Whether moving to an apartment or going home for the summer, most Emersonian will have to find a way to get rid of all that stuff accumulated over the past seven months. Packing it up and lugging it across the state or even the country probably doesn’t sound like a good time to any college student.
Tony Consiglio, a senior broadcast journalism major, has experienced the moving process several times.
First, he left his home in Thompson, Conn. for Emerson’s Little Building his freshman year. Then he moved to an apartment in downtown Boston. Now that he has accepted a job at ABC 7 in Bangor, Maine, he is yet again faced with relocating.
“I’ve always been close, so I have never had to move anything too far; the hardest part was finding out when my parents could [help me move],” Consiglio said.
Consiglio, who has never had to utilize a moving van, has relied on his father’s truck to do most of the heavy lifting.
Julia Abel, a junior marketing communication major from Orange County, Calif., transferred to Emerson in January and now lives in an apartment in Brookline. Abel shipped several boxes when she moved, but also used large suitcases to bring her possessions across the country.
“I could have packed less or put more in suitcases, because that was much faster and more efficient,” she said. “Almost every box I shipped was ripped and torn when it got here, but nothing broke.”
Able will be leaving her apartment in Brookline at the end of the summer and will once again transfer her belongings to another apartment, this time in Central Square in Cambridge.
“We basically have three bedrooms to move and only one car between all of us to move everything.” Abel said.
Lauren Long, a freshman marketing communication major from Gig Harbor, Wash., remembers the hassle of moving vividly. Living across the country, she said she was forced to ship six huge boxes containing her clothes and smaller items, which totaled approximately $300. She purchased larger items, such as a refrigerator and DVD player, in Boston.
But getting rid of the moving aspect did not necessarily make things easier.
“I had trouble buying the larger items, like a fridge,” Long said. “Because Boston is such a college town, they all sold out. I couldn’t find one until two weeks later.”
Long will be returning home to Gig Harbor for the summer but said she has learned her lesson. This year, she will rent a storage space in the area to leave some of her bulkier items behind.
If you find yourself in the same position, both Emerson’s Office of Housing and Residence Life (OHRL) and Off-Campus Student Services (OCSS) offer several options.
Jessica Hunt, a staff assistant at the OHRL said her office has been recommending The Packaging Store to students.
The owner of The Packaging Store, Lester Grooms, said this is his company’s nineteenth year working with Emerson. The company uses door-to-door service and will pick up students’ possessions either in front of the bookstore in the Little Building or at a curbside station outside 6 Arlington St., so residents on both sides of campus get the same benefits. Grooms said next year the service will do the same for Emerson’s new Piano Row residents. Students can either buy boxes from the company or use their own. Boxes are stored in a warehouse: students pay for the amount of space they need. For instance, a box that is 16′ x 12′ x 12′ or 1.5 cubic feet will cost $15 for summer storage, while a box that is 20′ x 15′ x 15′ or 3 cubic feet will cost $30.
If The Packaging Store doesn’t tickle your fancy, OCSS offers a list of moving, storage and furniture rental facilities on its Web site. The site provides a listing of several services in the area including prices, Web sites, phone numbers, and discounts. According to OCSS Coordinator Christy Letizia, Emerson has no affiliations with any companies. The listing reflects recommendations from students who have used such companies in the past.