Apartments

[Luka75]

Hey Guys, I'm currently in the apt hunting process and I was wondering what you guys prioritized (or are prioritizing) during that process.
These are my main concerns during this search:
1- Cleanliness
2- Safety
3- Distance
4- Cost

Also, How much is too much to pay for rent? If I don't compromise on any of the things I mentioned above, I'm easily looking at 1050 for rent alone and about 1200 if I add other bills (those associated with the apt alone)... Would that be too much?

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[wanderingorion]

I'd try to lessen that if possible. Have you considered roommates?
I think cost also varies on where you're living. 1050 is way too much for an apartment in my city

 

[intubesteak]

Price depends on the city. For me living walking distance though more expensive for rent has saved me money that I would otherwise spend on parking, gas, etc. The most important factor should probably be overall convenience. What you absolutely do not is anything that can distract you or add to stress. That could include commuting, loud neighbors, far from grocery store, crappy appliances that break, noxious odors, etc. You want to streamline your life and focus on the important stuff--studying, and mentally recovering from studying.

 

[redsox93]

That's pretty steep. I'm aiming for about $600 total at most but I'm definitely planning to live with roommates. I had roommates all of college and had no problem with it. I can really only study at the library anyways so I don't mind if my roommates are noisy at home since I'm not there that much anyways.

 

[intubesteak]

I'd try to lessen that if possible. Have you considered roommates?
I think cost also varies on where you're living. 1050 is way too much for an apartment in my city

I would avoid roommates at all cost unless you are the kind of person who would get lonely. Roommates=distractions, headaches, and potential conflict.

 

[Luka75]

I'd try to lessen that if possible. Have you considered roommates?
I think cost also varies on where you're living. 1050 is way too much for an apartment in my city

My school's located in a fairly big city and any decent apt within a 25 min drive is at least 1k. If I decide to lengthen the commute up to 30-45 min, it decreases to about 940ish. Problem is, The amount I'd pay for gas would easily make up the difference in price. Also, If pick a place that boasts less than $950 within 20-25 min of my school, I'll be dealing with gunshots, drug dealing, as well as roaches and rats.

 

[intubesteak]

Med school is a big magnifying glass that will amplify any personality quirks, conflicts, messiness, and above all your and your roommates baseline tolerance for said annoyances. It is not like college.

 

[redsox93]

Med school is a big magnifying glass that will amplify any personality quirks, conflicts, messiness, and above all your and your roommates baseline tolerance for said annoyances. It is not like college.

fortunately my roommates won't be other med students so hopefully we don't experience this

 

[wanderingorion]

My school's located in a fairly big city and any decent apt within a 25 min drive is at least 1k. If I decide to lengthen the commute up to 30-45 min, it decreases to about 940ish. Problem is, The amount I'd pay for gas would easily make up the difference in price. Also, If pick a place that boasts less than $950 within 20-25 min of my school, I'll be dealing with gunshots, drug dealing, as well as roaches and rats.

That explains the price. Does your school's stipend account for such high housing costs? They usually have a budget sample on the their site, which helps you know what your rent ballpark will be.
Ha, and I agree with the "no roommates" sentiment @intubesteak

 

[intubesteak]

My school's located in a fairly big city and any decent apt within a 25 min drive is at least 1k. If I decide to lengthen the commute up to 30-45 min, it decreases to about 940ish. Problem is, The amount I'd pay for gas would easily make up the difference in price. Also, If pick a place that boasts less than $950 within 20-25 min of my school, I'll be dealing with gunshots, drug dealing, as well as roaches and rats.

Find out where current students live and go there. What you are describing sounds too terrible to be true. Its not just gas, unless your parents are gonna help with the rest. Maintenance, insurance, parking, unexpected repairs... more than the money is the headache with all of this.

 

[intubesteak]

fortunately my roommates won't be other med students so hopefully we don't experience this

oh man. You are making a mistake lol.

 

[redsox93]

oh man. You are making a mistake lol.

You really think so??

 

[Luka75]

Med school is a big magnifying glass that will amplify any personality quirks, conflicts, messiness, and above all your and your roommates baseline tolerance for said annoyances. It is not like college.

I would avoid roommates at all cost unless you are the kind of person who would get lonely. Roommates=distractions, headaches, and potential conflict.

I completely agree, I lived with Roommates for a couple of years in college and I am not at all inclined to repeat that experience. I'm very organized and I like to have total control of my apartment.

