Oregon daily emerald., May 20, 2005, SECTION B, Page 8B, Image 20

■Haul
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Travis Roderick | Freelance photographer
U-Haul offers a wide array of trucks and supplies for moving, from trailers that barely handle a one-bedroom apartment to
multi-ton trucks that accomodate the bulk of an entire house.
BY NICHOLAS MANDELBERG
DAILY EMERALD FREELANCE REPORTER
s the last of the rainy season wanes
into the bloom of spring, the time
JL JL has almost come to sell textbooks,
wrap knick-knacks in paper and prepare
for the summer months. But before the
long days of sun bathing by the pool and
musing over barbecues commence, stu
dents need to address how they want to
move personal belongings.
There are several options ranging from
storing items in facilities to shipping them
home, but the battle is in finding the most
cost-efficient plan.
“Last year, my father drove from Port
land with a rental truck and then drove my
stuff back home, but 1 think it’s cheaper to
find some place to store it here in town ’til
next year,” sophomore Nikki Smith said.
Many rental apartments and houses
run on the same schedule as the Univer
sity but allow students the option to
move in during the summer. This can re
quire paying rent months in advance if
students go home for the summer, but
it leaves the option of having the safety
and space for storing their belongings
until fall.
Storage facilities are a cheaper alterna
tive, ranging from monthly payments of
$30 to $40 for 25 square feet to $120 for
200 square feet.
Students can also move their belongings
home for the summer. Rental truck com
panies offer assorted vehicle sizes for a
one-way move.
“It seems ludicrous to put all the
time, money and effort into moving
your stuff back home when you’re
going to have to bring it right back
again a couple of months down the
road,” said Nicholas Van Zante, a stu
dent at Lane Community College.
The price of moving north to Portland
or south to Ashland is between $70 and
$120 depending on the vehicle, whereas
moving to Bend or to the coast can run
students as much as $500. For out-of
state students, the Midwest or East Coast
could run as much as $2,000 for a one
way move. A word to the wise for stu
dents who choose to rent a vehicle: Re
member to book a vehicle in advance to
ensure there will be one available
on the proposed moving date.
Another option is shipping items
home. Many shipping companies
will ship items in bulk; however;
that can add up to as much as $600
for as little as five 30-pound boxes.
At four cubic feet per box, this may
not afford sufficient room for students’
personal effects.
With all the choices for what to do with
their stuff, it’s easy for students to find a
solution. But they often end up spending
more money than necessary. Whatever
students decide to do to make the transi
tion from this year to the next, they should
seek the safest and most affordable way to
transport their belongings.
Hunting f@-r Housemates
Getting along with roommates and housemates can be tricky;
finding the perfect person or people to share Hiring space with is essential
BY JON I I KIN
DAILY EMERALD FREELANCE REPORTER
ou can’t choose your family, but you
can choose your housemates. Sharing
X an apartment, duplex or house during
college can be a great way to save money and
make friends — or enemies.-Finding the right
people to live with is as crucial as finding the
right classes to take, but because they don’t
make course catalogs listing people, it’s
not that easy.
Noah Jack, a 21-year-old landscape architec
ture student, has shared houses for two years
with 10 housemates. In his experience, respect
is the most important element in a good house
mate dynamic.
“If roommates respect each other, then they
will understand each other’s imperfections
and not take things personally,” Jack said. “If
they don’t, then little issues can get blown up
really easily.”
Jack currently shares a house with four stu
dents. Some of his housemates are old friends
and some are former strangers who answered
ads. Jack said good communication is the main
reason they get along.
“My roommates and I don’t have regular
gripe sessions or chore charts, but when we
need to, we sit and talk about any issues we
have, and stuff gets taken care of,” Jack said.
Many University students choose to live with
good friends. But some shared-housing veter
ans say lifestyle issues can get in the way of
even the strongest friendships.
Environmental studies major Evan Smith, 21,
had an experience when good friends turned
out to be bad housemates.
“I moved into a place sophomore year with
my best friends,” Smith said. “It was great at
first, but after a while the partying started to
pile up, people weren’t paying bills on time and
everything was always a mess. I wound up get
ting stuck with a lot of the bills, and it strained
my friendships with my housemates.”
Smith recommends giving a lot of considera
tion to potential housemates’ living habits.
“I wish I had thought more about
the responsibilities of sharing a
place,” he said. “If I could go back
again, I would have tried to live with
responsible people rather than just
getting a place with my buddies.”
Other students find housemates
via classified ads in local newspapers,
on Web sites such as craigslist.org
and roommates.com, or on signs
posted on campus and around town.
International studies major Jude
Kirstein, 21, stresses the importance of inter
viewing potential housemates.
“The first thing I always ask is why a person
is leaving their current housing situation,” she
said. “That way I know if people got kicked out
of a house for being lazy or sloppy. ”
Kirstein shares a house where the landlord
reduces the rent in exchange for work trade.
Her housemates found the place by answering
a newspaper ad.
“I made sure to find people who are comfort
able doing chores and taking care of things
around the house, and it worked
out great,” she said.
In the past, Kirstein wasn’t so
lucky. A transfer student from the
Chicago area, she recalled a previ
ous living situation that was far
from ideal.
“I lived in an apartment with a
couple that seemed cool at first,
but they would fight with each
other and leave piles of dishes,”
she said. “It became unbearable.”
Kirstein recommends avoiding
living with a couple, no matter how stable
they seem.
“Every couple fights, and their housemates
have to deal with their drama,” Kirstein said. “If
a couple is ready to move in with each other,
they should get their own place anyway. ”
ONLINE
ROOMMATE
SEARCHES^
vwvw.craigslist.org
www.rent.com
www.eugeneweekly.com
www.roommates.com