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College Times Housing Guide is a special annual edition of College Times, published by 4M Publishing, LLC.
The school year is coming to a close. Unless you’re heading home to dwell with mom and/or dad, it’s time to choose a place to live.
Picking the right place is more than just picking a neighborhood, or a place with a fantastic pool, or just the right guy-to-girl ratio, although those things can certainly be important, too. It’s about finding a place you can afford, and once you find that place, taking the right steps to make sure your living experience is a good one.
The most important thing to remember when you sign a lease is that you’re making a commitment of up to a year. It’s a serious decision.
But there’s more: there are utilities to turn on, kitchens to stock and food responsibilities to take care of. There are roommates, neighbors and how to handle disputes with both. There are leases, deposits and furniture.
Inside, in addition to a selection of quality places to live in the Valley of the Sun, you’ll find tips and ideas to help you along the way.
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Downtown Tempe at dusk.
Deciding on the Right Place to Live
Congratulations on making it this far; you’ve decided to take the jump and move into an apartment either by yourself or with a group of roommates.
Choosing an apartment to live in is a long-term commitment, often requiring a minimum of a six-month lease, but more often requiring a nine-month or one-year lease.
Picking the right place is more than just snagging the biggest apartment with the best amenities and best price.
One of the first things you should consider when choosing a place to live is location.
Owning a car certainly gives you greater flexibility in where you can live, but, with escalating gas prices, choosing a location close to the places you’ll be going most frequently can save you money and time.
If you don’t have a car, picking a place that’s close to your job or campus or close to a bus or rail line that serves your job or campus, is equally important.
Also, ask yourself: How much space
do I really need?
While some Valley apartment complexes include utilities with their rent charges, many do not. Arizona’s hot summers can drive the cost of utilities bill sky high.
Ask yourself: are 16-foot ceilings necessary? Do I really need a guest bedroom? Decisions like these can save you hundreds of dollars over the term of a lease in energy costs alone.
Choosing the right type of complex is equally important. Are you a party animal looking in an apartment community known for families and its quiet atmosphere? Perhaps you might want to consider an alternate location.
Conversely, are you a bookish type prone to early bedtimes and serious studying? Maybe the place known for its all night Friday and Saturday parties isn’t the right choice for you.
Speak to current tenants, read reports online and do your research before signing your name to the dotted line.
You’ll be much happier in the long-run
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Setting Up Electric, TV and More
Among the greatest shocks when it comes to moving into an apartment is that those simple luxuries that often go overlooked actually cost money.
Cool air, lights, water, garbage collection, cable and internet may all seem like basic human rights, but it takes some effort to actually get them.
How to set up utilities
• Check with your apartment complex or landlord to see what utilities they cover. Most will cover the cost of water and garbage collection. With the current slumping economic environment, some complexes might even cover electric and cable to entice new and continuing renters.
• Call the utility company to get things set up. If you haven’t established a decent credit record yet, you might have to pay a refundable deposit to get things started, which should be returned within a few months or one year of on-time payments. Electric in the Valley is generally provided by SRP or APS; cable, internet and telephone services are offered by CenturyLink and Cox Communications.
• Live within your means. Be sure to make a wise choice when it comes to how you’ll use your utilities. You might want to forego cable and internet all together.
• Pay those bills. It seems simple, but a few days of delinquent payment can land you in a sweltering hot apartment without water and entertainment.
• Set up automatic online bill pay. If you’re positive that you’ll have enough dough in your checking account to make the bills each month, automatic bill pay could be the easiest option to making sure you get your bills paid on time. The amount will automatically be withdrawn from your account each month, taking the hassle out of writing a check or logging on to pay.
• Use the bare minimum. To save a little moola, turn off the lights, television and any other electric equipment whenever you leave the room. Also be aware that power companies, under certain plans, charge less for electric during different times of the day. Power is generally cheaper after 9 p.m. and on weekends. This way you can save money and use it
It’s All You:
Make Your Apartment Your Own
Living in close quarters with a virtual stranger in your new apartment will likely lend to some awkwardness. Even if your weirdo roommate has a weekly ritual of doing yoga with her dog, the easiest thing you could do to make the situation comfortable is to make yourself comfortable. Making the space your own (even if it’s only one room in an apartment, or one half of a room in an apartment) can help you escape the everyday pressure of college. But you have to know where to look and what to buy.
You’ll need:
• Bed coverings
• Storage containers
• Clothes hangers
Optional:
• Live plants
• Curtains
• Door-sized posters
• Photo collages
• Colorful rugs
• White board
• Bulletin board
• Fish bowl (with an actual fish in it)
• Bean bags
• Christmas lights and other mountable lights
• Your original artwork
Bed time
Through college, your bed will serve as more than just your snuggly sleepy-time destination. It will also be a couch, a kitchen table and a study space. Make sure you’re happy with your aesthetic decisions. There are plenty of options around campus to get unique, versatile and practical bedding to fit your personality.
