<p>I’m from Texas but I go to school on the east coast. Essentially my parents just flew with me to orientation weekend, I packed what I needed, and we checked everything in together on our flight. Most students I know that traveled a long distance and had their parents join them did the same thing. Over the summer most schools have storage facilities and special deals available. The biggest challenge was getting things back home when I graduated…thank goodness for DHL.</p>
<p>I know the problems seem unsurmountable now but trust us old timers, its not as daunting as it seems. There’s no reason to drag everytrhing home every summer…every college has storage nearby,its a business opportunity in the towns! Kids I know have pooled together to rent one storage unit,3 or more kids, plenty of room and works out cheap when shared.Or, she’ll get to know someone local.It’ll work out.
By the time they leave in 4 years most of the stuff is junk and needs dumping,or they sell it, or they ship it back home or to whever they’re going next.
As far as washing her stuff at the dorm,are you only staying the one night? Usually we’ve stayed at least two, makes it easier all the way around.Gives you more time to run around to stores, get some groceries,set up and rearrange furniture at a more leisurely pace.</p>
<p>We live in NH and my son just finished his 1st year at Rice in Houston. We arrived in TX a day before his orientation and hit Staples and Target nearby campus. We had purchased his bedding from some online company and had it shipped here, as I was concerned about the washing thing. We ended up shipping it to campus in the same box. Since he has a laptop (and goes no where without it) that wasn’t an issue. As for clothes, he found that he took way too many from home. This May he came home with t-shirts still folded from last August. I don’t know if Rice is similar to other schools, but t-shirts are given out for almost every event.</p>
<p>In May my husband flew down to help him pack up. His dorm offers storage, but he was warned not to store anything he cared about there. So we ended up renting a 5 x 5 storage unit for the summer. Many of these have deals for the 1st month free and give discounts to students, so the price was not bad…and it’s climate controlled. Definately something to be concerned about in TX. All he brought home was clothes and his laptop.</p>
<p>Momrath said, “Most colleges offer storage for kids that live to far to take everything home at the end of the year.”</p>
<p>Beware of them though… my roommate (the one who didn’t get her stuff for a few days) used such a service, and it caused huge problems.</p>
<p>PS - Funny reading about all of the parents who come out and help the kids set up! I got help my freshman year, moving in, and that was it - and my parents took off after unloading the minivan and helping me to make my bed! </p>
<p>For those who are within driving distance but can’t fit everything in the car, you could try renting a minivan. Many of the companies do unlimited miles, and it works out well. </p>
<p>MomZ - if you don’t mind sharing, where is D2 going to school and how far away from Target/Costco is she? If the school isn’t close to an airport (likely if there aren’t many of those stores around), then the airport is probably really close to Target etc. Perhaps you could fly in a day early, stay in the town w/ the airport, and shop there before you go to school…? A thought. The other one is just to buy everything in CA and pay the over-baggage-limit fees to bring it on the plane.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for all your responses – it’s certainly a lot to take in! Has anyone actually had experience shipping a trunk long distance? Were there any special requirements by FedEX or your own opinions as to what kind is best? Found what we thought was a great one at trunkdepot.com, but they advised against shipping it! Said we should get an ATA something, and they’re really expensive!</p>
<p>tsdad – we’re in the very northeastern part of Bergen County – I can see the NY border from my window.</p>
<p>We moved overseas (and back) with 6 kids. Travel light. You won’t regret it. A carry-on with some clothes and a laptop ought to do it.
Wherever you’re going, WalMart (or whatever) is there. Maybe a local roommate will bring some of those extra furnishings. . .</p>
<p>If it’s necessary to wash sheets, remember that many hotels also have laundry facilities for their guests. You could do the sheets at the hotel and have them ready to go when the dorms open. </p>
<p>Wal Marts are EVERYWHERE in the U.S. I guarantee that no matter how far out in the cornfields your child is going, there will be a Wal-Mart within a half hour drive. Wal Mart has great deals on pillows, mattress pads, lamps, alarm clocks, even small foldable chairs. When my kids have done summer programs on the other side of the country, I have gone to the local wal mart each time and managed to fully stock their rooms with most of the above for under $75. I am not kidding. Maybe not “luxury” items, but good enough for dorm service where they will be receiving heavy wear and tear just from people trooping in and out of the dorm room.</p>
<p>The one suggestion that I remember from this board that I think was excellent is to get a good quality duvet cover. Reason: people will likely be sitting on your child’s bed and spills, etc. will also be occurring. A duvet cover can be washed easier and more frequently than a big heavy quilt. A plus: you can then buy a cheaper quilt at the local Wal Mart and not worry about shipping something so bulky.</p>
<p>Since Tsdad and Aries both mentioned car shipping, I would like to hear from them (and others) about how much something like this cost, how to find a good shipping service, etc.</p>
<p>Cornfields I could handle, but my daughter will be living in downtown San Francisco. No real campus, just buildings (dorms and classes) scattered all over the city! I checked Target and there’s none anywhere nearby. Haven’t checked WalMart but I’m willing to bet there isn’t one of those either.
