<p>LasMa–that’s good to know about BB&B. We will potentially have 2 far away college kids, in opposite directions and planned on buying their stuff when we got to their college towns.</p>
<p>For car rentals, sign up for National’s Emerald Club and you can use their Emerald Aisle. You reserve your car online (check out the last minute “specials to go” as those prices are generally the most reasonable. Once you get to the airport or where ever you are picking up the car, you go right to the Emerald Aisle and pick whatever car you want. We have gotten everything from convertibles to mini-vans-to large SUV’s. Hertz is starting something similar now but I haven’t used them so I don’t know if it works exactly the same or not.</p>
<p>Even if you fly on an airline that charges for baggage, it can be less expensive to check a couple extra large suitcases of clothing then it is to ship-especially if the school doesn’t take shipments before the students arrive. Keep in mind that they only need a week’s worth of “stuff” to start so you can ship all that stuff when you get home or have someone ship it for you so it gets there a couple days after school starts. You can also buy any new clothing in the town where they are going to school vs shipping it.</p>
<p>shakespearefan…your mustang convertable will be fine…assuming the trunk opening and trunk are large enough to accommodate the bags…I would say…see if you can get a four door something so that you can put some of the bags on the backseat. You do NOT need a minivan or SUV. We GOT the bags to the airport in my Volvo sedan. They just didn’t fit into the versa or whatever teeny car they gave us.</p>
<p>SteveMA…almost all of the major car rental companies have preferred car rental things like you describe. That does NOT mean you will get the car of your choice. It DOES mean that you don’t have to go inside to get the paperwork, etc. We are Avis members, and their pick for us was a car that was TOO SMALL for our bags. It was ready and waiting…but too small.</p>
<p>Because of a last minute injury, we cancelled our car rental 2 weeks before we arrived in Boston last Fall for move-in weekend. (We had planned to rent a car Thursday night and use it throughout the weekend to do Target and BBB runs, and then use it to pack the stuff and take it to the dorm when DD called that she had the key). We happened to be attending a reception in CA with the Asst Director of Student Services just before we headed back, and he said 1 - Cancel the car 2 - Use an airpline shuttle service (he gave us his personal favorite) to transport the three of us and our suitcases to our condo. 3 - Take the T to everywhere except Target, which was not T accessible 3 - Pick up your stuff and call a taxi to take it back to the condo. 4 - Call the airport shuttle for a ride to the dorm with all of your stuff - taxis are not allowed to help you with luggage, but shuttles are. All told, it was MUCH easier and smoother to do it this way - DD called when she had the key, and by the time DD2 and I had taken all her stuff to the sidewalk he was at the condo. We rode to the dorm, he pulled over in the taxi/shuttle zone, DD came with a magical BU “bin” (looked just like the prisoner’s laundry bins in old movies - huge!) and we loaded all her stuff in one bin. I had bought a collapsible magnecart from my Costco at home, so we used that for a few big boxes like the fan. He drove away - I think he charged us $50 to drive us across town and load/unload. When we were finished helping DD movein, all we had to do was take the T to our condo - easy as pie!!! Not glad that my husband missed all the fun, but SO glad we didn’t rent a car!! I figured it would have cost at least double what we paid for taxis and shuttles.</p>
<p>By the way, in CA the big player for shuttles is SuperShuttle - they have been around the longest, and are pretty omnipresent. There is a new upstart that claims to be cheaper - Prime Time. Which college is your student attending?</p>
<p>Chapman U in Orange, CA.</p>
<p>Interesting info about shuttles. I hadn’t even considered that angle. I would think one of these days, D will need these to get back and forth from airports to campus. Thanks for reminding me!</p>
<p>I do know that Orange isn’t a hub of public transportation the way Boston is. Also, we need a car to go see the beach! Disneyland! And the myriad other attractions in the OC LA area.</p>
