<p>My daughter is going to attend school in Boston and we are from San Diego. Any advice from parents who have experienced this ??</p>
<p>I was thinking we'd order all her bedding and such from Bed, Bath & Beyond and pick it up in Boston. I'm wondering how to get all her clothes and personal items (possible a TV) back & forth. We were planning on moving her in and transporting all her clothes there, but I hate to think of the expense if I have to do that every Fall & Spring (my airfare & hotels) for 4 years. I'd potentially go with her for move in every year if she wants me to though :)</p>
<p>I have a friend who's son attends Princeton and they have a storage service. I realize that most schools don't offer the same services as Ivy league schools do, so I am putting this out for some advice.</p>
<p>When we moved my son 3000 miles away to college, this is how we did it: All 4 of us in our family flew out there with him, each of us with 2 suitcases full of his stuff. We went to Linens 'n Things near his campus, and bought all of his bulky items rather than trying to bring them with us.</p>
<p>His roommate who lived nearby provided a TV and mini fridge.</p>
<p>Our son is a junior now. Each summer, he packed up his stuff into boxes and pawned it off on friends who lived nearby who would be willing to store it for him in their basements. It’s worked out well so far.</p>
<p>KeeterMom - We are also in SoCal with a D who is a freshman in NYC. We have family in CT so she is planning to put stuff in their basement this summer.</p>
<p>Just two of us flew back last August with 4 suitcases. We were also able to ship 3 boxes to the hotel we stayed in right around the corner from her dorm. D has a full size refrigerator in her dorm/apt and no TV so we do not need to store these things.</p>
<p>I would think there must be storage places in Boston where kids keep things for the summer.</p>
<p>We did something similar when S went to college, also in Boston; there were 4 of us with extra suitcases, we rented a van and purchased many things in Boston at a local Target, office supply store etc. We also pre-ordered many items at BB&B and then picked up our order at the BB&B near campus. We also arranged to move S in a day before his assigned move in day (he attends a large university) so his dorm was not crowded when he moved in even though students were moving into other dorms on campus that day.</p>
<p>S’s school does not provide storage for students so for the summer after his first yr, we used a local storage company that provided boxes, picks them up on campus and then delivers them to the student in the fall. A little pricey but since it was S’s first yr (and he has Asperger’s) it was one less thing he had to figure out on his own in the spring… Since then, he was able to work out storage arrangements at the homes of other students whose families lived closer to his school, or he has stayed on campus for the summer taking classes or working (he also now has a car out with him)</p>
<p>I would advise not trying to get too much stuff back and forth. Try to buy whatever you need there, and don’t try to bring a TV with you. If she wants a TV in her dorm room, it’s easy to get one off of Ebay, Amazon, from Best Buy, or even from another student on campus and just pick it up there. It’s extra cost, yes, but that’s part of the deal when you go coast to coast, there are a LOT of set up costs (besides the big stuff, there’s an infinite amount of little stuff. Shampoo. Soap. Office supplies. The list goes on).</p>
<p>Fortunately, once you get through the inital set up costs, it’s much cheaper the following semesters. There will be lots of companies advertising storage options at the end of each semester, so it will not be too dificult to find a place to store her things. </p>
<p>My advice (I’m not a parent, but I’ve done this move before for college. And I had to do it by myself): bring only her clothes with you, and a set of sheets and a towel to use for the first couple of days. Ship 1-2 boxes of really essential personal items (I sent a box of books via media mail over the summer, and it was waiting for me to pick up on campus). Buy everything else when you arrive and store it there over the summer (preferably with a storage company that will pick stuff up from your dorm and drop back off at your dorm the next year).</p>
<p>We live in Southern California and my daughter attends college in New York. We shipped 3 med-large boxes via UPS to her campus last August before the start of the school year. She is a bit of a clothes horse and that was all clothes, boots, shoes, etc. We flew out together and each checked one large suitcase and each of us had a carry-on. Once we got there we shopped locally for bedding, towels, lamps, book shelf, etc. I’m not flying back in May to move her out. She said that it’s not necessary. She plans to pack everything up and store it with friends who live nearby and don’t mind. I did hear that her school does have an option with a local company that stores the kids’ stuff over the summer - picks it up on campus in May and then delivers it to campus in August, but my daughter is not planning to use this service. She has it all organized. Don’t worry. Oh yes, one final thought, she brought a checked suitcase home over spring break filled with clothes she never wears and left it here. Less to pack at the end of the semester.</p>
<p>I moved to college with two big suitcases and then went college-shopping locally. Over the summer I store most of my belongings locally (with a storage company) and then pick them up when I get back to school.</p>
<p>That’s what most West Coast and international students seem to do at my school.</p>
<p>^ That’s a good point re: bringing clothes home. For most places in the Northeast, it’s not going to get really, really cold until after Winter break. So you can save yourself some space by not packing the heaviest jackets and snow boots when you fly out in August. She should have a jacket (pea-coat weight for example) but she won’t need the down snow coat until at least late December. It might even be easier for her to buy that kind of thing in Boston when she gets back after break, as I doubt they’ll have the weight she’ll need in San Diego, even in January. And if she comes home for other breaks, she can always tote back some of the unseasonable clothes and swap them out for things she needs.</p>
<p>Ditto about renting a storage locker during the summer and flying out with all family members’ contributing their baggage allowances to the new student. Fly Southwest, if you can. Each passenger can check two bags for free!</p>
<p>All the advice is great and in line with our experiences. It is tougher for those of us working with great distances.