• Edgy hippie. Urban Outfitters is a college staple. While prices can get steep, check the clearance section for sweet deals. The clearance bedding at Urban isn’t just the ugly, outdated stuff. Oftentimes they’re just making room for new stock. Their look can be described as unique, eclectic and slightly hippie. 545 S. Mill Avenue, Tempe.
• Simple chic. Head down the I-10 to IKEA, which is known for making things that are simple, functional and inexpensive. You can find twin duvet cover sets in feminine and masculine styles for as low at $19.99, as well as other necessities you’ll need on the cheap. 2110 W. IKEA Way, Tempe. Target, with locations across the Valley, also makes another smart option.
• Modern. Get a European look with slick pieces from Copenhagen/Denmarket in Phoenix and Tempe. This is stuff you’ll keep after graduation. 1710 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix, 602.266.8060; 2346 E. Southern Avenue, Tempe, 480.838.3080
Think practically
Your space will be cramped. That’s a given. Make the most of it by limiting your shopping list to things you really need. Practical doesn’t always mean ugly, though.
• Storage cubes. Simple, plastic storage cubes and shelves are a good way to hide the small things you don’t want strewn around your room. They’re inexpensive and available at major retailers like Target and Walmart.
• Shoe hangers. Girls (and some guys too) have billions of shoes. Believe it or not, you’ll be sharing a closet with another person when living in a dorm — a small one. Make sure you won’t invade your roommate’s half by buying shoe hangers — compartmentalized fabric slots on a hanger. They’re easy to hide in a corner and save a lot of space.
• Skip the extra furniture. Even if you’re living in an apartment, odds are, that yard sale arm chair you bought likely won’t fit.
Roommates Tricia Renkan, left, and Rose Foronda hang out with their dog, Hiro Nakamura, at home in Oakland, California.
A Good Roommate Is Hard to Find
Laura Casey • Contra Costa Times
Jason Martin has a strategy for finding roommates, and it’s not scientific. The 29-year-old financial adviser has had roommates since he was 18 and currently shares a five-bedroom home with three others.
Like thousands of others, Martin posts ads on Craigslist under the “rooms/shared” category in the housing section. His ads are richly detailed – four paragraphs long with a description of the house, its current tenants and expectations of the person he’s looking for. Martin appears to be a relaxed guy. He says he doesn’t mind parties on weekends, and the seven pictures on the ad reveal a tidy, well-furnished living space with tan couches and a kitchen recycle bin.
When a potential housemate sends him an e-mail, he asks the person to call him. Then, Martin says, he doesn’t pick up the phone. He listens to the voice mail and “if they sound like someone I’d hang out with, I call them back.”
The few who pass this test are then invited over. When Martin meets them, he goes with his gut. “Usually within the first two minutes I can tell if it’s someone I want
to live with,” he says.
Martin, like so many others, has had difficult living situations before – times when he says he should have continued looking. But, as he repeats the process, he is honing his skills. He has even paid the rent on an empty room for a month or two because he didn’t find the right person to sublet it.
Mary Lou Podlasiak, author of “Rules for Roommates: The Ultimate Guide to Reclaiming Your Space and Your Sanity,” says “birds of a feather flock together”type thinking is the best way to pick roommates.
“Hippies and preppies don’t work,” she says. “It may seem silly, but you need to ask questions such as, ‘What kind of music do you prefer?’ I have lived with a country music lover and found myself plotting to get rid of her.”
She says some of her worst situations happened when she was in a hurry to find a renter.
“Unless you’re just desperate to share the bills, you may want to take time,” she says.
Time, and a clear conversation about your values and what you want, are key to building a lasting living situation.
Dean Coppola, Contra Costa Times/MCT
Did You Know Olive Oil Could Do That?
Terri Bennett • MCT
We all know that olive oil is good for you but it isn’t just good for cooking – it’s an eco-friendly ingredient that can be used to do all sorts of things around your home. Here are my favorite ways to Do Your Part with a bottle of olive oil.
1. Olive Oil As Furniture Polish
Mix two parts olive oil with one part vinegar for a powerful cleaner for finished wood pieces. Mix only what you need in a small bowl and use a soft rag to get wood glowing again. You can also substitute lemon juice instead of the vinegar to work as a furniture polish. In that case, apply the olive oil and lemon mixture and rub the area briskly with a soft rag or towel.
2. Olive Oil on Stainless Steel
There’s no need for commercial chemical cleaners on stainless steel pieces in the kitchen when straight olive oil can get the shine you want without polluting the air inside your home. Use a rag to polish the appliances all over with olive oil and then wipe away any extra. Your stainless steel will look just as shiny as if you had used a commercial cleaner.
3. Olive Oil for Kitty
This is one technique I use on my own cat to help prevent hairballs. Simply add a teaspoon of olive oil to kitty’s food once a week. It is not only effective when it comes to preventing those hairballs, it’ll keep your cat’s coat super shiny. A few drops of olive oil rubbed between palms can be rubbed on human hair too for a healthy shine.
