The first steps of college are terrifying; moving into a tiny dorm with no air conditioning, leaving your childhood stuffed animal behind as to not weird out your future roommate and sizing down completely on shower space.
Moving into an apartment can be just as hit-or-miss, according to two students who have had differing luck on the experience.
Ryan Beery is a second-year double music major in music education and saxophone performance. He moved into his first apartment last August with several other music majors. Beery has enjoyed the freedom and individuality living in an apartment has brought him, but wishes he would have known the importance of finding the right roommates.
“You spend so much time with these people, and especially during the pandemic you spend even more,” he said. “You have to find people that you can work problems out with, or it can get ugly.”
Beery also found it challenging to decide which property management company to use in Moscow. There are many factors in choosing an apartment that can be daunting, like the cost of living, whether utilities are included, if the space allows pets or how many bedrooms it has.
Helpful advice Beery took was to make his space enjoyable for himself, whether those spaces are mutual or private.
“Your time in school will be so much easier if you have a place that you can relax, refresh and not have to worry,” he said. “That’s something you can’t quite reach on the same level in on-campus housing a lot of the time.”
Beery recommends investing in the little things, like Ziploc bags, specific kitchen tools and varieties of ways to hang artwork, like command hooks or strips.
“Everyone remembers the bed and the shelves and the couch, but the smaller items really stack up,” he said. “I always try to shop cheap and use Amazon and thrift stores to find furniture, tools, dishes and anything else you need because you can usually find a good deal on them.”
Valerie Halsen is a third-year student majoring in sociology. She moved into her first apartment in 2015. Halsen hasn’t had very positive experiences with renting and looks forward to owning her own home.
Her biggest struggles in apartment searching were finding one that was pet-friendly and dealing with landlords who only had money on their agenda.
“They will try to do whatever they can to take as much money from you as possible and ignore the legality of things because they know college kids can’t afford to fight back,” she said.
To prepare for this, Halsen recommends documenting absolutely everything. Take pictures when you move in and when you move out and be thorough as to avoid issues in the future.
“Your landlord will blame you for damage you didn’t do,” she said. “They’ll bill the price of a new door if you don’t document the tiny scratch on the door that’s been there for years before you arrived.”
Moving into an apartment has many challenges you will need to prepare for, but that doesn’t mean it should dissuade you from the experience. This is a time of transitioning into adulthood, so do your best to adapt to less-than-ideal circumstances and enjoy what you can. Do your research, ask questions, be overly communicative with your landlord and don’t put holes in your walls.
Bailey Brockett can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @baileybrockett