<p>"Miami…it is VERY possible to move a college student 3000 miles from home, flying there. We did it. No problem. "
-Well, you did it your way. However, hiring movers could have been cheaper. There are various ways. If it was my kid, we would have not be able to do it. Hiring movers who also moved very heavy furnature (the complete queen bedroom set, heavy bookcase and things like that) was cheaper than flying several people with several suitcases for each. I am just presenting an alternative, if somebody prefer flying, why not? Checking into various alternatives and compare price (including petential health hazards of doing it yourself) is wothwhile, that’s all.</p>
<p>MiamiDAP, most people don’t bring along their own heavy bookcase and queen bedroom set. I’m assuming your daughter didn’t live in a dorm, then. Normally, hiring movers to get a kid to college is overkill.</p>
<p>We had S bring one rolling duffle with him, knowing it took virtually no space and would be easily stored. Keep in mind that ALL things brought may likely need to be carried up the many flights of stairs to kiddo’s dorm as most places only have few elevators and not enough for move in day traffic. Pack accordingly. We carried home the other suitcases empty so S didn’t have to store them. Nice if they nest, so they are easier and cheaper to transport home.</p>
<p>Well, for the MOST (with exceptions) there is no way you can compare girl to a boy. I got each and even each as grandkids. Anybody can easily send a boy with one suitcase. For a girl, 5 might not be enough.</p>
<p>Ha. Neither my partner nor his brothers understand packing light. Always multiple suitcases. I can easily survive on one.</p>
<p>^Good for you, you must be this rare exception. My 14 y o GD has much bigger suitcase than her 12 y o bro, they are part of common crowd.
My H. packs so much of computer and other electronics stuff, that he needs a bigger suitcase for vacation. Mine is much smaller, I am happy to join your company, there are few of us out there who do not pack every piece of clothing from their closet.</p>
<p>Not really rare IMO. Most women I know can pack light. But whatever. It’s unimportant.</p>
<p>Our D was able to get by with less than S because S gifted her with lots when she arrived, including clunker bike. She acquired tons on her own as well, since she got to campus.</p>
<p>We shipped as much as we could to the hotel and then shipped a lot home. It was easy and not that expensive.</p>
<p>peacefulmom–that is a GREAT idea!!</p>
<p>If you ship to the hotel, especially if it’s a hotel populated by many parents & college kids,
give them a heads up. Ours appreciated it…and we had a note waiting at check in of it’s arrival…and bellman brought it all up at once.</p>
<p>We used the dining room (mostly the table) as a staging area for son- no events needing it in summer. I did the purchasing (and noted many mothers and daughters but rare sons in the stores) and put things there for son’s approval. Loading the car (suv)- I’m the get the most in it one of the family. Many plastic trash bags- for prewashed sheet set (only need one, Penneys was good for XL), clothes and other soft goods. Was able to squish a lot in soft car carrier. Paper grocery bags and boxes, too.</p>
<p>Check with the college dorm for needed/suggested items. Son’s school provided those huge laundry carts to move in. Consider the size of the dorm room. A car’s worth of stuff is all that will fit. </p>
<p>Be sure your son knows what he is taking. It does no good to pack a first aid kit and have him not realize he has Tylenol et al. </p>
<p>In the ideal world the student would be the one doing a lot. In the real world they still need their parents.</p>
<p>PS- have fun with the to and from campus chauffeuring, fewer but longer trips than when they live at home… I still remember the one with 3 different dirty laundry containers (bag, basket and ?) for 3 different boys/men who slept the 2 1/2 hours- at least it was winter in the open to the back SUV. Not quite the same as in town carpooling.</p>
<p>Would second double-checking what the dorm provides so you don’t bring unneeded things. Our kids’ dorm provided fridge and microwave, so that was not needed for folks to have to bring. It is important to remember campus housing tends to be pretty close quarters and kids generally have MUCH more space in their home than they will in campus housing.</p>
<p>wis75–one of our kids’ college also provided those huge laundry carts–they are wonderful. We ended up not using on to move it–way too busy at the elevator–but we got all of his stuff into 2 trips when he moved out.</p>
<p>We were laughing at the U-hauls that pulled up to campus and the people carting in the HUGE 70" tv’s. </p>
<p>Our 2013’ers dorm rooms are TINY, smaller than their bedrooms at home. I’m thinking about designating floor space in a room and if it doesn’t fit in that area, it is not coming with :D. We plan to get most stuff near campus and will probably get a storage garage for the summers so they don’t have to haul stuff home.</p>