4. Olive Oil as a Moisturizer
Olive oil is an effective and non-toxic skin moisturizer – especially on our hands in colder months. Apply some directly on your hands and make sure to rub it into the cuticle area for optimum results. You can also use a small amount of olive oil directly on your body after a shower to keep your skin from drying out. Olive oil is effective on skin because it contains vitamins A and E, which are known to have significant healthy skin benefits.
5. Olive Oil as a Makeup Remover
And, finally, use a little olive oil on a cotton ball as a safe eye-makeup remover. It’s incredibly gentle and works instantly. You’ll also be keeping chemical-based makeup removers away from the most sensitive area of your face.
Face-to-Face: Creating & Maintaining Good Relationships with your Neighbors
William Hageman • Chicago Tribune
Even the best neighbors – the c’monover-for-a-cookout neighbors, the webaked-you-some-brownies neighbors – can infuriate you.
Maybe it’s how their kids race their bikes up and down the sidewalk all the time. Or how they blast the stereo at all hours.
And does anyone really need 15 cats?
The aggrieved person, having finished those brownies, has several ways to deal with the bad neighbor. Some are effective; some are not.
Among the latter is the solution many have come to rely upon: Call the police. No matter that the neighbor isn’t doing anything dangerous or illegal. No matter that the police have real crimes to deal with. Calling the cops almost has become a default solution, one that’s not especially productive.
“No one likes having the police called on them,” said Will Reimers,
a neighborhood contact officer with the Boise (Idaho) Police Department. “Oftentimes that makes things worse, when suddenly police show up and start talking to you. People resent that. So it’s not the best first step.”
What is the best first step? Try talking to each other.
“It seems today that talking to your neighbors is something that has fallen out of fashion,” Reimers said. “It’s just not done as much anymore. But it’s an old technique that should be resurrected.”
“I think too many people are afraid to talk to the neighbor, afraid of having a hostile reaction or (being thought) a kook,” said Ted Rueter, founder and director of Noise Free America (noisefree. org), an organization that seeks to bring noise pollution issues to the attention of the public and elected officials. “You’ve got to take that first step.”
Get to know your neighbors.
Noisemakers:
Noise is a universal neighborhood complaint: loud stereos or home theater systems, barking dogs, screaming kids, motorcycles, lawn mowers being used extremely early in the day or too late at night.
“A Census Bureau report in 1999 indicated noise was the No. 1 complaint people had about their neighborhood and the No. 1 reason people want to move,” Rueter said. That doesn’t seem to have changed. The online site rentersinsurance. net puts noise at the top of the list of complaints about neighbors.
Resolution of any problem, from noise to intrusive children, should begin with a calm, polite discussion with the neighbor. Just don’t do it when the offending activity is happening. That will only make him defensive and raise tensions. Walk over, be pleasant and broach the issue.
Frequently, the offending neighbor will
have no idea that he’s making you crazy.
“They say, ‘Why didn’t they come to me first (instead of calling the police)?’ I hear that with noise disputes,” Reimers said.
Explaining the problem in a respectful, even-tempered way can lead to further discussion. And if you’re lucky, a solution.
“I had a neighbor when I lived in Wisconsin who had a leaf blower,” Rueter said. “He used it all the time. So I talked to him and said, ‘This is very bothersome to me.’ He said, ‘Hey, I’m in my 60s and I want my lawn to look nice.’ The agreement we came to, he’d do his lawn at the same time every week. So on Tuesdays from 9 to 10, he’d get out the leaf blower and I’d leave.”
Outside Peacemakers:
Not all neighbors are that reasonable; not all solutions are that easy. If there is a landlord, contact him or her; they usually
except maybe your guitar
know how to deal with bad tenants. Sometimes, though, a third party needs to be called in – another neighbor, perhaps. But even then, those driveway conversations aren’t always productive.
“Sometimes we end up with a situation where there is so much bad blood over many years that somebody has to step in and be a neutral party,” Reimers said. Mediation involves a neutral third party who sits down with both sides in a formal setting and tries to come to an agreement. Mediation can head off a dispute before it escalates, and it avoids having to go through the court system.
There are mediators and mediation groups across the country (go to nafcmorg/ public/findhelp to find one near you).
As a last resort:
Of course, diplomacy doesn’t always work. There may be no reasoning with the neighbor. He may be stubborn. He may
just be a jerk. Then you grab the phone. If municipal ordinances are being broken – we repeat, does anyone really need 15 cats? – call the city. The same with possible health violations, such as the open burning of trash. Sometimes, though, law enforcement is the best bet.
“When one party feels someone may be hurt, we want to be called,” Reimers said. “If it’s gotten out of control, where someone is going to pick up a shovel or strike a person, we should be called. Once physical violence occurs, it’s pretty hard to repair a relationship.”
