To my ironing board friends: To be fair, I had my son take an iron to school but showed him how he can use a towel to be the ironing board…at least so the collar is right. 
@websensation congrats on Stanford!! Excellent reasons to keep your kid at least in same state or coast. We’re in SoCal too my son is back east and that’s always my worry…a medical emergency. We have no family or friends over there either.
@ChoatieMom I agree with #97 it’s definitely doable via plane. I did help my son though for freshman move-in day as we brought all his clothing and prewashed bedding in 4 suitcases. He stores everything in local storage unit for summer. It’s convenient and reasonably priced too.
@CALSmom Thanks. Not only a medical emergency but if a kid gets sick from flu or cold for a prolonged period of time, it can really ruin your semester. No matter what the goal is, to me, your health is the most important because without decent health, it’s almost impossible to do anything. My philosophy in life is: take care of the basics first and the rest will take care of themselves. Besides, taking several boxes and suitcases and driving up to Northern CA is no big deal.
My son did not want an iron when he first left, but I purchased one for him to being back after Christmas break. He was trying to squish too much in the dryer to save money!
And, even though my youngest will be attending school 1000 miles away, he just had a meet up with about 20 of his future schoolmates today. Comforting to know he will have plenty of friends in the tri state area when he is home.