Moving Season Survival Tips For College Town Locals
Mid-July in Athens GA means a lot of great things for locals, but it also means one scary thing. That thing can be summed up in two words, “they’re coming…”
That’s right, townies, moving season is almost upon us.
University of Georgia students have made their grand exodus and left local town dwellers with a couple of short blissful months of minimal traffic, ample parking, and a general ease of getting around the city. Over 36,000 students attended UGA last year, and in May, the population of our little town dropped by at least half that number as many students went home for the summer or moved on after graduation to conquer the world. But in late July and early August, the peaceful streets of Athens will once again be flooded by a fresh batch of scholars. This sudden departure and then influx of people throughout the year is something very unique to college towns. This year, we won’t let moving season sneak up on us again. We’ll be ready.
Whether you live in Athens or any other college town around the country, here are a few tips to help you prepare and ”hunker down” for moving season chaos.
The first step to prepare for college moving season is to know exactly when it starts. Wherever you live, look up the academic calendar of your local university, then plan on seeing the rush of student movers about 2 weeks before that date. UGA classes in Athens GA begin August 11th, so that means the madness could begin as early as July 28th or even before.
Avoid the campus like the plague. All roads in and around the college campus will be packed with students moving in. If you normally cut through campus on your way to work, don’t. It may save time usually, but you’re better off taking the long way around for these couple of weeks. Same goes for roads near student housing. For Athens, this means staying away from the entire Riverbend Road area and a few others.
Get out of town altogether if you can. Plan your vacation during these couple of weeks, if possible. Go somewhere quiet and recharge yourself for the Fall craziness.
Don’t even think about setting foot in Target, Walmart, or Bed Bath and Beyond. These stores and ones like it will be swamped with students buying dorm room staples. If you can wait to run those errands, do. Better yet, plan those shopping trips a week or two earlier so that you make sure all your household items are in stock before the student rush wipes them out. You’ll be sipping coffee from your new mugs at your kitchen table while the college kids are fighting each other for the last pack of solo cups.
Take a day trip. If a vacation isn’t do-able, at least take a day trip out of town during the two weekends leading up to the school start-date. Those will be the craziest days of all, especially the final Saturday and Sunday before classes. Go explore the outdoors in a nearby town to avoid the frustration.
Broaden your horizons. Odds are your favorite spots to eat downtown will be packed to the gills during this season. Why not take the chance to support some local businesses on the outskirts of town? If you live in Athens, go check out a few of the local gems in downtown Watkinsville, GA.
One final moving season tip: If you don’t have to, try not to plan your own move during this season if you live in or around a college town. The traffic is stressful enough, you don’t need to worry about where you’re going to park your moving trucks. If you do need to move during this time, call L’Goff and we’ll handle the stress for you. Not even college move-in season can scare us!