OT Apartment Living

[kaylalalaxo]

I'm not sure if theres a thread already on this topic, besides the roommate rants lol, but I am thinking about getting my own apartment soon (I'm almost 21). Right now I'm living with my dad and step mom, and while its free rent, I'm absolutely miserable here. My dad gives me mostly free range to do whatever and I don't have a curfew (which I shoudn't) but I've been getting some snide remarks from my step mom to clean up and do chores (which I do every week) and I can't talk to my dad about it because he'll back her up, and my dad and I dont have a good relationship at all..im so over living here. I've called my mom to talk about moving out and when she comes into town in a couple of weeks we're going to meet with a school advisor and see what my chances are of getting into the nursing schools in the DFW area and then she said we'll talk.

I'm a server at a restaurant so my money isn't "set" like a normal job would be (paychecks and all) but my mom is willing to help with rent and utilities because she knows I can't afford everything on my own right now plus my insurance and food and gas, which I'm very thankful for.

Anyways, (sorry for the rant lol) I just need some input on apartment life and the realistic side of things.


ETA: I'll be living alone so no roommate drama!

 

[EricaElite]

If you don't have roommates, you'll hate if you have roommates later lol. And when looking, think about what floor you'd be on and how close you can park to your apartment. I had an apartment on the top floor, and while the vaulted ceilings were nice, carrying groceries up were a pain, as well as carrying furniture up there when I moved in.
Since you said something about schooling, look at the roads you'll be taking to and from school. My first apartment was down a very busy road along with all the other student apartments so traffic was a nightmare. My second apartment was on a different side of the school and it was the only apartment complex nearby so there was no traffic to and from school.
And when you see your advisor, see what scholarships you can apply for. They can tell you about ones the school offers, and there's tons of websites online that show all types of scholarships.

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[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

I was an apartment dweller all through college:

1. Top floors! No one above you to make noise.

2. Ask if water is included or separate. 2 of mine had water included.

3. Look at the traffic patterns AND at the times you'll be coming and going. Ex: 5 min away seems great until you need to make that turn from the parking lot onto the busy road and can't get out for 10 min. At 5 PM.

4. Know if it's the "party complex." Party complex seems SUPER FUN until you have a final, need to sleep after pulling a nearly all nighter and the boys upstairs are blasting NWA at 3 AM.
.

 

[laughAlittle]

for looking for apts: (random information)
make sure you find out their maintenance policies
look up as many reviews on the leaser and building online as possible.
check internet signals in building.
CHECK PHONE signal and if you can make calls.

living on your own is amazing though, especially at 21. Just make sure you will be able to have the money and know what financial situation you will putting yourself into. wish you luck!

 

[cheerKT]

Living on your own is great, but you'd be surprised how much money you can save with a roommate. I'm 23 and out of school and still living with a roommate because I can't afford to be on my own right now. And the above poster is right, if you live alone right now it's going to render you almost unable to live with a roommate later since you're used to having your own space all the time.

Also with living alone you need to factor in utilities. Sure maybe you can stretch it and make rent every month, but you're not going to be splitting water, electric, cable, internet or any other fees you get. (Most of these will charge startup fees as well, not to mention the usual 2 months rent required up front to move in most places)

I'm not saying all this to scare you, just something to think about. Living alone is ideal, but it comes with a price tag.

 

[Angelica]

I live by myself in my first apartment in dallas now since August. But I have Ladykatz and CA people over all the time, plus I work and go to school full time so I'm really only there at night. I did the dorm thing in college for 2 years and so I needed space so that's why I wanted my own apartment.

I have a budget and have to stick to it. You can do it!

 

[omgitssydthekid]

I moved into my first apartment the day before my 20th birthday and I absolutely love it! I have two roommates who I go to school with, but I wasn't good friends with them before we all moved in. It makes it so much cheaper to be able to split the rent, utilities, and internet. We decided not to get cable because we don't watch enough tv to make it worthwhile. We also buy all of our groceries separately, besides milk and basic stuff and we take turns buying those things.


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[cheerKT]

Acquaintances that you aren't super close with make the best roommates, in my opinion! When you know someone too well you are likely to get annoyed by their every move. My best friend and I were inseparable until we became roommates our freshman year. It took us until around senior year to repair the friendship and now we are fine again.

My advice would be to put the word out that you're looking for a roommate (if you decide to go that route) and you'd be surprised how many friends are in the same boat.