 

[popopopop]

I love apartment hunting, so fun and exciting (not sarcasm).

Ask the second year students at your school where they are living. Higher costs usually comes with better amenities like washer/dryer connections, security guard, and perhaps garage parking if you're in a midrise building. The higher pricing of a place also comes with better management and neighbors that are of a higher economic social class. Sometimes, the cost is just compensating for the location and you won't have any of the above.

I've lived with roomies several times before, but I like owning my kitchen so I don't want to go that route again. The farthest I'm looking is 5 miles away from school and that's already a drag, but at least it's closer to grocery stores for me and several of the 2nd year students are living there. I would certainly pay more to live closer to campus, unless the difference in savings is obscene, like $300+ after everything.

 

[intubesteak]

You really think so??

I guess it depends on your personality and who the roommates are. Ive just heard some horror stories from my classmates about roommates, and even neighbor situations. The main problem with non med student roommates will be that they have no way of understanding what your life is like and the stress you will be under. Although some people have different goals and different levels of stress in med school so I guess it really depends. I'm qualifying my extreme initial position here hah.

I got really lucky in my place without planning it. For instance, I also planned on basically living in the library, cause that's what worked in undergrad. Come to find out I could not find a good place to study on campus, and now I do 100% of my studying in the apartment. Its really hard to know what exactly your life will be like until you are there.

 

[Luka75]

That explains the price. Does your school's stipend account for such high housing costs? They usually have a budget sample on the their site, which helps you know what your rent ballpark will be.
Ha, and I agree with the "no roommates" sentiment @intubesteak

According to my School's website, Room and Board amounts to about 16k. But, When I looked at the list that we were provided with that showed where students lived, the average rent was about $1030 or so for those that lived alone, which easily puts room and board way over $1300/month.

Find out where current students live and go there. What you are describing sounds too terrible to be true..

I thought so too but I visited a couple of places and as I was driving through one of them, I saw trash piled up on and around the dumpsters and a couple of rats feasting around them. The rent at that place was $980 for a 700 sq foot 1 bedroom apt! I drove right out...

 

[Luka75]

I love apartment hunting, so fun and exciting (not sarcasm).

Ask the second year students at your school where they are living. Higher costs usually comes with better amenities like washer/dryer connections, security guard, and perhaps garage parking if you're in a midrise building. The higher pricing of a place also comes with better management and neighbors that are of a higher economic social class. Sometimes, the cost is just compensating for the location and you won't have any of the above.

I've lived with roomies several times before, but I like owning my kitchen so I don't want to go that route again. The farthest I'm looking is 5 miles away from school and that's already a drag, but at least it's closer to grocery stores for me and several of the 2nd year students are living there. I would certainly pay more to live closer to campus, unless the difference in savings is obscene, like $300+ after everything.

How much do you intend to spend on rent?

 

[wanderingorion]

According to my School's website, Room and Board amounts to about 16k. But, When I looked at the list that we were provided with that showed where students lived, the average rent was about $1030 or so for those that lived alone, which easily puts room and board way over $1300/month.


I thought so too but I visited a couple of places and as I was driving through one of them, I saw trash piled up on and around the dumpsters and a couple of rats feasting around them. The rent at that place was $980 for a 700 sq foot 1 bedroom apt! I drove right out...

Yikes, that doesn't sound like fun.
I guess you can really just get the the best your stipend can get you. Honestly, a little longer commute is a small price to pay for a nicer/cheaper place


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[popopopop]

How much do you intend to spend on rent?

$7-800 (net rent only) seems to be average for a safe place within a few miles from my school. It's TCOM in Forth Worth so still a big city, but a city that's really easy to commute around. $900+ gets you one of those fancy midsize studios that's less than a mile from school.

My top pick right now is $750 place, about a dollar a square foot, and has washer/dryers included. It's about 5 mile school, but closer to groceries stores.

 

[popopopop]

According to my School's website, Room and Board amounts to about 16k. But, When I looked at the list that we were provided with that showed where students lived, the average rent was about $1030 or so for those that lived alone, which easily puts room and board way over $1300/month.


I thought so too but I visited a couple of places and as I was driving through one of them, I saw trash piled up on and around the dumpsters and a couple of rats feasting around them. The rent at that place was $980 for a 700 sq foot 1 bedroom apt! I drove right out...

