Most people have figured out where they’re living next year by now, but here are some tips for those who are still on the hunt.
There are a lot of things that are stressful about finding an apartment in Evanston. First of all, you have to start two and a half seasons before you will be living there. I don’t even know what I’m wearing today, much less where I want to live in 6 months. Secondly, there’s the location question. Do you live south, north, in Evanston, far west of campus? So many options! Then there’s the money. Evanston living is not inexpensive. So now that I have you completely stress out at the idea of apartment hunting for the 2011 school year, I can give you a few tips for keeping your apartment hunting streamlined and simple.
1. Talk to the people you will be living with.
Being on the same page with the people who you will be sharing your apartment with is probably the most important thing. You guys need to agree on the price, size, location and expectations you have for your apartment. So talk about all of these things before you even start looking for places. With everyone all in agreement, the search will be quicker and easier, and probably more fun as well!
2. Be honest about what you are willing to do.
You are going to be living in your apartment for at least one full school year. You should make sure you can be okay with whatever arrangements are made. If you don’t want to have a roommate, don’t agree to have a roommate. If you know you are done with dorm rooms and ready to have a lot of your own space, don’t say you’re okay with taking a converted closet room. You should also make sure that price stays within your range. It’s easy to say that you’re okay paying a little bit of extra to live in a nice apartment, but don’t let the excitement of a great place put you in an uncomfortable position.
3. Use your connections.
Remember that senior living in that great apartment? Talk directly to them! Make sure they are moving out, and swoop in before others start looking into it. It makes the situation far less stressful, but also gets your apartment search done with a great apartment set up long before everybody else realized that they’re months behind in the hunt.
4. Check out your options.
Look around for a lot of apartments and look through a lot of apartments. You should definitely go see every one that you are considering because you need to know that it’s a place you could call home. The search for a place to live can be long and stressful, but blindly picking where you will live for a year could leave a lot to be desired.
5. Fall in love with your apartment, and act fast.
When you know you’ve found your apartment, don’t hesitate to snatch it up! The company will keep showing that same apartment to a million more NU students who will probably love it just as much as you do. This is a competition, and you don’t want to lose!
The bottom line is to enjoy where you live and stay as stress free as possible in the process!