<p>what can I say, i was a dr. seuss enthusiast as a kid.</p>
<p>Life in a Knox Box…hah…well…I’m glad the one your S is in is privately owned by a gentleman. I have heard bad things about the leasing company and a woman who owns hoards of them. Not responsive for the former and crazy for the latter haha (the woman argued ceaselessly on not updating her homes to meet new fire standards, even after a UMD student was killed in a Knox box basement fire). Since then I believe the city has mandated the improvements however. </p>
<p>Yes they are tri-level…I think the basement apartments are gross and dark but the first and 2nd floor ones may not be that bad. </p>
<p>The cool thing is you are in a community full of students…your neighbors to either side and across the street are students. The Knox Box even hosts a Knox neighborhood block party every semester. Also, it’s hella convenient to South Campus, the business school, and Lot 1/Stamp.</p>
<p>You are near only one frat…though frat brothers may live in the houses as “satellite” places, I dunno. The only frat back there is DSP.</p>
<p>He is really excited. I need a visual 
I hope he has time to take a picture. I know he’s on the the top floor, but now after reading your post I am picturing not a tri-level, but a duplex style since you can’t see the basement:/ We’ll have to start looking for utensils and things over the summer to start him off in the “real world” :)</p>
<p>Goodwill is a great place, especially when it comes to plates, pans, etc. that you don’t care if you ever see again. However, since he’s long-distance, a trip to IKEA will get him set up cheap once he gets to College Park.</p>
<p>Yes, we were thinking IKEA as well. I need to get the dimensions of his room before he comes home to figure out layout, spacing, etc. He needs a bureau, bed, desk, etc. If it’s small we may need to go with a futon or living room type arrangement with a pullout sofa sleeper, rug, etc. As far as utensils, I definitely think IKEA is the way to go. His roommate is from MD and will have a lot of things already he said, but of course we want to contribute as much as possible.</p>
<p>Haha, thanks PhillyDad…actually I’ve been nagging him since Christmas break. It’s part of the challenge of raising in introvert. Interestingly, ResLife sent him an email this week saying that since they are offering places to so many fewer freshmen, they expect to be able to offer him housing quickly. He opted for that but we are still looking at other options. Thanks for all the help and support, all you folks in the know. :)</p>