I also haven’t heard anything about summer storage yet, but I’m afraid that may also be limited in a city environment. So basically, whatever she brings has to fit in something she can store in her dorm room during the year and use to pack and return in the summer. Once again, city living means small spaces, so we’re trying to keep things to the bare minumum necessary. Dad and Mom are going along on this first trip, but after that it’ll be up to her to pack herself up and get back and forth.</p>
<p>I think we parents should be awarded a degree for successfully getting them in and to college!</p>
<p>We are also planning a cross country move. We will be doing a combo of bringing on the plane, shipping to arrive when parents arrive, shipping for later in the fall, having things picked out and available at BB&B, and buying on site.</p>
<p>Someone here has recommended setting up an account with UPS, that both parent and student can access. This allows you to print up the shipping forms, pay by credit card, then just drop off the boxes at a pick-up point.</p>
<p>I sat with a Mom at the Senior Breakfast who has an older child at NYU (rising junior). She said she flies up every year to bring her son home, because of the logistics of hailing a taxi, having your stuff dumped out on the sidewalk, etc. She said he is basically packed and ready to go when she arrives. She allows them to fill one taxi with stuff for the storage while watching the other. They then share a dinner out before flying home.</p>
<p>artmom-
two questions
why pay to ship a trunk…dont forget they do it by weight.what needs a trunk that cant go in boxes?
also,why not call the school?they must have a res life/student life office that can give you advice about the special logistics of living in san francisco/shopping/store availability/storage.
By the way,if you’re accompanying your child and renting a car, you can cross the Golden Gate Bridge and be in suburbs pretty quickly.Look in places like Alameda for the big box stores.</p>
<p>i go to school in San Francisco… right in the city itself but i came from overseas… so what i did was pack everything (clothes, laptop, tennis racket, shoes) in one huge piece of luggage… and one smaller sized carry on one… my parents came along and so i had another piece of luggage (they only brought two small carry on sized pieces but the brought back the ‘extra’ piece of luggage)… a duffel is a good idea… they store easily… </p>
<p>bought my comforter, pillows, bedsheets from mervyn’s (around the corner from my school)… bought printer from amazon… didn’t need a mini fridge or microwave but mervyn’s also had a selection and the move in week of school they had ppl on campus selling them… </p>
<p>my school doesn’t offer summer storage… so it was a huge dilemma for me… my room mate found the cheapest storage place in the city… (but i can’t remember what it’s called) and i relied on other friends apartments… </p>
<p>there are a couple of targets right across from each other in Daly City (why i don’t know… it’s kinda ridiculous)
here are their addresses and telephone numbers:</p>
<p>(650) 991-9846
5001 Junipero Serra Blvd
Colma, CA</p>
<p>(650) 755-4668
133 Serramonte Ctr
Daly City, CA</p>
<p>the nearest walmart is across the bay in san leandro
Wal-Mart Store #2648
1919 Davis Street
San Leandro, CA 94577
(510) 569-0200</p>
<p>in my opinion… not worth the drive…
hope that helps! :)</p>
<p>artmom-There are Target’s within driving distance in SF suburbs, but probably not convenient if you are not familiar with the area. However, there is a BB&B in SF and one in Colma which you can swing by on way from airport.</p>
<p>We’re planning the 6 bags on plane (2 each for DH, me and DS) method as well as BB&B pick-up at nearby store. We have two out-of-date Pullman size bags, a hard-sided one and an old soft-sided Hartmann. My thought was to use these as 2 or our 4 airplane bags, leave them under S’s bed at school (dorm decor will not be a priority for him). He can store little used stuff in them and we can fill them up for over the summer storage.</p>
<p>They are just taking up space here, never used. Is this going to work, or am I missing something? If it were me, I’d want cute, efficient under-bed drawers, bins, etc. But like I say, he won’t care.</p>
<p>jmmom - have you seen the dorm rooms, and know there is space under the bed? In my kids’ rooms, the space was already allocated. One had drawers built in. The other had a lofted bed; his desk and dresser are beneath. They both had room in their closet for suitcases, though.</p>
<p>And another thought. Do you already know where you’ll be storing the stuff for summer? If you use one of the “per box” places, do you have to use their box? And does the suitcase fit in it? I’ve never used those places, so I don’t know how they work. The suitcases would be convenient storage, though, if your son had a friend’s apartment or such for summer storage.</p>
<p>D always used soft sided duffel type bags instead of hard sided.Once you’re at the dorm they just collapse and can be stored much more easily,under bed,on closet shelf,etc.and for travelling home during the year, we included a smaller carryon size soft sided bag in the luggage.</p>
<p>Anybody have experience shipping these soft duffles? I understand what everyone is saying about the 6 bags theory, but I’m trying to plan ahead so that my daugher can get back and forth on her own after this first trip. I’d much rather use the money for something else instead of having to fly cross country just to pick up her stuff.</p>
<p>Also, one of the reasons I’m trying to find a trunk is for use as a secure storage container during the year. My daugher has a saxophone that she’d like to be able to lock up when she’s not using it, along with her laptop.</p>
<p>Thanks binx and others. I guess we’ll just cart stuff in those two dinosaus suitcases and decide whether to store underbed or retire them when we get there. ;)</p>
<p>Reminds me of when we were last home (in May). I wanted to bring back more than would fit in my suitcases. (Can’t get Oreos here… 
) So my H and I went to the local thrift shop and I bought my very own dinosaur – hard-sided with wheels – for $7. That was well worth the opportunity to bring back more goodies.</p>
<p>So if your son has to toss them, maybe he can locate the nearest Goodwill or Salvation Army before his next trip.</p>
<p>Perhaps we’re not understanding your logic.Are you planning on having her come home with all her belongings every summer? Otherwise she’d never need to worry about having 6 bags at once until its graduation time.And if so, there’s always packing and shipping rather than hauling on the planes.I would suspect even in san Francisco there is storage available.
Laptop gets locked to the desk in the dorm room with a cable lock.D carries it home in her carryon luggage when she flies.Speakers and printer get stored with the other stuff.Saxophone can be stored in the music dept of the school, if there is one, they will have lockers to rent.Once again, I would recommend calling the school’s res life office to find out what students do at that school.Trunks might take up very valuable floor space in a tiny dorm room.
The soft duffles would be for the airline baggage.Shipping would be in regular old packing boxes so perhaps I’m not understanding what the logistic is in shipping the soft duffles .</p>