5 Common Apartment Misconceptions

By Ian Acosta on October 19, 2016

You are about to move into your first apartment as a college student. Finally, free from dorm living, nosy RA’s, and stale, repetitive dining hall food. Living in an apartment will be the best experience ever, right?

Well, depends on who you ask. Some enjoy and love the increased independence while others dread having to do the daily responsibilities that come with apartment living. Here are five expectations you might have about apartment living and how true they really are.

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1. Cooking vs. eating out

A big question mark for students is the topic of their meals. Free from the dining hall, most will be very excited to make their own meals and not be subject to the same bland meals they once ate.

However, it is a process. First, you must go grocery shopping and methodically pick out all of your groceries while calculating how long they must last before you shop again. Second, figuring out the cost and quality of the ingredients you choose to purchase. Third is the topic of figuring out a way just to get to the store. For those without a car or readily accessible transportation this is a hassle in and of itself. Last is making sure your apartment can hold all of the groceries you intend to buy!

What does this process require a lot of? Time. What does a college student say they never have enough of? Time.

This is why many college students prefer the costlier but more time efficient method of eating out. Figuring out what works best for you as you live in your new apartment the first month or two will be a good indicator of how you choose to have your meals.

2. Loud weekends

The weekend on any college campus is without a doubt one of the liveliest atmospheres there can be. Tailgating, parties, and going to bars can mean a lot of fun and also a lot of noise if you live in an apartment near a campus hotspot.

For those who just want to relax in their apartment, this means they cannot enjoy their weekend in peace, right? Maybe. To find out if you will be disrupted by noise in your potential new apartment, some research is needed. Ask your friends and classmates if they know anyone who lived or currently lives in an apartment you have your eye on to get some intel on if they experienced the fears you are worrying about. Talk to the leasing company also to get their word and if they can provide other testimonials of past residents.

3. Pricier than dorms

Now you might think that because you are not living in the dorms anymore that apartments will break the bank and put a choke hold on your savings. The truth of the matter is that you might end up actually saving money. This will no doubt vary from campus to campus and person to person but I can say from personal experience that after I moved out from the dorms into an apartment I ended up saving close to $5,000 in total from one year to the next.

Take a closer look into how much of your tuition is put toward housing and what goes into each category. For example, a meal plan came out to around $5,000 to $5,500, or about $12 a meal. Now I am sure we all love to eat but how often do we really spend $12 on every meal?

Do some number crunching and see how much you will really end up saving moving from dorm life to apartment life.

4. Difficulty meeting neighbors

Now that you are all settled into your brand new place, you might think you will be stuck with just your roommates or that your neighbors will want nothing to do with you. Go ahead and crush that stigma by taking the initiative and greeting your neighbors as soon as you move in. Nothing like giving a warm welcome to the people you will be spending a majority of the next year living next to, right?

By getting to know your neighbors, it will make living in your new apartment that much more exciting and social. One tip to get to know your neighbors is to have a dinner party. My personal favorite dinner party happens to always occur on Tuesdays involving a popular Mexican dish beginning with the letter “T.”

No matter what ethnic themed meal you choose to create for your guests, one theme holds true: everyone loves free food and you are sure to make new friends from it.

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5. Aloof property manager

You might think that after you sign your apartment lease and walk out of the office that you will never see your property manager again until your lease is up, right? Not necessarily. Some property managers actually help with move-in and give great tips and suggestions to make your transition to your new apartment a smooth and safe one.

In addition, some may even drop by and ask to show your apartment to prospective residents so it is always a good idea to keep an ear out for when they might drop by. A property manager I had emailed us monthly and sometimes bi-monthly in order to check on how we were doing and see if any maintenance was needed which went a long way in choosing to live there again my next year.

As I mentioned, do your research and see just how every potential apartment compares to one another while considering some usually overlooked aspects.

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