27 hour drive? Oh my, why would you do that?
Because I canât afford for us all to fly.
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@milgymfam my gut reaction: if that was the situation, I would send the student on a plane alone, if that was affordable. Some of my kids would be bummed if I made them move in alone, others of my kids would probably prefer it LOL. But, as a practical matter, international kids do this, and if circumstances warranted, that would make much more sense to me than driving - sounds like a number of hotel stays. (I say this with a kid who is still annoyed with having to pack themselves up alone in March 2020 when othersâ parents flew in to help, but back in the day, most people handled these things by themselves.)
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A 27 hr drive can be done with just one overnight, itâs really not bad. I wouldnât miss my kids drop off.
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This is our youngest daughter and she definitely doesnât want to go alone- in fact she asked us to stay a few days after move in even. There are four of us and driving is just so much cheaper. Weâve driven cross country four times before, and Iâll actually be driving her from MN to NJ for a dance intensive this summer too- again, canât fly because the intensive has no housing due to covid, so we are staying with family and doing the commute thing for her. Apparently me and my car will be besties awhile longer. Iâve been counting down the time till Iâm not a taxi since my older daughterâs two hours commute each way to gymnastics started about 6 years ago. The end is at least in sight now! Lol
Edited to add, even with two hotel stays on the way it is still a lot cheaper than flying, and then having to rent a car there too.
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Yes, SCU does have a slightly higher academic reputation. But Chapmanâs performing arts/film are ranked among the best in the nation. So, thereâs that.
Glad to hear about the lack of a car not being a big deal. Sheâll not get one even after she learns to drive.
Iâm sure youâve done the math. In my cross-country move-in trips itâs been significantly cheaper to fly. And it sounds like youâll enjoy the trip which is priceless.
Yup. The flight itself could be close to a wash- a little more for a lot of convenience- but add in a rental car and we are way over the cost of driving. I donât think Iâve ever found flying to be the cheaper option, honestly, but we drive through with minimal stops and really cheap hotels (and pack car food)- last year when we moved from VA to MN we actually slept in the car. Gotta do what you gotta do, and at least for us, cheaper will always win.
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We did a similarly long drive to visit family in the pre-vaccine days and it wasnât too bad. Two long days and lots of music and audiobooks! Definitely cheaper for a family and these days a rental car can set you back almost as much as the airfare.
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Depends on location for sure. Rental car was $13/day when I moved my D16 into college! Usually more like $30/day, and flights are cheap in that location, so even with 4 nights in the destination town hotel or airBNB it was significantly less.
Not anymore! Rental car prices have gone through the roof since the pandemic and itâs super hard to even find one in some locations.
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I think the cheapest rental I found was around $75 a day plus all the extra before you get to your total (airport fee/taxes/various other bs fees). I remember they used to be cheaper too!
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Not that any of us are likely renting cars in Hawaii anytime soon, but a news segment recently discussed how car rentals, if you could even get one, were a minimum of $700 a day. Not a typo.
People have even begun renting Uhauls instead Bc that is all that is available.
So many rental businesses sold off their large inventories during pandemic and now thereâs a shortage of rentals everywhere. As well as used cars.
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Renting a uhaul is a good idea! I rented a small SUV in Boston a couple of months ago for $250/day. That was unpleasant. 
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Omg. $250 a day is painful!!!
Yeah, that was a one-time experience! Cost of missing a week of work would also throw my calculations over to the âflyâ side every time, even with $75/day rental. Especially when airfare is so cheap. If youâre in Minnesota, hopefully youâve looked into Sun Country?
I did look into sun country. Work isnât an issue- in fact if my husband doesnât start using his vacation days theyâre going to just⊠poof⊠disappear. I think for the amount of time we are going to be there, the car rental was about $1500 after taxes and such. Even cheaper airlines canât help with that- it was more than I spent on 12 days of accommodations for us- though those were admittedly also extremely cheap for the area. Gas for my car should run about $250 round trip, and add in probably $300 for hotels on the road. Itâs a no brainer for us.
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Wow - I had no idea about rental cars! Yikes. Helpful to know as I was thinking of renting a van to help D18 move out of her apartment later this month. Rethinking that now!
Good luck to everyone making final decisions VERY SOON!!!
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Where is airfare cheap? Iâve made a few trips in the last 6 weeks and am pricing fares to take D21 to college in the fall. Iâm not seeing anything I would consider cheap.
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Itâs hit or miss with airfares. Google Flights is a great resource.
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