Apartment Hunting: The 3 Basics Beforehand

The basics:

There's some basic things to get together before you start looking for an apartment. Here are 3 key ways to make yourself a great 

Credit

You should get a credit card, as long as you can manage your money. 

Folk will give you lots of conflicting advice about this. But if you are looking for an apartment, you are going to want at least 9 months of paying a credit card on time. 

Pay your credit card on time. Keep your charges low compared to your limit. 

References

Keep the contact information of your landlord. Name, address, period of living, email and phone. 

Future landlords will call previous landlords to make sure you pay your rent on time and don't cause problems. Give your landlord a heads up before giving out their contact information. They'll appreciate it and be able to be prepped with something nice to say about you.

Remember this when someone asks you to host a loud party on a Sunday night: will this party be worth losing a chance at your next fave apartment?

Keep contact information for your employment. If you are an undergraduate who has been employed since freshman year it really says something about your responsibility and commitment.

Find out if someone is willing to co sign with you. Usually parents take this sort of thing on, but anyone can. Basically, anyone who has a longer track record with credit or housing will do. It's a big thing to ask of someone so choose wisely!

For college students, I'd strongly suggest spending the last 9 months of your undergraduate life off campus, especially if you want to stay in the area. Having a reference can make a real difference and the gradient of your transition out of college's support network can be really helpful. 

Money

You're going to need at least two month's rent up front: for the deposit and for the first month rent. Don't expect a seamless transfer of your current deposit to your new place; have that amount on hand. 

If you're looking through a broker, you'll either need another half or another full month's rent. It's really expensive, I know. Depending on your area and moving time, broker's fee may be negotiable. For example, broker's fee for a Sept move in date is expected, so you may consider an August move in date without a fee since it will cost as much!

Also make sure you have money for the moving costs. That means the boxes, tape, renting a car/paying a mover. 

Life Lessons: Learning the hard way

See, as a kid I was always being told

Oh, you just have to learn the hard way, don't you? Hard headed chile!

And I think it's time I remember that. I really learn the hard way best.

Read more for learning the hard way.

The Hard Way

I've been dealing with some shit. Like really unfortunate and unpredictable situations.

• My laptop broke in the middle of the last week of classes; my cat accidentally attacked the battery of my back up laptop. 
• My apartment complex is not going to renew the lease I'm in with a friend; my friend, on short notice, decided not to live with me. 
• My advisor "suggested" I change to a different major and put a lot of pressure on me to make a choice quickly; the other major is borderline engineering so my engineering scholarship may not cover it. 
• My summer research-job decided to change the availability of paper samples for destructive techniques; my senior thesis is in nebulous without the paper samples. 

And I'm not going to lie: I was really angry about some of these things. I was upset about having all of these things change under my feet with no notice. I thought I was doing everything right, after all. I was doing my best, challenging myself and focused on improving those around me. I sat in my bed and cried. I raged, impotent, about my advisor, my life. I felt lied to, betrayed, treated unfairly. I thought to myself, "Why is this happening to me? Why isn't it ever easy?"

But the hard way was the only way. These problems weren't going away, no matter how I felt.

Lessons

Currently, I'm dealing with these hard things the hard way. Getting through these situations through brute force is my forte. A friend remarked that she was worried about me until she remembered something about me:

 You're very resourceful and sometimes I forget that. Somehow you always end up alright.

Some people have to learn from experience. Often the most difficult experiences teach us the most. All of these difficult situations came about because I've been challenging myself. It's only by falling that you gain faith in your ability to stand back up. Have faith in your ability to get back up! Fail forward, as it were.

I learned something out all of these things.

• Always have a back up laptop! And a back up charger!
• Always keep 'fuck you' money. Even when you think things are going on as they were, it's good to have the reassurance.
• Always question why someone is pressuring you. Whether it's an advisor or a realtor, taking a few seconds to think about a major commitment is necessary! and within your rights!
• Always remember your goals. Goals matter. The way you get to your goals can change, likely your path will change whether you like it or not.

And learning these lessons was so valuable!

Hard headed

What I've really found out about myself: Hard headed people are stubborn and don't feel bad about their bad situations. I challenged myself, broadening what was possible, and ended up with a bigger challenge than I was comfortable.

See, I can't feel bad about being in the difficult situations. Most of them were outside of my control. Maybe I could've mitigated them: I didn't have to move off campus. I didn't have to go to an out of state school. I didn't have to go to a school that would be so gosh darn difficult.

But I wouldn't want to undo those choices. Dorm life was draining me. Living off campus was fun and exciting. I love living in Cambridge, MA. Now I have a reference as a tenant that I wouldn't have. I learned how to pay rent on time, deal with maintenance, how it feels to be outside the support of a dorm, how to take on that responsibility and accountability. I learned how much I like city living, being able to go where I want to when I want to. I know what I want out a living situation and what I can handle.

I don't regret a minute of what I've done these past few months. I've done so much good for myself, growing and putting down roots. I've found strength in myself, a strength that I can rely on even when the going gets hard. I'm hard too and I don't break.

Oh no!

My laptop broke in the middle of finals and I thought I had posts queued from my iPad but apparently not.

I will be back to posting on Saturdays and Tuesdays in June!

Sorry about that! My laptop is fixed and things are slowly settling back down to normal.

