Moving Into Your First College Apartment: Mistakes To Avoid

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Moving in to your first college apartment is a life-changing experience. You're probably super excited to finally have a place to call your own and to share with friends. However, in order to ensure the moving experience goes smoothly, you'll want to avoid these common mistakes.

Mistake #1: Stocking up on too much before you actually move in.

In your excitement, it may be tempting to start buying furniture and décor before you actually move into the apartment. But if you accumulate too much, you'll end up having to hire a moving service or rent a larger moving truck in order to move these items to your new apartment. Try to minimize your accumulation of items until your move-in date. There will still be discount couches, beds, and dining room tables around then, and you won't have to pay to move them. If you really can't wait to start shopping, restrict yourself to small items you can move yourself, like dinnerware and pillows.

Mistake #2: Not deciding in advance how you and your roommates will split expenses related to moving in.

You don't want to get stuck paying for all of the apartment furniture on your own, and you don't want your roommate to get angry if you don't feel you should pitch in for that $400 fry pan they thought was necessary. Before your move-in date arrives, have a conversation with your roommates about how you will split move-in expenses and those basic apartment necessities. List out the things you need, and next to each item, write a price that you're all comfortable paying for that item. This should keep one roommate from splurging on an overly expensive item and busting everyone else's budget.

 Mistake #3: Not choosing your move-in date wisely.

You don't want to be focused on moving in the day before classes start when you really should be looking over syllabi and buying books. You also don't want to move in a month before college starts and end up sitting around your college town bored because nobody else is around. So, pick your move-in date well in advance. Many people find that moving in one to two weeks before classes is ideal, as this gives you time to settle in, but not enough time to get bored.

Moving into your new college apartment should be an adventure, but it should not be a struggle. Avoiding the mistakes above will help guarantee this, so keep these things in mind when looking for apartments for rent.


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