I would hand carry anything super valuable on the plane as a rule.
A few more points: if you think you have a lot of air miles and may be upgraded that could help - I assisted my freshman this yr with going to school from CA to a big city far away - and we checked 4 suitcases for free, since I got upgraded. It was a gamble that paid off. I returned home with 2 suitcases, leaving one large and one smallish with our student.
Also, it IS worth it to bring SOME stuff - not just buy everything there - owing to time limits, your student may be rushing around busy. We use compression packing bags (that don’t require a vacuum attachment) and compress towels, etc. - shipped in advance UPS boxes - just be careful they don’t arrive before the university permits them to arrive. We were actually worried the 3 med. boxes would get there “early!”
I have to admit I was not up to renting a car and driving in a big city I didn’t know, or doing extended shopping out at faraway shopping centers, so understanding taxi options, public transportation and…walking (how suitable, how far etc.) in advance will be helpful.
For a girl, I would take a medium warm city coat, short length at start of school rather than wait on this, and socks (for the real Californian who may resist this…) and understand each year winter weather (or rainy cold weather) sets in at a different time and it may be sudden.</p>
<p>We moved our son for the first time this August, from Texas to DC. The three of us checked 2 suitcases each, full of only clothes (my husband is platinum on AA, so there was no charge). We bought bedding, school supplies, toiletries and a tv there. He’s storing all his winter clothing, bedding and the tv with the ups store near campus. They offer a pickup and storage service. There was another service just like it, so there were plenty of options. Just another extra cost of going far away to school!</p>
<p>We moved our kids from HI to CA & will be moving S from CA to VA/DC. For moving them up, we all flew up together. The 1st time, S carried one bag, checked one bag. We all carried one bag & checked whatever else he wanted. I admit I bought his bedding on-line (amazingly good deal $10/sheet set–flannel, which we washed before packing to bring with us). We bought most of the rest of his stuff after reaching LA instead of lugging things back & forth.</p>
<p>The dorm provided a fridge/micro. He bought a printer there & room mate bought TV. We made quite a few trips to stores–Target, Tuesday Mornings, Costco. We find BB&B above our budget.</p>
<p>When D moved up, it was easier as S gave her his extras & I just bought her what she needed. Over the summers, they have never had to pay for storage–usually they can just bag & store things with friends or in their apartment that they have to hang on to because of the lease.</p>
<p>For S to move to DC, his employer is paying for the move & he plans to drive his car across the country–not sure when & whether alone or with one of us. He should be figuring it out & letting us know in the near future, as his job starts in a few months. He will doubtless leave what he doesn’t want for D or sell it on Craigslist. He has gotten a lot of nice, reasonably priced stuff on Craigslist.</p>
<p>Start with the packing plan of “Less is better”.</p>
<p>buy the TV there or have the roomie supply it. </p>
<p>We shipped DD from SFBay area to Dartmouth via Boston so had similar concerns. Fortunately, DD had done a lot of backpacking and knew how to minimize. So we shipped 3 boxes to her dorm with clothes, towels, sleeping bag. Had the bedding shipped direct to dorm, but weren’t sure it would arrive before her or not. Sent her off on the red-eye with one checked large suitcase and one carryon. She “layered up” until she could come home Christmas break (not thanksgiving) and get more warm clothes, bringing back stuff she hadn’t really used or that got too much use! </p>
<p>For summers, Dart has a storage plan which she used. When she did her study abroad soph year, DH and DS went out to see her and helped her move into storage. Somehow her 3 boxes and one suitcase grew to 7 or 8 large boxes… ice skates which she bought there, more cold weather clothes, etc etc, AND her backpack, which is all she took over to Paris. Note that this is a camping kind of backpack and not a book bag backpack. </p>
<p>It is easier to buy supplies there than ship them, really!</p>
<p>And don’t forget the Amazon prime, no shipping cost for first year college, if they still do it. Anything she needs can be bought on Amazon and shipped direct.</p>
<p>Pack her as she would for a two week trip somewhere with changeable weather. that really will get her through most of the first quarter!</p>
<p>We went through this for the first time last August and it worked out well. We brought 4 suitcases between the two of us (thanks to Southwest!) for her clothes, books and personal items.</p>
<p>We did a Bed, Bath and Beyond pre-order here and picked it up near her campus. Since we had a rental car, we also drove to a local Costco and stocked up on shampoo, conditioner, etc. And we bought some big plastic bins to store things under her bed.</p>
<p>One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is the school bookstore. We were quite surprised to find out that the dorm fridge and other necessities were readily available on campus at competitive prices. We used the bookstore’s online website to order several items and then picked them up on move-in day. </p>
