KANSAN.COM
NEWS
Students struggle to bridge move-in move-out gap
MORGAN CORMACK
@morgan_cormack
With the school year approaching, many students in Lawrence are preparing to change living arrangements. Unfortunately, the large gap between when many students must move out of one place and move into another can complicate the process. Many students struggle to find storage for their belongings, and some have to resort to sleeping on friends' couches.
"Last year, most of my stuff I put up at my roommate's house in Shawnee," Tim Cornell, a senior from Riverside, Calif., said. "My
cat is the biggest problem. I end up boarding her, but it's expensive."
Like many out-of-state students, Cornell has nowhere to store his belongings between living arrangements. Storage units are always an option, but they are dependent on availability. Donnie Parr, an employee at A-1 Self Storage, said that this is a common problem this time of year.
"We get about five to 10 calls a day regarding the units," Parr said. "One unit, for example, will open up but be snatched again almost immediately."
Many students ultimately try to find free storage,
but don't always succeed. Students may only need the spaces for a week or two, but end up having to pay for a whole month.
"Last summer,
between moving from Legends to The Rockland, I was homeless from July 31 until Aug.15."
Tim Cornell senior
a bunch of furniture and stuff that I can't move into my new house until the first [of August]."
"We are supposed to be moved out by July 29," Maddy Moloney, a senior from Chicago, said. "I have
Like many others, Moloney could not find any storage solutions.
"I was going to just stuff it in a U-Haul truck, but they are all already booked in Lawrence," she said.
Move-out dates for houses and apartments typically fall between July 29-31, but move-in dates can range anywhere from the first week of August to Aug.13-16, leaving over two weeks between move-out and move-in. Apartments such as Hawks Pointe use the time to clean all of their units.
"Unless units open before move out day, we can't always accommodate residents who want to move in early," Teddy Abdelmalek, general manager of Hawks Pointe Apartments, said. "We know some people have to move in early for things such as orientation, work schedules and whatnot. We try to do our best to accommodate them."
Many students, however still go "homeless" for a period of time and have to resort to couch-surfing.
"Last summer, between moving from Legends to The Rockland, I was homeless from July 31 until Aug. 15." Cornell said. "I didn't ask to move in early because I knew they would charge me a full month. I didn't want my roommate to have to pay for that too when he didn't need to."
The consensus seems to be that despite problems with move-in dates, leasing and storage, they are inevitable, and students must learn to cope.
"Somehow I have lived in a different place four years in a row," Cornell said. "Every summer I have to deal with it."
Above all, students just hope they can get through this strange time of moving problems for another year.
"Let's just pray that I can find a solution," Moloney said.
+