6 Things You Need In Your Apartment That You Didn't Need In The Dorms

By Allie Mitchell on July 31, 2016

Moving from the dorms to an apartment is a big step in someone’s life. It can be a nerve-wracking decision to make, but it is quite possibly one of the main defining moments when it comes to adulthood.

Having your own apartment makes you more responsible and much more reliant on yourself and not so much on your parents and others. You have no one to answer to but you, and if you make a mess or have a situation, it is your main responsibility to fix it.

The dorms can be a spoiling time in your college life though; the dorms tend to make you feel more comfortable since you don’t have to consider bills and other things. Living on campus is still a luxury nonetheless since your distance from campus is not far, but one day everyone (well, mostly everyone) will make the decision to leave and be on their own.

The transition can be hard, though. You are so used to one thing and then are hit with a whole new set of issues and problems that you think you are prepared for when you are really not.

This article is meant to help you understand some of the different things that you will need for your new apartment that you didn’t need in your dorm room. Shopping for an apartment is much different than a dorm, seeing as dorms are usually fully furnished and apartments, depending on which ones you live in, are not. You have to be much smarter when it comes to your own apartment and budget yourself.

You will have to remember that you don’t have your college backing you up anymore once you go out on your own.

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Here are some things that you might want to keep in mind when moving into your new apartment.

1. Seating: It’s time to buy or rent a couch of some kind or take someone’s old couch. Fun thing about dorms is that usually they have a lounge chair or a large couch already set up for you to make the living room, I guess, feel a little bit like home.

In apartments, most likely, you will have a blank slate to work with. You don’t have to get all fancy for your first apartment, but getting a regular old couch will do. You want you and your guests to be comfortable in your living room. You know you are on a budget though, so just spend wisely; you don’t need a fancy brand name couch.

2. Shelves: Dorms usually provide some sort of shelving here and there, not a lot, but it just depends on where you stay. This time around, in your apartment, you may want to invest in some shelving units. Everything will feel and look more organized that way. Everything will have a place and you won’t feel so scattered. Shelves also help to give anything on the floor that needs to be put up a place to call home.

3. Television: Okay this isn’t a necessity, but it isn’t needed either in a dorm. Nowadays everyone just uses Netflix or Hulu. Actually what I should have written was internet/router. In most, if not all, dorms they usually have some sort of internet set up already. Most likely it is really crappy and no one wants to use it, but it’s there.

However, in apartments, you will have to pay for internet service. So if you are one of those strictly Netflix type of people then you will have to consider this.

4. Printer: Seems pretty simple right? Well in college most people didn’t splurge on a printer because they could just go right down to the library and do the job.

I personally had a printer, but that’s because of course printing costs money in the library. When you have your own apartment getting a printer may not be the worst idea. Especially if you are still in college.

5. Coffee table: This is just another essential living room item. If it is just you in the apartment, you may not have to spend money on getting a kitchen table and all that. You can just get a coffee table and eat by yourself on that. Hopefully you have that internet set up so you can just kick back on that couch that I suggested you buy and relax. This will also make your apartment feel a little more homey.

6. Bonus: candles: If you are a person who likes scents and such, you should invest in some candles. Most dorms, like the ones I lived in, don’t allow you to light candles or incense. Now you can, of course depending on your building’s rules.

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Apartment living can help you figure out if you are ready for the real world and what you need to work on yourself. It can be a rough time, with bills and things, but it can also be an exciting time of adventure and free-living.

Be prepared for the drastic difference between dorm living and apartments, my friend.

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