I’ve now officially been living in my first apartment with my boyfriend and two cats for over nine months! So far, I love it.
Looking back, though, there are a lot of things I wish I knew before getting my first apartment…
Furniture is expensive. So are air conditioners. And bedding
I never realized how expensive things like couches and comforters are until I had to buy them! Looking for a good deal is tricky, too, because you want to get a good deal but you also want something that’s good quality.
It really helped to have a giant spreadsheet tracking what I needed to buy and how much I (realistically) suspected it would cost. I was also glad to get cashback on a lot of these items because I used my Citi Double Cash card! In retrospect, I should’ve opened a card with an awesome sign-up bonus for spending a few thousand dollars in the first few months because we spend that much on new furniture alone.
It’s crucial to figure out which staples are close to you before you even move in
Before moving, we walked around the neighborhood a lot while apartment hunting in the area. We don’t really drive much, so we wanted a walkable neighborhood. Apartment hunting helped us figure out which important spots we lived near.
It also helped us decide on an apartment since we knew we wanted to be somewhere that felt safe and had some staples nearby.
For example, we have a grocery store around the corner, an emergency vet one train stop away, and a pharmacy/drug store a few blocks away. It’s important to note all of these as soon as you move in because you never know when you might need to visit them.
You can never predict all of the problems you’ll encounter
I’m very fortunate to have a good landlord who has been on top of any issues we’ve had so far. But when we moved in, our kitchen sink was so backed up you could only wash one dish at a time. There were also some mouse traps that weren’t there when we toured the apartment (luckily, though, we’ve never seen a mouse and it may be in part to my awesome cats).
Our building also has a water bug problem in the summer (we moved in the winter so we just learned this a few months ago), which isn’t that bad but is horrific for someone who has a major bug phobia like me. Fortunately, again, my landlord has had exterminators come to deal with the situation. Still, it’s terrifying to occasionally see these beasts scramble down the hall.
What I’m trying to say is, you can test the outlets and window locks and water pressure when you tour an apartment, but you won’t know all of its highs and lows until you really live in it.
We’ve also been locked out of our building by a neighbor, had our toilet shoot out water during a hurricane, and had one of our upstairs neighbors flood our bathroom and every bathroom above us. You just always need to be prepared to deal with whatever apartment-living throws at ya!
Make an appointment to have your Wi-Fi set up as soon as your lease is finalized
This was one of the biggest stressors when we first moved because we couldn’t work from home without internet. Every area has limited options for service providers and it can be really tricky to get an appointment.
As soon as you have a move-in date, I think it’s smart to make an appointment to get your WiFi set up and make sure you have your router with you, too! And if you have to cry on the phone like I did to get an appointment that isn’t three months in the future, go for it. They often have more flexibility than you might think.
Plus, as I learned from the guy who showed up nearly two hours later to set up our internet, some providers cancel a lot of their later appointments if they’re running behind. Because of this, I advise making an appointment as early in the day as you can.
You’ll want to have a list of pantry staples to stock up on for when you first move in
Some of my staples were ground coffee, Splenda, rice, peanut butter, pasta, crushed tomatoes, soy sauce, garlic powder, flour, sugar, Sriracha. Think of all of the basics sitting in your cabinets and fridge that you use often and probably take for granted.
It’s good to do your first big shop somewhere affordable, like Walmart, or somewhere with good deals for buying in bulk, like Costco or BJ’s.
You need to learn the garbage, recycling, and street-cleaning days ASAP
A quick Google search can usually help but we also found ours by talking to neighbors. Another great place to look is if your city has a Reddit page or Facebook group dedicated to it!
This is a good way to properly get rid of your trash and avoid parking tickets.
You’ll want to follow a lot of local pages and check for event posters in nearby parks
After we moved here I really wanted to explore the neighborhood and all it had to offer so I began following local community pages and groups. I also would stop to look at the notice boards in our local parts, which helped me find some cool local festivals and comedy shows. And I joined my city’s Discord, which is filled with chat rooms for planning happy hours or brunches and asking for recommendations.
This is a great way to get involved and start making your new city feel like home.
Trying to figure out what to eat is annoying, so it’s good to have some basic staple meals
I hate trying to figure out to make/eat for dinner. It’s not even the cooking part that bothers me, it’s mostly the deciding part. No matter how much I try to meal plan and try to remember to defrost meat, it’s a struggle.
Because of this, my boyfriend and I tend to have a few dinners we can make with ingredients we always have on hand. For us, it’s mochi pancakes or fried rice. Delicious and easy.
Track your expenses in any way that works for you
I like to track mine on a daily basis using the Monefy app. I sort my expenses into categories (bills, pets, eating out, groceries, home stuff, fun stuff, etc) and at the end of every month I transfer this data into a Google Sheet that tracks my income and expenses.
This helps me know how much I’m saving and where all of my money is going. It also shows me how much wiggle room I have when it comes to making new purchases.
Take photos of everything in the space before you move in
Before we moved in, I kept forgetting what our space actually looked like and how many cabinets we had! Luckily, I took a video and lots of photos of the empty place when we first toured it and it was great for ordering stuff and trying to plan the layout. I also had the measurements of each room written down, which helped us when looking for furniture.
This is great if you want your deposit back later on, too. I made sure to document any dents in doors, scratches on floors, broken window pieces, stains, etc, even if they were minor. I also took a video walkthrough of the apartment and keep it on file!
It’s really helpful to have money saved before you move
Let’s face it, moving is really expensive. We didn’t rent a moving truck or hire movers because we didn’t have that much stuff, and we still spent thousands of dollars in the first few months on rent, deposits, utilities, basics (paper towels, utensils), furniture, and other things we just hadn’t really thought about before.
If possible, it’s also good to have an emergency fund that covers at least a few months of rent and essentials.
When you start moving in, bring a basics bag
I was SO glad I had this bag packed because as we began really moving our stuff in we didn’t need to worry about locating the essentials. As soon as we got to the apartment, we had a lot of cleaning to do and boxes to open. Plus we wanted to make sure we had soap and toilet paper so the bathroom would be usable!
Here are some things you should definitely include in your basics bag:
- Paper towels
- Cleaning supplies (sprays, wipes, rags, sponges, vacuum)
- Hand soap and dish soap
- Cleaning gloves or disposable ones
- Measuring tape
- Toilet paper
- Garbage bags
- Scissors
- Phone charger
- Air mattress, blankets, and pillow (if you’re staying over)