<p>We probably over packed but what is handy are those huge rolling duffels. We had 2 and other assorted boxes. I got egg boxes from the grocery store which were very sturdy and not to large to carry. We also purchased a rug for the room since I knew the other boy would not be coming with much. </p>
<p>I probably would ship boxes early of stuff you know they need but don’t want to carry if you are flying or in a small car. Son’s college told everyone a date that they could send boxes starting at so they didn’t have boxes sitting all summer.</p>
<p>In addition to shipping almost everything, we also did the HUGE drugstore shopping at home and shipped everything. You could also buy everything on a drugstore website, and have them shipped. This saved us the ridiculous amount of time we spent at an unfamiliar drugstore with D!. This way we just accumulated everything over the summer. As well, we bought all sheets, towels, comforter and other things at home and washed them and shipped them. Although we still needed to go to the Container store and other such places once at the college, we saved a lot of time by buying and shipping from home. Good luck!</p>
<p>Another tip. With D2 it was very unclear how we would drop everything off and get it up to her dorm room. Although we got some info from housing on this, we didn’t know if we would receive help. I put a last minute (evening before) post on D2’s CC’s college page and I received a response right away that we could drive up and they would unload everything and help us carry everything. This was very helpful information. As well, we arrived 1/2 hour earlier than our scheduled time and it was fine. If there was a D3, I think I would bring some starbucks $5 gift cards to give the kids who carry everything up. Not necessary, but could be a nice touch.</p>
<p>Well, S finally got to pick his room (things got messed up with his housing contract-GRRR-but it finally got straightened out) and he’s in a three person triple on the third floor in a traditional style dorm. There is one elevator at the other end of the hall but his room is actually right next to the stairs so may be easier to use.</p>
<p>He doesn’t know the two other boys (who appear to be friends according to their FB pages so I’m concerned now about his being odd-man out. Does the worrying never end?!?!?) and he has sent them FB friend requests so they can work out who brings what.</p>
<p>He and my husband both looked at me like I’d grown a second head when I started talking about buying stuff and getting it to school. I think I need another hobby but in the meantime I’ll keep reading these boards and taking copious notes when we go up for Preview! I’m also going to keep an eye out for BBB coupons and sales too. Gosh, less than 2 months until he leaves!</p>
<p>Has anyone shipped a guitar, snowboard, or longboard? I believe the airlines may allow these as carry-ons now, but don’t know the details.</p>
<p>Three years ago when we moved D into the dorm, we had a full SUV and a Thule on top. We packed clothes in two large suitcases and one really large duffle bag with books and videos that she might need. We also took a printer, small tv, and dvd player and purchased some other larger items once we were there. We purchased a small foldable handtruck at Costco, which saved us multiple trips to and from the car. </p>
<p>They don’t need as much as they think. Eventually, they seem to fall into wearing jeans and t’s. It might be different at some Northeast schools but I guess you will get an idea when you visit.</p>
<p>What she did not need that we thought she needed: and iron, portable ironing table, a water pitcher, dishes, a winter coat (it’s the south it does not get that cold) boots, and a few party dresses. There are more things but these stand out. Also,all that cleaning stuff and the medical kit, I left her with is still untouched and expired.</p>
<p>Do note that there is not that much closet and floor space. We did not buy the plastic totes because in her first dorm, the space was so small, we had lift the bed and put the desk under the bed. There was no room left for underbed storage once the desk and chair were there. We took one suitcase and the tote bag home. Take a look at the layout of the room and square footage. We did buy the three drawer plastic storage.</p>
<p>Stuff went into storage first summer and second summer, she moved into an apartment and stayed the summer. </p>
<p>Now we have to figure out how to get all this stuff home when she graduates next month. That’s the scary part. She brought home a suitcase full of clothes during spring break but there is a lot more now including the car we sent down so she can get around to late classes and to work since public transportation was not as stellar and convenient as the school made it sound. </p>
<p>Good luck. This is all bittersweet and it goes by so quickly.</p>