<p>At the end of the year we are planning to use the storage service which is offered through her school. They will provide boxes and tape and then pick up the boxes, store them over the summer and deposit them in her room in time for move-in. I have no idea yet how much this will cost, but shipping across country is out of the question and I don’t want to fly out to help her pack up and haul stuff to a storage unit.</p>
<p>Moved our daughter to school in Massachusetts last summer. We live in California.</p>
<p>Many airlines now charge for checked bags. It is cheaper to ship via UPS, no lugging it around airports and worrying if the airlines will loose it. You can track it via UPS. the school will typically have a receiving area for student packages and will hold it for you for a few days. You may have to contact the school about a box number for your student to include in the shipping address.</p>
<p>For her computer, she has a desktop and a netbook. Netbook is much easier to lug around campus. Desktop also doubles as her TV as we added a TV tuner card to it (around $80 and it just plugs into one of the slots inside the PC, software caomes with it and she also uses Windows 7 Media Center as her DVR). We bought and set this up at home, keeping the original packaging to ship it.</p>
<p>Most dorm rooms have the long single beds so remember to order the correct size sheets. Order them thru Bed, Bath and Beyond and do local pickup. </p>
<p>We went out about a week before and did most of her school shopping back east. If you are from a warm climate, they probably don’t have much of a selection in cold weather clothing and you’ll do a lot better buying it back there anyways. Your daughter will probably need to wait a little while until the stores start stocking their winter stuff.</p>
<p>My daughter is not going to be in the dorms next year. She got together with her current roommate and one another girl and they are renting an apartment just off campus. She likes to cook, so food should be cheaper than the dorms. You do have to rent the apartment for a full 12 months, which is good and bad. The good is that you have a place to store your stuff over the summer. I’d just not leave anything too valuable there.</p>
<p>Wow! That sounds like a huge quantity of stuff. Is there really storage in the dorm room for multiple suitcases full of clothing, boxes of linens, appliances, etc?</p>
<p>We did the same last year - from Southern California to Pennsylvania. We went to our local Bed Bath and Beyond and ordered all the linens and bath supplies - they had it all ready for us when we went to the local store back east. We also hit Staples and CVS and picked up a lot of supplies. His school accepted boxes before he checked in so we sent a couple of boxes which were there on move in day. As far as winter clothes I ordered them later (since we don’t have snow here and he didn’t have any) and had them shipped to him in November. We also ordered a small TV off of Amazon and had that shipped.</p>
<p>Now this is his first year there so I’ve instructed him to look in to summer storage - he says they have some on campus so we’ll see how that goes</p>
<p>We went the opposite way…east coast to a west coast college. Most of the good info has been covered here. BUT we did as others did…we flew Southwest…two bags each (four total). One bag was linens and household “stuff”, two were clothes and school supplies, and the fourth had misc. plus what <em>I</em> needed for clothes for the four days I was there. We each had a carry on bag and a personal item. The personal item was a backpack for each of us…dd then took a computer case with computer and I took an instrument case with two instruments in it. We ordered bulky stuff (mattress pad, pillows, etc) from Bed Bath and Beyond and picked it up in CA. We also bought a computer printer at Staples. All toiletries were purchased in CA as well.</p>
<p>It worked out just fine. DD kept her overnight bag and one suitcase at the school. I took two home with me…plus my carry on. The other one was an old one that we pitched in CA. </p>
<p>It took us six suitcases to move her home after four years, but there were three of us flying so it worked out just fine. She stored things in the summer…a wonderful perk of having kids go to college far away. You don’t have their “stuff” in your living room all summer long!!</p>
<p>Wow, thanks to all of you that responded with such great advice!
Looks like Jet Blue offers the only direct flights from SD to Boston, and
they allow 1 free checked bag. We’ll probably fly what we can, ship what we can’t, and pick
up what we must!</p>
<p>One more SD to Boston move and a SD to NH move. We fly out the first time with our D so that she has 3 times the max number of bags per person. Both schools had no cost or low cost on campus storage. Big items like lamps and TVs to be purchased there, brought by roomies or not bought at all. Bought all of their bedding and winter clothes and shoes at school . Stored everything during the summer in the school storage. They come home for the summer with bags of clothes only.</p>
<p>Laptops with no printers…</p>
<p>The hard part is the graduation move. Once again, all are present to maximize baggage room. Shipped boxes home with UPS and flat rate USPS (great for heavy books). Some of the bigger stuff was handed down to younger students.</p>
He will doubtless leave what he doesn’t want for D or sell it on Craigslist. He has gotten a lot of nice, reasonably priced stuff on Craigslist.</p>