Summer Storage_Where do I keep my stuff during the Summer?

[HTM18]

Hello everyone,

So far, it has been a stressful month for all of us with waiting, receiving acceptances or rejections and making life-changing decisions. 

 

As a current BA or MA student moving forward to another degree MA or PhD in FALL 2018, where will you store your stuff? I heard about summer storage before but not sure which companies are reliable or offer good deals.

I will be moving from Center City, Philadelphia, PA to State College, PA to study at Penn State. Another option for me would be to personally store my boxes at U-Haul in Penn State since it is 4 hours away by car to avoid shipping damages.

I would like to hear based on your previous or personal experiences. If you could recommend some companies you have personally tried other than the ads google provides. 

 

I hope this thread will benefit any students considering moving but stresses about storage issues.

Thank you all!

[AP]

As an international student, I've never had much stuff because I always rented with a roommate that had furniture. But still, during summers I left boxes/my car with friends except one summer when I rented a storage unit. 

[savay]

When I relocated for my program it was a cross country move, and similarly, I needed a place to store my stuff for the summer as I was doing some research overseas. Because the distance was so great and I needed to get my stuff from point a to point b somehow, I ended up getting a Uhaul pod. I loaded it with all my stuff, they moved it across the country and stored it in their warehouse in my new city, and then when I returned to the US I unpacked it and moved in to my new place. I only had enough stuff to fill one pod, so it ended up being more cost efficient to have Uhaul do all the moving and storing for me, rather than doing more of it by myself (like renting a car and driving all my stuff with me, which would have taken at minimum 5 days of driving) or using multiple services (like moving and storing separately). I followed Uhaul's directions for packing the pod and didn't end up with any damages.

Since you're close to where you're moving, it might make sense practically and financially to just rent a storage unit in Penn State for the time you'll be away. Then you know your stuff is there already.

[rising_star]

A lot of it is going to depend on where you want to store your stuff. Do you want to go ahead and move it to State College? Is there any reason why you wouldn't move your stuff at the same time as you move into a new place to live? I guess I'm confused by your original question.

[E-P]

I agree with the general sentiment of asking why not just move your stuff when you move you.  That said, when I made a similar move, and my circumstances didn't allow me to move my stuff with me, I stored it in a self-storage place for the summer.  I hired movers to move it from my apartment into the self-storage unit, then left it there.  Then, when it was time to move, I hired another set of movers to move it to its final destination.

 

Depending on how much stuff you have, you might be able to ask a friend for space in his/her/zir garage or basement or something too in exchange for a nice bottle of booze or some other enticement.