OOS students. I would imagine some other state likely have a similar waivers. It seems simple enough, just need to have a police officer certify her car is in Tuscaloosa.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cleanairforce.com/docs/OutOfAreaExtensionApplication_student.pdf[/url]”>http://www.cleanairforce.com/docs/OutOfAreaExtensionApplication_student.pdf</a></p>
<p>Virginia has their emission depending on the county. When I was registering the car we had purchased for our older son to use, they asked at DMV where it would be spending the majority of the year. When I stated Williamsburg, which is not in one of the counties that has emission inspections, they told me we didn’t have to have it. I didn’t think that seemed right as the car is registered in Fairfax County, but I did check down there and that is correct. The really weird thing is that even though the car is registered with our FX county address, DMV and Williamsburg said it gets personal property tax based on it being there- which is nice since their rate is lower than ours.</p>
<p>As for the drive, while it isn’t that particular one, we drive from TX to CO once or twice a year. Depending on the route it is 850-950 miles (the longer route is all interstate). It is not unusual for us to drive it all in one day. Our theory is that two days of driving feels like two days of driving (even if they aren’t full days) so we may as well try to get it done in one.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback. I asked for our home address to Tuscaloosa in Google Maps and it said 14 hrs 9 min, and I find they usually overestimate time, so it will be interesting to see how long it takes. We had already planned to take more than one day on the way down, it was just the way back that I was concerned about. My other son finishes overnight camp that Sunday, so I don’t want to be home too late on Sunday. I think we will try driving part of the way Saturday and the rest Sunday. I’ll let you all know how it goes!</p>
<p>I cannot believe I am even thinking about this…</p>
<p>Edit: I just checked mapquest and it says 15 hours, but rechecked google maps and it says 14 hours for the same route. Strange.</p>
<p>Did not even think about the vehicle inspection!!! OH POOH!!! Looked real quick on the Texas DPS site. Does anyone know if Alabama reciprocates w/ Texas on inspections? If they do, then D can get her car inspected in Alabama even though it is registered in Texas.<br>
We are in Dallas County and have to have the emmissions testing done as part of the inspection. </p>
<p>Darn, if I would have thought about it I would have let her November inspection lapse to December this past year and then we would not have to worry. </p>
<p>Typically, a 9 hour drive we do in one day. The last time we went to T-Town we did not leave the house till after 7pm so we stopped in Vicksburg and spent the night and left bright and early the next morning to finish up the drive. Done that drive to Colorado from Texas many, many times and usually in 1 day. </p>
<p>My D seems to think that we will unload her stuff in the dorm to move her in and promptly leave the parking lot and start the drive home. I then asked her if she wanted to make that trip to the store and pay for it… or ME take her and then I foot the bill All those little things she is going to need.</p>
<p>We plan on towing her car and have it full with all of her stuff as well as some stuff in the back of the Suburban. Plan on slowly buying stuff now, already started, and then have very little to be hit with in August.</p>
<p>Let me suggest to spend the night (non-race weekend AAA rate is the least expensive) at the Marriott Meadowview Conference Center and Resort in Kingsport TN. This hotel is between the Virginia state line and Knoxville. Extremely safe area to leave your car full of college belongings coupled with one of the most comfortable beds for a great night’s sleep! You will be rested when you arrive in T-Town!</p>
<p>lisa6191, we are from the Hershey area and it usually takes us between 12.5 and 13 hours to drive to Bama. It is not a bad drive. We have not needed to drive it straight through, but we could if need be. We have stopped in the Knoxville and Bristol areas.</p>
<p>Hi. We are from long island. We decided to fly down for the move in last year. I packed 5 big boxes and shipped them to the ups store. (it is right by campus and the mgr was wonderful). They kept all 5 boxes and charged $5 per box to hold. I could of shipped it to the packaging center for no hold fee but the piece of mind was worth the money for me. I then did Walmart site to store and ordered the tv, mattress pad, printer, mirror and many other dorm items. I rented a mini can from national and when H flew in he rented an suv move in was a breeze. I could not believe how organized the school was not to mention all the help. We let my S bring his car for the spring semester and my H and him drove down in 2 days. About 17 hours of travel but they hit no bad weather and no traffic. Shipping down most of my S stuff worked well for us. Good luck!</p>
<p>Break the trip up with some hiking in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. Also, consider renting a vehicle to avoid putting excess miles on your car. My sons and I rented a Dodge Charger with all the bells and whistles and had a blast driving to Tuscaloosa from DC last August.</p>