For this week’s forum post I chose to focus on “choosing a place to live while you attend college’. I assume that many of you are familiar with the cost of apartments in Alaska. Last year I spent nearly 4 months searching for a suitable place to live. Every day I would check Facebook pages, craigslist, and the newspaper to browse through the listings. It was a dreadful experience and I’m not looking forward to repeating the process in the future. Although at the time I didn’t separate the necessary criteria and desirable criteria in an organized fashion, I still focused on the following when searching for a new apartment:
NECESSARY CRITERIA:
- Affordability: First I needed to calculate how much money I was spending already on school, other bills, gas, and groceries; then subtract that from the amount of money I bring in a month. From the excess money I can get a pretty good idea of how much I am able to spend a month for rent.
- Utilities: although utilities go along with affordability I felt that it needed to be listed as it’s own separate criteria because of the high cost of heating fuel in Alaska. I only browse through available apartments that clearly state that fuel is included in the rent.
- Safety: When physically viewing an apartment I check to see if all the windows have locks, if there’s adequate security lighting outside (or in parking lot), and whether or not they change the locks after a tenant leaves. I also like to drive around the area surrounding the apartment in order to get a feel for what they neighborhood is like.
- Pet Policy: I have a very loving companion whom I cherish dearly, so it is without question that I would live in a place that allows dogs. I would rather sleep in my car then rehome my furry friend, therefore it is NECESSARY that I find a place that allows pets.
- Appliances: I always look to see if the appliances are running properly: is the freezer and fridge able to get cold enough to safeguard my food? Do the stove and oven work? Are there laundry services on site?
DESIRABLE CRITERIA:
- Transportation: Is there adequate parking close to the apartment unit, or will I have to walk half a mile with books and groceries? Also is the apartment reasonably close to my work and UAF? I work at 5am during the week so living somewhere close by allows me to sleep in a little longer.
- Building basics: Depending on the type of apartment I want to be sure that I won’t be kept up all night because of unfriendly, noisy neighbors. I really prefer to live in a duplet, triplex, or in a cabin. This way I am able to minimize the amount of neighborly noise.
- Pet Policy: Although I would be content if an apartment allowed pets, I prefer to live in an apartment or cabin at ground level so that I can quickly let my dog outside to go to the bathroom. I also look at places that have a grassy area for her to play and a nice neighborhood to go on walks.
- Amenities: Although I am able to do homework on campus for free, having access to Internet is helpful. I currently live in a place in which GCI and ACS doesn’t service, so I am forced to use the data on my phone to complete homework assignments from my cabin.
- Running water: In Alaska, there are many cabins and cottages that are “Dry’, meaning no running water. I know that I would have a particularly difficult time living like this; therefore I only look for places with running water. In a tight situation I may consider living in a dry cabin, but the thought of using an outhouse at 20 below frightens me.