Well, about three weeks left....
I have about 3 weeks left before I head up to Portland. I am a bit frustrated at the high cost up front, but I suppose that is something I should have thought more about before. I am excited though. Overly so. I find I am having trouble remembering a lot of what I need to do before I leave. Or rather, I can't prioritize well enough and it sucks to get that wrong. I haven't moved out of town before even, so I have to keep reminding myself that I can't just drive to the old place to pick up anything I've forgotten.
I'm scared shitless, too. It's a little harder to pick up and move when you actually have stuff to move. It's not the same as just going off to college right after high school. At that point in your life, you generally live on campus and that is set up through the school so you don't have to go searching for a place. Love it or hate it, it's taken care of. The worst case scenario is that your stuck in a super crappy dorm with a crappy roommate for the school year. Don't get me wrong, that is a shitty situation, but not as bad monetarily. You don't need a car to get to school, or any extras if you're really down on the money. You don't have a bunch of things to move, some yes, but not stuff like regular furniture or anything. Getting up there requires you to ship a packed truck and fly with the rest of your main ticket items. Somebody back home can ship anything you've forgotten, so you're not totally on your own. When you finish college, you've basically finished moving to wherever you went to college. It's taken about 4 years for you to move out. Well, more like 2 given that that's when you're really all moved out. (Shelves in the garage do not count as still being moved in if they are not cleaned out)
For me, I have a ton of books, some kitchen stuff, living room set, a small dinette set, and a bedroom set. I didn't buy them like that, to be fair, except the living room, but that's what I've got give or take. I've thought about trying to sell it all and then just buy everything when I get up there, but when I look at what I could realistically get for my stuff here, it just isn't going to be worth it. Plus, there are some things I still need to ship. I seriously, can't believe how expensive it was going to be to rent a truck myself. $$$ for the truck and insurance, which I'd have to load, unless I hired that out too. I found out I wouldn't have anyone here to help me given the schedule I'd be on.
Then it's 1340 miles to my destination, so I would have to pay for at least one night of lodging, most likely in California. There is a distinct possibility that it would be capped at 55mph as the truck my sister rented was when we drove cross country to move her. That might mean two nights I'd have to pay for.
Then there is gas at close to $3 a gallon. And you know those trucks don't get wonderful gas mileage. I'm guessing maybe 10 to 15 miles to the gallon (loaded), so that would add about $400 to the trip, assuming I drove no more than 1350 miles. Then when I got to my destination, I'd have to pay for parking (given the city location) and then unload the truck myself (there I would have had help since I had two very AWESOME friends offer to come with and do that). Add to that food and other costs I didn't account for and it ends up being as much as if I'd hired movers.
I just wish financial aid wasn't so stingy right now. I'm going to have to figure out how to pay for all of this and the first and last rent and fees all around the same time. Plus a bunch of other extra costs. I'm really frustrated that financial aid bases the amount of aid off of last year's earnings. Oh, you made that last year? Then you should be able to pay $17000 worth. Never mind the fact that I took two pay cuts this year and certainly never made that amount to claim I could pay that much in one chunk. Arg.
I'm scared shitless, too. It's a little harder to pick up and move when you actually have stuff to move. It's not the same as just going off to college right after high school. At that point in your life, you generally live on campus and that is set up through the school so you don't have to go searching for a place. Love it or hate it, it's taken care of. The worst case scenario is that your stuck in a super crappy dorm with a crappy roommate for the school year. Don't get me wrong, that is a shitty situation, but not as bad monetarily. You don't need a car to get to school, or any extras if you're really down on the money. You don't have a bunch of things to move, some yes, but not stuff like regular furniture or anything. Getting up there requires you to ship a packed truck and fly with the rest of your main ticket items. Somebody back home can ship anything you've forgotten, so you're not totally on your own. When you finish college, you've basically finished moving to wherever you went to college. It's taken about 4 years for you to move out. Well, more like 2 given that that's when you're really all moved out. (Shelves in the garage do not count as still being moved in if they are not cleaned out)
For me, I have a ton of books, some kitchen stuff, living room set, a small dinette set, and a bedroom set. I didn't buy them like that, to be fair, except the living room, but that's what I've got give or take. I've thought about trying to sell it all and then just buy everything when I get up there, but when I look at what I could realistically get for my stuff here, it just isn't going to be worth it. Plus, there are some things I still need to ship. I seriously, can't believe how expensive it was going to be to rent a truck myself. $$$ for the truck and insurance, which I'd have to load, unless I hired that out too. I found out I wouldn't have anyone here to help me given the schedule I'd be on.
Then it's 1340 miles to my destination, so I would have to pay for at least one night of lodging, most likely in California. There is a distinct possibility that it would be capped at 55mph as the truck my sister rented was when we drove cross country to move her. That might mean two nights I'd have to pay for.
Then there is gas at close to $3 a gallon. And you know those trucks don't get wonderful gas mileage. I'm guessing maybe 10 to 15 miles to the gallon (loaded), so that would add about $400 to the trip, assuming I drove no more than 1350 miles. Then when I got to my destination, I'd have to pay for parking (given the city location) and then unload the truck myself (there I would have had help since I had two very AWESOME friends offer to come with and do that). Add to that food and other costs I didn't account for and it ends up being as much as if I'd hired movers.
I just wish financial aid wasn't so stingy right now. I'm going to have to figure out how to pay for all of this and the first and last rent and fees all around the same time. Plus a bunch of other extra costs. I'm really frustrated that financial aid bases the amount of aid off of last year's earnings. Oh, you made that last year? Then you should be able to pay $17000 worth. Never mind the fact that I took two pay cuts this year and certainly never made that amount to claim I could pay that much in one chunk. Arg.