Hi! If you clicked this link I’m assuming you’re getting ready to move into your first college apartment! How EXCITING!! This is such a fun part in your life and you should soak up every last second.
When I was preparing to move into my first apartment I didn’t know where to begin. There’s so much to it that you don’t even realize until you’re only a few months from moving in. Roommates, finding the right apartment, what you need, what you don’t need, budgeting, decorations, wifi, laundry & sooo much more!!
The first thing you should so when thinking about moving into your first off campus apartment is to look at apartments around your school. One tip I highly recommend is picking a place near campus. Trust me on this… you won’t want to wake up any earlier than you already have to in order to make it on time for your 8 am classes.
Once you find apartments in the area you’re looking at it, it’s time to start booking tours. I HIGHLY recommend this. The first apartment I went to look at looked pretty perfect online, but was far from perfect when I toured in person. TOUR IN PERSON. You will see and smell (IK) things you otherwise wouldn’t have online.
One of my biggest suggestions is reading the lease thoroughly and weighing your options before you sign. Remember a lot of the time you’re locked in for 9 to 12 months! Talk with the manager about what’s included in your fees, rent and other amenities. In my case, I already had wifi, flat utility rate, the apartment was already fully furnished, included a gym, study room with computers and free printing, and a pool.
Once you find that perfect place it’s time to find roommates! There are so many different ways to find roommates. My favorite ways were with Roomsurf and class pages on Instagram and Facebook. A lot of times people will post their information on these pages when looking for roommates. DON’T be afraid to message first! Often times it’ll go really well and you might even meet your future roommate.
As soon as you sign your lease and determine your roommates it starts to get fun (at least for me it did)!! I started decorating for my apartment/room early. I HIGHLY recommend you do too! I started by saving inspo to my Pinterest board. This made it sooo much easier to shop for decor. Every time I found an item in a store I checked to see if it matched the vibe I was going for. I also recommend taking a picture of everything you purchase. 1) it prevents you from buying duplicates. 2) it allows you to visualize something with your other items you already purchased before buying something new.
I wanted to provide you guys with one more thing that I think will be the icing on the cake. It’s so easy to forget everything you need to buy/bring with you so I included a FREE checklist that you can bring with you when you go shopping! Click the download button below to print a copy!
Check the link below to shop similar items from my bedroom!
McKenzie 