<p>LOL…Chapman U is so close to me that I shop at the same grocery store as their students. I would definitely suggest that you rent a car - do not try to move in to this school without a car. Orange County is simply too spread apart, and none of the stores within walking distance are suitable for collecting the items you need for a dorm. There are zillions of places within a short drive though. I would be most happy for you to PM me. If I were doing it, I would use the Tustin Marketplace as my shopping base. Register for what you need at that BBB. It is about 15 minutes by freeway from the campus. In the same shopping center is a Target, Barnes and Noble, and many other stores. There is another mall that is closer with a Walmart which would be good for items as well, but I personally prefer having most items chosen and picked at home at BBB. With their coupons, the price on most items is similar. Parking near campus is rough, but the restaurants are AWESOME! I would consider getting a condo on vrbo where you can use a washing machine - we did that and it was great. I will PM you some ideas.</p>
<p>I’m also local to Chapman, and second the Tustin and Irvine Marketplace (they are across the street from one another, on Jamboree Road). You will need a car to get there from Chapman, for certain. </p>
<p>With BBB you can order online (if you don’t have a local store) with a pick-up at the local (So Cal) store. </p>
<p>My D went the other direction (west to east), and it was a snap. I rented a small SUV and it was plenty roomy. </p>
<p>Don’t know where you’re coming from, but I would really consider flying Southwest; we did for the 4 bag check in alone! SW flies in to Santa Ana (John Wayne Airport, in OC) as well as LAX, but John Wayne is MUCH closer to your destination and far less grief when you leave!</p>
<p>I’m not sure your D will need a bike, unless she really likes biking or is an avid rider. I’d wait and see on that one. </p>
<p>I’ll also happily take a PM if you have any specific questions. Happy to help.</p>
<p>Southwest prices seem so much higher than other airlines, though, even United which also flies into SNA. Right now, we’re looking at $600 on SW vs more like $400 on Jetblue (to LGB) and United. Looks like SW’s prices have come down some today, though not for the dates we need to fly. Any thoughts on whether these prices will continue to approach a reasonable level?</p>
<p>Oh I love this thread. I am an international student, I will be moving in the Univeristy of Richmond (Richmond, Virginia), I wonder if anyone has any tips?</p>
<p>Got to agree that Southwest fares have gone through the roof. Someone told me it was due to them purchasing a fuel agreement years ago, (allowing them to be able to undercut the other airlines) which has since expired. Once you add in the checked baggage fees (or worse, the shipping to your destination fees) it all seems to be about the same. </p>
<p>I just booked my D for her 2 week visit from NYC to OC at $365 (Frontier). I felt I was getting a deal. Horrible considering just 2 years ago I was paying $189 on SW. Now SW for the same itinerary is over $500. </p>
<p>Yuck.</p>
<p>Fares likely will not go down. BUT with SW if you book, and their fare goes lower, you can cancel (no penalty) and rebook (no penalty) at the lower fare, using the credit from your original flight(s). Did I mention no penalty? :)</p>
<p>Woo hoo! Southwest fares have dropped today, such that some flights between Washington DC (actually in VA) Dulles, and John Wayne in Orange County are down to $171 one way. Soooooooo, I booked D one way, and a round trip for me! Now we have to identify the four suitcases we’ll be using to lug all her stuff out there!</p>
<p>For you and/or your D’s future flights, John Wayne (SNA) is the most convenient for 1 person. If you have many people flying, it may be cheaper to fly into LA (LAX) and rent a car or take supershuttle for maybe $100 (I’m totally guessing at the supershuttle price). Flights into LAX are usually (but not always) the cheapest. Travel time from LAX to Chapman is about 45 min to 1 hr 15 min dep on traffic.</p>
<p>When we took D cross country we flew Southwest but each of us carried two pieces of luggage: they were not suitcases, they were boxes. We did not have to bring back empty suitcases, they stayed nicely folded under the bed and were reused a few times for moving in and out</p>