Everyone knows that your first time living out of the dorms in college is an incredible experience. You have more freedom and aren’t stuck in a shoebox of a room. However, with that increased independence comes a headache of responsibility. Here are some common struggles that students face when moving into their first true college apartment.
1. The lighting: You and your squad are all looking hot as ever, and there’s just no good selfie lighting in your apartment of fluorescent light bulbs except for that one spot that is the least convenient. Bathroom selfies anyone?
2. The parking: All apartment complexes have the worst parking lots. One way in, one way out; or one way in AND out. No one stays in their assigned parking and, as I am typing this, a car is getting towed. Still saving up for that moped.
3. The water: When management emails you to let you know the water will be turned off in 10 minutes and says, “Prepare in advance.” PREPARE IN ADVANCE!? I have to pee and shower and wash dishes and I have to do all that in 10 minutes? Also, a PSA to all those planning on getting a fish: Ann Arbor’s water is poison to fish, get a water conditioner. RIP Mark.
4. The cable: There’s nothing worse than when you and your roommates pile on the couch Wednesday night to watch American Horror Story 6 and “No Video Signal” is the scariest thing on the screen. I just want to see Evan Peters.
5. The walls: Getting up at 4 am to pee and falling down the stairs is not fun. Waking up to a hole in your wall: even less fun. And trying to move a table for your first pregame will result in another hole. And remember these thin walls when you bring someone home… we can hear you ….
6. The air-conditioning: Now if your apartment advertises “in-unit air conditioning,” make sure it’s in every room. A two-bedroom apartment with an AC in only one room doesn’t quite cut it. And a side note: if all your roommates mysteriously get sick, it may not be the Michigan plague but the mold festering in your AC. This writer learned the hard way.
7. The Wifi: The wifi will absolutely suck at first. You will buy the wrong modem router or whatever and the people at Best Buy will take your money. Then you will go home to set up your new router and nothing will work. Hundreds of dollars in data overage later, you will find out that the Internet for your apartment was never turned on. A month later and you’re ready to start that biology quiz that was due last week.
All these things aside, it is your first apartment and your first place that is truly yours (and your roommates) so enjoy it! Lastly: Remember to lock the door!
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