Do you use google maps to find some places? You can scope out the neighborhood with google satellite and streetview before committing to a drive. That's how I found my current place and it's the best place I've rented in my eight years of renting! You'll find a gem somewhere if you look hard enough.

 

[redsox93]

I guess it depends on your personality and who the roommates are. Ive just heard some horror stories from my classmates about roommates, and even neighbor situations. The main problem with non med student roommates will be that they have no way of understanding what your life is like and the stress you will be under. Although some people have different goals and different levels of stress in med school so I guess it really depends. I'm qualifying my extreme initial position here hah.

I got really lucky in my place without planning it. For instance, I also planned on basically living in the library, cause that's what worked in undergrad. Come to find out I could not find a good place to study on campus, and now I do 100% of my studying in the apartment. Its really hard to know what exactly your life will be like until you are there.

Hmm well that's definitely something to think about. I'd be saving about $500 living with roommates and I'm also a about a 5 minute walk from campus. I'm hoping none of this happens to me because I'm pretty set on it haha. I guess I could at least try it out for a semester but that would suck if I end up like some of those horror stories you've heard about

 

[Luka75]

Yikes, that doesn't sound like fun.
I guess you can really just get the the best your stipend can get you. Honestly, a little longer commute is a small price to pay for a nicer/cheaper place
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I agree but I just don't wanna drive 30 minutes to class everyday

Do you use google maps to find some places? You can scope out the neighborhood with google satellite and streetview before committing to a drive. That's how I found my current place and it's the best place I've rented in my eight years of renting! You'll find a gem somewhere if you look hard enough.

That's what I usually do as well and it did help narrow my search but I still ended up visiting 2 very different places that were about a 5 min walk from each other. One was almost a dump going for about 920 and the other was awesome in every way but going for $150 more.

 

[futuremdforme]

I agree but I just don't wanna drive 30 minutes to class everyday



That's what I usually do as well and it did help narrow my search but I still ended up visiting 2 very different places that were about a 5 min walk from each other. One was almost a dump going for about 920 and the other was awesome in every way but going for $150 more.

$150/month is not a big deal in the long run.

 

[Luka75]

$150/month is not a big deal in the long run.

I think so too, especially if it means peace of mind during these 4 years.

 

[arewethereyet...]

$150/month is not a big deal in the long run.

Agreed. In the long run $150/month is well worth having a shorter commute and having a place you can look forward to go home to every night. $150 x 48 months is 7200$. To me $300,000 vs $307,000 doesn't seem like a big difference but maybe I'm jaded.

Edit: Also, I was just looking at loan repayments the other day and for me if I go with what I have right now (won't be but just as an example), I would owe something like $3200/month, so that's only 2 months longer to pay off loans when you're hopefully making the big bucks.

 

[raiderette]

I had almost no time to get a place after getting off the wait list right before school started. Safety, proximity to school and cost were all factors. I would have loved to live with classmates, and will next year. If you choose to have roommates, make sure they understand that you will have your nose in a book many hours a day.

 

[Mr Roboto]

I chose a 1-br apartment that's a 3 minute walk from school for $900 over the 2-br ones that are 20 minutes drive away for $825. Time = money, gas = money, mental health = priceless. No roommates and loving it.

 

[msjr]

As a future medical student this late summer/fall, when should I start applying for apartments? Should I apply to multiple apts. close to my school or just the one I like?


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[Dr Tony T. Chopper]

cost is king. find a second year to live with as well so you can mooch off his netters and costanzo

 

[popopopop]

As a future medical student this late summer/fall, when should I start applying for apartments? Should I apply to multiple apts. close to my school or just the one I like?


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This is partially dependent on your location. I know the good places around my school are going fast. I called to check on a place at 1000 this morning and I went there by 2pm and it was already gone!

Since most places have a 30-60 day notice to vacate, you can apply now for a May move in. That's what I did today, but not to my number one choice. I'll lose the security deposit if I back out, but no biggie as it's a good place. For my number one choice (.1 miles from school!), I will have to wait until after match day this year to see if there are any students moving out. Apply to just the one you like. Applying is a big deal and will hit you with a lot of fees. Once you sign a lease, it's hard to back out of something without damaging credit history.

Cost is definitely is king. My loans/savings can cover a place that is a few hundreds more a month, but I'm still nervous about random misfortunes like needing to replace my car tires, a computer failing, or something costly. That's one of the reason why I chose to compromise cost according to the poll.

 

[Mr Roboto]

You should be applying now. Many places are already filling up.