College life typically involves relocating quite a bit. It starts with saying goodbye to home and finally packing up after graduation, not forgetting other relocations involved while studying, such as an internship. It’s a fantastic journey full of experiences and discovering new opportunities.
However, as a student, moving cross-country showers you with excitement but comes with a fair share of challenges. It’s a nerve-wracking experience that leaves you saying, ‘’ Never again,’’ or ‘’When will I see myself settled,’’ etc.
With good preparation, a moving timeline, and a well-framed execution plan, your move becomes easy and stress-free. Let’s arm you with planning, budgeting, packing, and settling knowledge for a smooth student long-distance moving.
1.Clean Your Room
Do you remember when your parents kept criticizing you about it? It’s not just about being neat and organized; it’s the strategy for finding your misplaced essentials and discovering items you forgot were there.
A messy room leads to disorganization. It makes it hard to locate necessities like toothbrushes, keys, exam cards, and documents (like your high school certificate). Take the first step to declutter and clean your room. Doing so will create an efficient and worryless environment.
When sifting through your messed shelves, you’re likely to stumble upon your favorite or valuable item. Additionally, a tidy room promotes a sense of control and has a positive impact.
Roll up your sleeves, take a broom, grab a trash bag, take a mob and a bucket. Gain control by letting go of your ego and cleaning your room.
2. Create a Moving Checklist
It can be easy to lose track of your belongings and forget essential items. With many activities weighing on you, getting engrossed in one area is possible. For quick track, ensure a seamless transition by creating a comprehensive checklist.
Create a moving checklist for every step you come close to finalizing your move. The first list should track the inventory of all your move-related items. During sorting and decluttering of items, remember to make a list of the final sorted and ready-to-pack items as well.
Make a moving checklist for each step, starting from researching day, packing day, moving day, and following the move for easy double-checks of forgotten items.
3. Adopt Cheap Ways of Cross-Country Moving
Moving can be costly and even more complicated for a student earning no payslip. You must stick to your parents, guardian, or sponsor to fund the move. In that case, adopting the cheapest ways to move cross-country is your utmost priority to help you save some money.
One economical and budget-friendly way to consider is a DIY move. It involves seeking transportation options from your parents and friends or renting a moving truck. It’s a great way to give you control and eliminate the need for professional movers.
Additionally, off-season timing is a great way to yield significant savings. Choose a day with less demand and decreased price. You can move early in advance and look for storage solutions instead.
Combining these two strategies will ensure a quality move and avoid compromises and stress.
4. Pack Your Essential Separate
Your essentials are critical during a move, and packing them separately will help you always keep track of them. These include essential toiletries, medication, electronics like chargers, laptops, clothes for changing, and any other essentials you might think of.
Choose a specific bag or box and label it, ‘’ESSENTIALS’’ where you will pack them for immediate access upon reaching your destination. It prevents you from rummaging through boxes and bags, overwhelmed with stress, as your new roommates judge how disorganized you are.
It might seem like a small and obvious step as you prepare and pack, but wait until you can’t find that one sock of your favorite pair. It’s a practical step that leads to comfortable settling.
5. Pack Carefully and Logically
As a student, college is not your home; it’s where you’d spend four to seven years. For the whole period, you won’t be stuck in one place; you’ve got to go on summer vacation, internship, and work, which means constantly moving.
As you embark on an adult life, it can be a thrilling moment filled with freedom, but it can be difficult to part with your sentimental items. It’s a process that requires a careful and logical packing approach.
You’re going to school, so it’s crucial to prioritize functionality and practicality. Pack only what you need and only the items you regularly use and serve a practical purpose. You can carry a few childhood souvenirs, but not all the room.
Don’t forget your necessary documents like identification, driver’s license, medical records, financial papers, and passport.
6. Gather Packing Supplies
As we said, you’re not relocating to a new home but heading to college to study. You’ll likely carry the most essential items for regular use and school stationery. What is the need for expensive packaging materials, then?
You’re looking to save money, so walk around stores, offices, supermarkets, or friends’ houses to look for spare cardboard boxes. Businesses and garages discard these sturdy boxes; finding and reusing them is a savvy way to cut your moving costs.
You’re probably asking, ‘’ What about my household utensils that require cushioning and wrapping?’’ In that case, use items like blankets, scarves, clothing, or towels as padding to protect your fragile possessions. If your supplies aren’t enough, look for discounts and deals on packaging material at office supply stores or online retailers.
7. Label Your Boxes
Label your boxes for easy identification and unpacking for you or the movers(if involved). It’s easy to recognize each box and its contents for simple unpacking and as prevention against mishandling.
When labeling, use clear and legible writing and include a brief description. Opt for the color-coding technique; it associates specific colors with different priority levels. In capital letters and bold writing, mark fragile or special items as ‘’FRAGILE, HANDLE WITH EXTRA CARE’’ to alert handlers.
8. Downsize
A cross-country move on a tight budget requires you to seize every opportunity that saves your money, and downsizing is an essential step. It helps you assemble only necessary items and parts with items you no longer need.
It’s a great way to minimize the volume of your items and avoid paying extra fees for additional weight. If you hire a moving company, utilize their moving calculator to calculate your moving cost, which will help you downsize to the required volume.
Assess your belongings and declutter useless items. You can donate the items or sell them to add resources to your budget. Simplifying your possessions makes packing, organizing, and settling into your new space easy.
9. Look For Discounts
Cross-country relocation is often pricey, and paying attention to discounts or opting for only student moving services is advisable. Hire cross-country movers and negotiate your way to deals. Request multiple moving quotes, compare their rates, and bargain with your potential mover.
You can look for student moving services with enormous discounts depending on the moving season. Additionally, watch out for seasonal promotions and discounts often offered during the off-season and seize the moment, depending on your admission date.
10. Familiarize Yourself With the New Location
Careful and precise long-distance move planning is pivotal to ensure a seamless transition. That said, you need to get information on your place and pay a visit in advance. What if you come and find all the dorms fully booked? You’ll probably get stranded and overwhelmed since you have limited time to find an apartment.
It’s good to research the area and its neighborhood and locate amenities like public transportation, healthcare facilities, shopping malls, and grocery stores. Explore the campus surroundings to get a sense of your new location and if it’s suitable for you.
Connecting with existing students, gathering insights, and asking questions about your new environments is good. Maintaining a friendly relationship with current students will keep you one step ahead and will reduce the stress of moving.
11. Seek For Assistance From Your Loved Ones
Relocating is a demanding task that requires physical and emotional support. Lean on your friends and family for help.
Throw a party and seize that opportunity to get help with your sorting, packing, and loading tasks. Turn that nerve-wracking moment into a thrilling bonding experience filled with memories and connection as you embark on your cross-country move.
12. Talk to Your Roommate in Advance
You may have a roommate, so often, open communication is fundamental to achieving a successful long-distance move. Discuss responsibilities, expectations, logistics or any needs required.
You can divide and clarify first-day tasks like cleaning or coordinating move-in dates. Raise any concerns and preferences to ensure you’re all on the same page. Such steps will lead to a long-lasting relationship for your whole campus life.
Don’t Just Move, Thrive In It
Moving across the country as a student shouldn’t be challenging as you think. With diligent planning and smart planning, anything is possible.
All the above suggestions are practical and ensure a stress-free moving experience. Choose and apply the cross-country moving tips that work best for you and turn your cross-country move into a growth opportunity.