Lovely Diary Calendar App

You can get the app here

This is a lovely diary and calendar application.

I adore the soft watercolor style of the calendar's illustrations. The app is quite straightforward but when first getting used to it there are many pleasant surprises to explore.


Of course, there is a month view, accessed by Diary from the home screen. Your to-do check list and diary entries show up on this calendar as little flowers. You can also change through month, week and day views. Each month has a different illustration.

January looks so snuggly!

You can write diary entries for each day, adding stickers and changing the background to suit your mood for the day. The journal allows you to take photos to keep. You can even record where you were with the map.

 

The Study Plan section lets you list studies in progress and add details to them. You can even check off these details.

 


My favorite thing has got to be the Monthly cash function. It is absolutely the best and easy to use money tracker. List your monthly income and common expenditures such as food, traffic, and shopping; the app displays your total.
The drawback is that you can't edit the names of your expenses.

It has many functions beyond just being a diary. I really love it!

It also has a time table which is great for students to keep track of their class schedule.

You can add things to your Checklists. These checklists can be sorted to different categories and given dates.

5 Good Things About Me

I really like simple affirmations! I don't know what it is about them, but I really enjoy the challenge of coming up with them and the immediacy of something so straightforward. One of my favorites is the "5 good things about me."

Read more for 5 good things about me. I hope that you too create a list of things you love about yourself.



1. I am learning to be a grown up!

So much has changed and progressed in my life. I'm working hard to be a grown up: paying taxes, living in an apartment, cooking for myself, taking care of insurance issues. It's a maze of complicated things but I'm learning to navigate it on my own. I'm slowly gaining confidence by dealing with these small situations on my own. I'm also forming attachments that can last a life time, in friendships and in work.

2. I work hard on what I love.

All of my hard work is going towards having work I enjoy in a home that I love. At last, I can say that! Certainly, it took a long time to identify a goal and figure out how to get there. Seeing the progress that I'm making towards that goal is rewarding. Being able to point to what I've achieved is really affirming for me. While my hard work doesn't always show up in grades, the work is paying off in connections and experience. That's valuable too!

3. I take care of myself.

I'm starting to take better care of my health. While I'm not looking forward to things like taking out my wisdom teeth or the air puff test they do at the optometrist, I'm starting to eat healthier and have regular appointments.

4. I stand by my values.

Slowly but surely, I'm working out what my values are and brining my life into alignment. It's a struggle for sure! But my number one value is safety. I want to keep myself safe and help others stay safe. While it might sound simple it's hard work in the daily to offer support to friends. Difficulty can be found in taking care of yourself too.

5. I am developing a sense of style.

I'm trying out new clothes and make up. Finally, I've stocked up a good collection of work clothes. I also have nice make up. Slowly, I'm building up a collection of jewelry.

Habits in review

Habits are an important part of maintaining your mental and physical health. While habits may often make you think of phrases like "stuck in a rut" or "mindless routine," habits can in fact be much more than that. Habits can be simple acts of maintenance or more complex commitments to personal interrogation. Keeping myself accountable with habits has made a big change in my life and I hope that you too can use them both to improve yourself and to catch yourself before you fall.

Here are a mix of my healthy habits, those that maintain and those that help me grow.

Maintenance

Most of my maintenance is daily. I've noticed that when I fail to take care of these tasks, things start to fall apart. Taking care of little things on a regular basis can mean that you have the good health to take care of bigger things. For example, in my old dorm, a lot of students didn't eat healthy. A few barely even ate at all! They could just never find the time. Because of this, colds and other types of sick would spread really easily. Those who were already weak from lack of eating would totally fall apart, with their health and their studies. Taking the half hour to sit down for a meal is better in the long run! It took me a while to learn how to take care of myself and to even go so far as take extra vitamin C right before a bug got big. Paying attention to my body and my needs on a regular basis: that's what maintenance is really about. These habits are about long term wisdom rather than short term results. 

• Get out of the apartment everyday
• Meditation
• Listen to my body
• Walk or exercise for 30 minutes daily
• Eat something when hungry
• Eat at least 1 healthy meal each day
• Journal daily
• Wake up and sleep at a regular time

Growth

Once you have yourself in good shape, doing your maintenance on a regular basis, you can move forward to growing! Growing for me is about making sure that my goals and day to day life are in alignment. This can mean things like having a brunch chat with an old friend: I make sure that I am maintaining a connection that I enjoy. I give back to them and help them while enjoying some yummy food. I also can, by talking with a good friend, find out more about myself and the world around me. This is a small act of growth. It becomes a habit to look for ways to grow

• Review: Does your work lead you towards your goals? Do you know where you are headed?
• Interrogate: Does this right now make you happy? These people, this place, this work?
• Respond: Do you take responsibility for what you control? Do you adapt?
• Relax: Do you feel rested? Recharged? 

Barometer

Habits can also serve as a barometer of how you're feeling. I can now catch myself when I'm just starting to get ill because I may really feel like going to bed a lot earlier or sleeping in. These sorts of barometer moments can be useful for catching problems before they escalate. For example, when I'm feeling tired in the morning, I may take extra care to eat well for the next few days with a focus on staying well. While it may not be efficient to form a habit just to catch a problem, sometimes these things are easily linked. More likely you'll just need time because those sorts of thing reveal themselves.

Good luck forming new habits!