Students and families unloading belongings from multiple U‑Haul trucks on a Boston residential street during fall move‑in day.

🍁 Welcome Fall in Boston: The Annual Chaos Returns

People loading furniture, boxes, and trash bags into large moving trucks on a Boston street during fall move‑in day. Every fall, Boston experiences its own version of the great Serengeti migration. The colleges open their arms, and the students return — thousands of them — charging back into the city like lemmings to the sea, U‑Hauls in tow and optimism overflowing.

Move‑in used to be a classic Labor Day ritual, but every year it creeps earlier and earlier. Still, Labor Day weekend remains the unofficial peak of Boston’s annual chaos.

Boston in the fall is a whole mood — crisp air, pumpkin‑spice everything, and the unmistakable sound of U‑Hauls grinding their way through streets that were never meant for U‑Hauls. Every college town has its back‑to‑school quirks, but Boston? Oh, Boston is a whole different beast.

We don’t just have colleges. We have COLLEGES. Plural. Many. A whole ecosystem of them.

And not nearly enough dorms.

Which means every September, the city transforms into a live‑action puzzle game called “Where Do We Put All These Students?”

🎒 The Great Migration: Students Return

Returning students? They’ve been through this rodeo. They know the drill. But the incoming freshmen… oh, bless their hearts.

They arrive bright‑eyed and buzzing with excitement — maybe with parents, maybe with brand‑new roommates who are just as clueless. Their U‑Haul is packed to the ceiling, their GPS is confidently lying to them, and they truly believe they’re ready.

Boston smiles kindly and says, “Sit down, kid. Your first lesson starts now.”

🚚 Tiny Streets, No Parking, and U‑Hauls Everywhere

Boston’s narrow streets don’t care how excited you are. Cars already line both sides, and a second row of U‑Hauls is trying to squeeze through like it’s a parade no one planned.

Your destination sits tantalizingly close, yet completely blocked off by the chaos. After circling the block more times than you’d like to admit, the clock is ticking and patience is gone. Eventually, desperation wins and you leave the truck right in the street, convinced you’ll unload “in just a minute.”

And just like that, you’ve entered the unofficial Boston loading zone. This is moving day. This is your initiation into city life.

🚫 And Then… Storrow Drive Claims Its First Victim

Meanwhile, somewhere across the city, another first‑timer has met their fate on Storrow Drive. U‑Haul truck wedged under a low-clearance bridge on Storrow Drive, blocking traffic during Boston’s fall move‑in season.

Every Bostonian knows the rule: You can’t get there from here. Especially not with a truck.

Storrow Drive’s low bridges are legendary. If you don’t check the height of your rental truck — and the height of those bridges — you’re about to become a cautionary tale.

U‑Haul with its roof peeled back like a sardine can after striking a low bridge in Boston. Two outcomes:

The Sardine Can Special: The roof peels back like you opened it with a key.
The Full Stop: You wedge yourself under the bridge and become the most unpopular person in Boston.

Traffic backs up. Police arrive. Your rental company prepares its “We’re not mad, just disappointed” speech.

But hey — silver lining! You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last. Someday you’ll tell this story at Thanksgiving, and everyone will laugh… except maybe your parents.

🐾 Welcome to Boston — Buckle Up

Your life just changed. You’re officially a Boston student now. And it’s going to be quite a ride from here.

Fall in Boston isn’t just a season. It’s an event. A spectacle. A yearly comedy show starring U‑Hauls, confused freshmen, and bridges that refuse to negotiate.

So don’t forget to pack a sense of humor. You’re going to need it on move‑in day.

Another truck stuck under a low Boston bridge, illustrating a classic Storrowing-style move‑in mishap.

Monday past was a beautiful day, not too hot, not too cold and not humid. The weather forecast for Tuesday was more “iffy” so I made the always difficult decision to go to Boston on Monday.

Boston is a great city. I used to love going in to spend the day. That was before the “Big Dig”. No matter where you live you’ve probably heard a lot about Boston’s Big Dig. It was supposed to make travel into Boston easier and quicker. After years of traffic delays while they worked on it, it is now finished and traffic is worse! The expressway never clears out. 1 1/2 hour drive before is now 3 hours. The MBTA is crowded and hot. Not a pleasant experience and not much faster.

After much deliberation I prepared to drive into Boston and pay the exorbitant parking fees ($40-$50 for the day depending on which garage wasn’t full) but as I neared RT 128 I turned on the WBZ traffic on the 3’s and learned that even at 10:30 am the expressway was still tied up. The residual backup was all the way back onto RT 128. So change of plans, I went to Quincy Adams station on the Redline and took the “T” in.

To get to my destination, Aquarium station, I rode the Red line to Park St. where I changed to the green line to get to Government Center Station where I changed to the Blue Line to get to the Aquarium stop. Arrival time…1pm. 2 hours from parking at 11am to arrival at 1pm.

I had a combo ticket for a whale watch at 2pm and admission to the aquarium. I had to dash into the Aquarium where I had 1/2 hour before boarding.

I grabbed a hot dog as I ran out the doors to get in line to board the catamaran.

That was an expensive 30 minute visit to the Aquarium. I won’t do that again.

They crammed a lot of people onto the boat. There was minimal seating outside. Most seating was inside so everyone tended to line the railings. A family with very active children offered me a seat. The mother said “you might as well take it, they will never sit still.” That gives you some idea of the atmosphere. 🙂

As we left Boston Harbor we passed Boston Light, with a glimpse of Graves Light beyond it.

Then came Minot Ledge light.

We also saw the Nantucket Light Ship.

We were on our way to Stellwagon bank, an underwater ledge that is a prime feeding ground for humpback whales. The southern end of the banks is near Provincetown on Cape Cod. That was where we went with Captain John’s Whale Watch and saw the fin backs.

I’m hoping since the New England Aquarium Whale Watch stresses the humpback whales that we’ll actually see some this time. If we do, I wonder if I’ll get close enough to the rail to get any pictures. In the meantime I will enjoy the boat ride.