<p>Here I am booking flights/car/hotel for another cross country move in. DS is moving into a studio apartment this fall. Because of travel abroad this summer he had to move out of the dorm last week. His stuff is temporarily with family who live about 90 miles from his school. This is for all those students and parents who are considering putting a kid cross country and aren’t figuring the cost of all this in their calculations! </p>
<p>Car rental: $572.90
Hotel: $401.45
Meals for three days before apartment is ready: $300.00
Gas: $200.00 (including to and from home airport)
Buying furniture (no hand me downs can be shipped cheaper), kitchen stuff, bedding, etc. $1000.00
Airfare: (1) one way: $120.20 (love Southwest!)
Airfare: (2) one way: $430.40 (love Southwest!) </p>
<p>Semi Grand Total: $3024.95 </p>
<p>Priceless: Seeing your kid on his own in a studio apartment and knowing the next time he will deal with the moving on his own! </p>
<p>PS I know this could be done cheaper, I’m just trying to illustrate our scenario.
This doesn’t include the first/last/security/agent fee for a Boston apartment…</p>
<p>The other end of the spectrum…Here’s how we, well really he, did it last school year. S1 goes to school 2800 miles away from where parents live:</p>
<p>Moved out of freshman dorm in May. Parceled out belongings among local friends, fraternity brothers, friends driving home (eg server built for the dorm and other electronics traveled by car about 600 miles and back). Flew “home” with one suitcase and one duffle bag of juggling equipment.</p>
<p>In August, with no permanent housing secured, S flew cross-country for $450 (and this included the return trip in December) with one suitcase and the same duffle bag of juggling equipment.</p>
<p>Grand Total spent by parents= $450.
S spends two weeks couch-hopping and shopping for a house to rent; eventually finds a lovely place that he can afford; emails parents with address = Priceless</p>
<p>“Meals for three days before apartment is ready: $300.00”</p>
<p>Oh dear, those growing boys do eat a lot! And food in Boston is not cheap… </p>
<p>Was the car rental for the young man? Can he do better with Zipcars? D’s campus has several of them, and the max fee per day is $60, including gas and insurance.</p>
<p>BB, he is a weight lifter. Eats 3K calories or more a day. The car rental is to get all the stuff that is housed at the grandparents 90 miles away and then get it to campus. It’s a long story involving family relationships…</p>