Apartment Hunting

5 Houseplants That Will Give Your City Apartment a Hint of Nature

October 7, 2010 By TheGuestBlogger 3 Comments

Anyone who has traded in evergreens for skyscrapers and fall foliage for subways knows that the urban jungle doesn’t quite hack it when it comes to real nature. And while city life has it perks – coffee shops on every corner, ethnic food, public transportation – there is a part of everyone’s soul that craves rolling hills and fresh air.

A rooftop garden would be a good substitution to a National Forest, but you and I both know that something like this

*Image courtesy of Thomas Milne (via Flickr)*

is not always in the budget.

However, creating an indoor jungle inside an urban jungle is easy – and best of all, green thumbs are not a pre-requisite. There are plenty of leafy greens that live year-round, thrive in low lighting, and are next to impossible to kill. Even better news: there are a handful of potted plants that go a long way in purifying the air from car exhaust and industrial smog (I’m looking at you Los Angeles) so your home can become a haven of good health.

It doesn’t matter if your next apartment for rent is in downtown Cincinnati. Bring nature to you.
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Is an Awesome Apartment Worth Giving Up Your Closet?

October 5, 2010 By TheGuestBlogger 1 Comment

So you’ve found it: that perfect pre-war/loft/converted-warehouse/fill-in-the-blank that you’ve coveted since your first viewing of Flashdance. Sure, it might be pricey, and don’t even get me started on the water pressure, but it’s your dream home, right?

Many of us can adapt to creaky floors and five stories with no elevator in the name of apartment paradise, but any girl (and those guys who own more than one suit) will balk when they discover that their casa is closet-less. Sorry folks, but turn-of-the-century smelters did not have as much need as you do for a spacious walk-in.

So what do? Turn down the perfect pad out of duty to your shoe collection? Or get creative and enter a realm of never-before-experienced hipsterdom? I’ll be you can guess which one I vote for.

Closet Alternatives

Open Closets

Open closets are great when you have gorgeous clothes you guests can croon over.

*Colorful clothes are pieces of art. Image courtesy apartmenttherapy.com*

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Living the Hip Life on a $1,200 Budget

October 1, 2010 By TheGuestBlogger 3 Comments

You have $1,200 in your pocket and a messenger bag on your back. What is that going to get you? Well, it depends on which neighborhood you plan on parking your fixie in. Take a look at these hipster hotspots around the country and figure out which one is right for you.

$1,200 Apartments for Rent in All Sorts of Cool Cities

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York

$1,200 can get ya: Studio apartment, maybe a one bedroom, definitely a few blocks from the heart of hipsterdom. 450 – 700 square feet. If you’re lucky you’ll be near a subway stop, but don’t count on it. Let’s face it: you probably are in Bushwick – which isn’t so bad – but you still say “Williamsburg.”

*It's factory-chic. Images courtesy of apartmenttherapy.com and craigslist.com*

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Who to Notify When You Move (and How)

September 29, 2010 By TheGuestBlogger Leave a Comment

It has happened in every apartment for rent I have ever moved in to. You skip down the steps to greet the post man on your first day, all excited to see what sort of letters and post cards you’ve been sent. Low and behold your mailbox is full – heaping even!

The problem: none of it’s for you. It’s all the past tenants’ mail, going back for years upon years upon years. Some are kind of fun (free National Geographic!), some are horrendous (Life Insurance-R-Us!), all of it is a waste. The worst part: chances are you’re part of the cycle.

In the process of moving, we always forget to notify someone of our departure – traditionally that’s just the way it is. This checklist is designed to help everyone succeed with a No Mail Left Behind move.

A Mover’s Notification Checklist

Thing to Cancel then Renew at Your New Place

There are things you need to cancel when you move out. Chances are a land lord will have a role in some of these processes, but make sure you double check for yourself. The last thing you want is your name on someone else’s bill.

Utilities

Electricity
Gas
Water
Internet
Trash
Cable

Personal Accounts

Lawn service
Local club memberships
Local newspaper subscription

Things to Transfer

Other things you will want (or need) to keep around: prescriptions, your subscription to The New Yorker, your tax return. Each item will probably have its own process for updating your contact information and mailing address, but hopefully most of it can be done online.

Pharmacy prescriptions
Magazines subscriptions
National newspaper subscriptions
Netflix
Alumni/ae literature
Bank statements
Credit card statements
Tax stuff
Social Security information
Immigration status
DMV
Voter registration

Useful Resources

Official Change of Address Form: let the USPS know you’re new address over the internet

IRS Change of Address Form: that way your tax returns know where to go. You can print out this PDF and mail it in. Directions are on page two of the form.

Social Security Change of Address Form: This one is especially important if you are receiving disability, retirement or survivors benefits.

U.S. Customs and Immigration Change of Address Form: Most non-U.S. citizens need to report their change in address within 10 days of moving. You can do it either online or by mail.

Drivers License Change of Address Form: Each state has different rules and processes. Here they are.

Voter Registration: Again, each state is different. Learn about them here.

Cheapest Method to Move

September 15, 2010 By TheGuestBlogger Leave a Comment

When it’s time to move your stuff across the country, what’s the cheapest way to do it? Do you pay a moving company or rent a moving truck? What about moving pods? There are tons of options to get you and your things from point A to point B, and PadMapper is here to help.