 

[CheerKatie08]

Some things you may not have thought about before. Basically my laundry list of why I love my apartment/ why I can't wait to move out in 2 weeks:

1.) Airports. Live close to one if you travel a lot, live far away from one if you don't want to hear planes flying above your house at like, 4 AM.
2.) Train tracks. Sometimes they'll block your commute to school & are really freaking loud at night.
3.) Try to live close to a 24 hour Walgreens/ CVS. Both my roommate & I have gotten middle of the night visits from food poisoning, our "time of the month", or our phone chargers have stopped working right before bed. Living 2 blocks from one is a gamechanger. Not all are 24 hours, so keep that in mind.
4.) Check the instagram location of the building you're trying to live in. During a daytime showing, it'll be quiet wherever you go. Instagram gives you a good idea of how loud it may be at night.
5.) Parking. Make sure you're close enough where it won't be a pain to carry groceries. Also, since you're a 21 year old female, steer clear of parking garages unless they are very secured!
6.) IN UNIT WASHER/DRYER. If you do nothing else, do this. Don't mess around with the coin operated stuff in a basement of a building. Carrying a laundry basket down a hall along with all of your detergent is not fun. It's also not fun wondering who can see your underwear.
7.) Check their animal/smoking policy. Try to live somewhere with no pets/smoking. Even if you don't personally do either, the smell of animal and smoke will linger onto your stuff.

Good luck with everything! Can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[kaylalalaxo]

Some things you may not have thought about before. Basically my laundry list of why I love my apartment/ why I can't wait to move out in 2 weeks:

1.) Airports. Live close to one if you travel a lot, live far away from one if you don't want to hear planes flying above your house at like, 4 AM.
2.) Train tracks. Sometimes they'll block your commute to school & are really freaking loud at night.
3.) Try to live close to a 24 hour Walgreens/ CVS. Both my roommate & I have gotten middle of the night visits from food poisoning, our "time of the month", or our phone chargers have stopped working right before bed. Living 2 blocks from one is a gamechanger. Not all are 24 hours, so keep that in mind.
4.) Check the instagram location of the building you're trying to live in. During a daytime showing, it'll be quiet wherever you go. Instagram gives you a good idea of how loud it may be at night.
5.) Parking. Make sure you're close enough where it won't be a pain to carry groceries. Also, since you're a 21 year old female, steer clear of parking garages unless they are very secured!
6.) IN UNIT WASHER/DRYER. If you do nothing else, do this. Don't mess around with the coin operated stuff in a basement of a building. Carrying a laundry basket down a hall along with all of your detergent is not fun. It's also not fun wondering who can see your underwear.
7.) Check their animal/smoking policy. Try to live somewhere with no pets/smoking. Even if you don't personally do either, the smell of animal and smoke will linger onto your stuff.

Good luck with everything! Can't wait to hear all about it!

Thank you so much!! Really good list

 

[Angelica]

Big thing I was thankful for this year was that I lived by target, a hospital, gas station, walmart & Walgreens during the ice storm in dallas.

You never know about this tx weather sometimes!

 

[kaylalalaxo]

Big thing I was thankful for this year was that I lived by target, a hospital, gas station, walmart & Walgreens during the ice storm in dallas.

You never know about this tx weather sometimes!

Omg so trueee. This weathers got me sick with the rain one day and sunshine the next...make up your mind Texas!

 

[InfinitiElite]

Speaking of the weather....you will want to look into who takes care of the grounds. One of my apartments the landlord had someone come by and plow and shovel and all that, and another didn't. It was something I didn't think about until there was snow on the ground and I had to be at work in 20 minutes. Its the same with cutting the grass and routine maintenance. If you are in a building or condo complex, they will probably have that taken care of. But if you are renting from a private person, they may not. Also, find out about garbage. Do you have to bring it to a dumpster? Where is it? While you don't want it right outside of your door, you don't want it a block away.

All of the other advice is awesome also! My first apartment was beautiful, the top floor of a renovated barn. Beautiful vaulted ceilings with exposed beams. But my parking was by the second floor- and I was on the third, and my entrance was on the other side of the building. Not fun for groceries.

Speaking of groceries! Take some time to think about if you are going to be cooking that much. If you enjoy cooking (I didn't till I moved out) and may want to have people over for dinner and such, look at the size of the oven/stove. I looked at some apartments that had a small stove and you couldn't get a normal bake pan in it. You also want to keep in mind storage- you may think that you don't have that much stuff since you live in one bedroom now, but it accumulates. Quick. And once your out, your parents may find all you stuff from when you where a kid and drop it off at your apartment randomly one day cause they want their attic back. You don't want your baby blanket on your couch when your friends come over.

Overall, don't settle. Don't just get any apartment because you want to move out. Take some time and look at what is around, think about what you are willing to sacrifice and what are deal breakers. It may get frustrating at times, but once you are in an apartment you love it will be worth it. I moved out at 18, and never regretted a second of it. Times get hard, you learn how to budget quick, but I feel like I learned many life lessons earlier then most of my friends because I lived on my own years before they did. Good Luck!!