WashU Move-In Tips: What Nobody Tells You About Moving Off-Campus

Turn on your electricity before you arrive

Electricity around WashU runs through Ameren Missouri, and it does not switch on just because you signed a lease. If your name is on the utilities and you never set up an account, you can walk into your unit with no power.

I learned this hauling boxes up to my sister's place in August. No AC, no working outlets, no light, in 100-degree St. Louis heat. It is exactly as bad as it sounds.

Set up your Ameren account at least three business days before move-in, online or by phone.

Set up your gas too, it is a separate bill

Gas is a different utility from electric. If your heat, hot water, or stove runs on gas, that runs through Spire, not Ameren. No Spire account means no hot showers your first week.

Spire likes about a week of notice. While you are at it, read your lease and confirm exactly which utilities are yours — it varies building to building.

Order your WiFi install now, not move-in week

If internet is not included in your lease, you may not get to pick your provider depending on what is already wired into the building. The two that cover most of the WashU area are AT&T Fiber and Spectrum.

A lot of setups need a technician to come out, and those appointments book up weeks ahead during move-in season. Call early. If your provider offers a self-install kit, grab that instead and skip the wait.

Ship your essentials ahead instead of waiting in the Target line

Move-in week, the Target by WashU turns into a zoo. The things everyone needs at once — command strips, storage bins, shower caddies, basic kitchen gear — sell out fast.

Order it from Amazon ahead of time and ship it to where you will be. Send it to the hotel your family is staying at, straight to your apartment, or to campus. It saves you a full day of shopping. This seems obvious, but almost nobody does it.

Buy renters insurance before you sign

Many off-campus leases require renters insurance, and the ones that do usually want proof before they hand over your keys. Your landlord's policy covers the building, not your stuff.

It is cheap — usually ten to twenty dollars a month — and takes about ten minutes to set up. If you are a grad student, you are probably past the age where your parents' home insurance covers you, so this is likely the only thing standing between you and replacing everything out of pocket.

Document the unit IMMEDIATELY

Before you move anything in, walk the whole unit with your phone and take photos and videos of every room. Get the scuffs, the stains, the chipped counter, the carpet, the appliances. Timestamp it, and send it to your landlord that same day.

Damage that was there before you arrived becomes your problem at move-out unless you can prove it was not you. That is how students lose their security deposits and get hit with repair bills they never earned. Ten minutes of filming is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy.

Have your keys and access figured out before you arrive

Sort the logistics: who hands you the keys, what time, and who you call if something goes wrong after hours. Ask about any fobs, gate codes, or door codes. Showing up after the leasing office has closed with no way in is a rough way to start.

Pack a first-night box you don't have to dig for

Nobody wants to spend that first night tearing open boxes at 11pm hunting for your toothbrush. Pack one box or bag with the first-night essentials and keep it on you — not buried in your luggage or moving boxes.

Set up mail forwarding and lock down where packages land

Set up USPS mail forwarding from your old address, and update your address with your bank, Amazon, and the school. Then figure out where your packages actually go. A package room or locker is great — "left at the front door" of a busy building means your stuff is a target.

Sort roommate bills before the first one hits

If you have roommates, get ahead of two things: who brings what (so you do not end up with three microwaves and no vacuum), and whose name the shared utilities go under and how you split the bills.