Housing-Move-in

To many students who are seeking a change from on-campus living, students said this week living off campus can be one of the best parts of college life. But as students begin to make plans for off-campus living next fall, they look towards the havoc of moving into their new apartments. Moving into off-campus housing can be both a positive and negative experience, students said. Without the elevators of the high rises, students are forced to carry all their belongings up flights of stairs. "We had to carry our beds up stairs where as in the high rises you have elevators," College senior Emily Golenberg said. But some students said moving into the high rises is a greater hassle than moving off-campus. "I remember waiting forever for elevators in the high rises on move-in day," College junior Kevin Simon said. "[And] the parking situation around the high rises always seems worse than off-campus." Over the summer, many students living on-campus must also deal with finding storage facilities for things they do not wish to take home. But off-campus residents find that their houses enable them to avoid this inconvenience. "This year we were able to leave stuff in the basement of [our house], but many of my friends stored things with their friends," Golenberg said. But if students must store their belongings in the city, local businesses such as the Movers and Quakers, a seasonal moving and storing company, have served the University community. For students wishing to transport their things back home, many rental companies offer trucks and packing materials for moving. "Last September a bunch of my friends rented a U-Haul together to get their stuff to school," College junior Steven Marshall said. Manager Terry Connolly of the Chestnut Street U-Haul said, "I have truck rentals, and any type of packing material plus locks, ropes and bungee cords." To avoid last minute problems, however, Connolly strongly suggests to plan well ahead. "Every year we get students coming in the day before they want to leave wondering why we don't have trucks left for them," he said.