Using a hypothetical moving situation, I set out to find how much it would cost to move one person’s studio apartment (1,000 lbs. of stuff) from Seattle to New York City. The imaginary apartment for rent is on the third floor and the total trip is rounded off at 3,300 miles.

Before you move into your new apartment, check out our list of the cheapest and easiest ways to move across the country.

The Moving Company

There are a million moving companies on the internet, and you’ll get a dirty vibe from just about all of them. First of all, finding a quote is impossible without divulging your phone number and email address. Thinking nothing of it, I submitted my information to a moving company resource provider and within five minutes my email was bombarded with six different solicitors asking about my moving situation. They’re ruthlessly invasive and they’re notorious for moving scams, but when they do their job, they’re a necessary evil.

The average moving company charges roughly 74 cents per pound and a per-mile fee that varies from company to company. A sneaky additional moving fee of roughly $100 per flight of stairs to move anything above the first two flights can sometimes catch you by surprise.

Total estimate: $2500.

Rental Truck

If you plan to move it yourself, using a rental truck service is the best way to travel with your stuff every step of the way. One problem: you have to travel with all of your stuff throughout the entire trip in someone else’s truck.

Most companies designate the 10’ truck as the “apartment mover.” The average truck this size has roughly the following dimensions:

Volume: 400 cu. ft.
Max load: 2,800 lbs.
Gross weight: 8,600 lbs.
Empty weight: 5,700 lbs.
8 – 11 MPG on Unleaded fuel

Including up to a 10 day rental and use for 3,300 miles, a rental truck will roughly cost $1,100, plus the $750 cost for fuel.

Total estimate: $1850.

Moving Pods

Moving POD companies will bring a large moving container ranging in size from 8’x7’x7’ (size of a large walk-in closet) to 8’x8’x12’ (size of three to four bedrooms) and generally charge a flat moving fee without the hidden costs of gas and extra mileage. However, since pods are typically moved using 18-wheelers, you may have to pay an extra fee to get your pod onto a smaller truck and into the city.

One other benefit of moving pods is that you can stagger the delivery of the moving pods to allow you more time to load or unload your belongings, which might also result in a storage fee.

Total estimate: Brand name POD services will cost roughly $4,000 and non-branded POD services run $3,000.

Other Moving Options

One option many movers are overlooking is the ability to ship via Amtrak. Shipping your boxes through this national train service will cost roughly $67.00 for the first 100 lbs. and an additional $.57 for each additional pound. The only downside of shipping through Amtrak is that they’re unable to ship furniture or electronics. While this is a limited option, shipping by Amtrak is a great solution for many who are driving to their destination and plan on purchasing apartment furnishings when they get there.

Total estimate: $580.

7 Tips for Moving to a New City Sight Unseen

September 13, 2010 By TheGuestBlogger Leave a Comment

Finding an apartment for rent in a new city sounds like my worst nightmare. You don’t know the neighborhoods, you don’t know what commuting is like, you just know there is a better place that is cheaper and bigger and full of stainless steel!

This is an anxiety I cannot bear.

That is until I discovered an even worse mover’s fate: finding an apartment for rent in a new city… without actually being there. This, I have decided, is virtually impossible. The one time I had to try it I failed miserably and resorted to living in the vacant room of a friend of a friend’s brother’s friend’s house – “signing the dotted line” without being there in person was a hurdle the landlord and I could not overcome.

In this summer alone I have had two friends move from Seattle to NYC and Austin sight unseen. They too failed in finding a residence over the phone, and either stayed in the basement of an uncle until they found a place (in Brooklyn), or ended up being saved by the grace of a friend whose German boyfriend’s VISA was denied and therefore had a vacant room (in Austin).

For those of us who are not employed by high-powered companies that do all the leg work in a cross-country move and know no one on the other side: some tips so you can find the perfect pad.

Use PadMapper

That’s a shameless plug. But it is also true. Sure, Craigslist is one of the best sources to finding apartments for rent, but if you don’t know MCB from WYN, or that those are even areas around Detroit, you’re out of luck. By putting those places on a map, you can figure out which neighborhoods or suburbs work for you and your life.

Do some research

Get to know the city you’re moving to before you move there. Does that city have a blog that is updated? What about a specific neighborhood? Read up on Wikipedia or do a little Google-ing. If you’re moving for grad school or a new job, ask alumni or future coworkers their opinions on the best places to live.

Likewise, check out the reviews of apartment complexes and landlords if they are available. There are always going to be both pros and cons based on user experiences, but you can feel out the vibe of a place from what the people who have lived there have to say.

Skype it up!

When you inquire about rooms for rent, don’t limit yourself to just phone calls. Offer to meet over Skype or a video chat so you can a) show off your good looks and great personality and b) get a mini tour of the place to see if it’s to your liking.

Get a second opinion

Have a relative who lives nearby? Friend? Mere acquaintance? If at all possible, try to get someone over there to check out the property and meet any roommates and landlords. In pictures all may look dandy, but an impartial third party will be able to sniff out low water pressure and roach problems.

Don’t send money

They want first month’s rent to hold the place? Forget about it. Just don’t. Can you spell scam?

Try subletting first

Don’t lock yourself into a one-year lease if you don’t have to. Check out rooms for rent, or look under sublets for one or two month commitments that will let you get a feel for a new city and all it quirks. You can live out of your boxes and sleep on the floor for a little while before your set up your new life in a long term locale.

Bring a tent

If all else fails, and the weather is nice, you can camp.

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