OOS, how are you renting a place?? are you going to fly in town to check out places and sign the lease then fly back? or are you just going to show up few weeks before school starts and sign for whatever's available?
OOS, how do you rent a place remotely???
- Thread starter JSpitz
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For renting, I ended up finding a classmate-to-be who lived within driving distance of Davis, so she could do the actual on-the-ground legwork. We split the virtual legwork of looking on Craigslist, talking to potential landlords, scheduling the appointments, etc. She faxed me the contract and I mailed it and the deposit check to the landlady.
YMMV depending on where you're going and how picky you are, but it would have made me fairly nervous to wait until a couple weeks in advance. Davis has a very low vacancy rate, so it is very much a lessor's market and the big complexes start taking deposits for September leases in February. While there were other vet students who got spots in May/June, I think it would have been tough to get what you wanted in August.
As for moving, again, it depends. How valuable (monetarily/sentimentally) is your furniture now, and how far are you moving? I thought about taking some furniture from home, but since I was moving from Maryland to California it would have been well over a thousand dollars to get the smallest self-pack pod/space on a truck and storage for a few days. I packed what I could fit in my Subaru, packed some things like dishes in boxes (a girl's got to have her paella pan) and left them with my parents to send by UPS, and bought everything else when I got there. I spent something like $600 at IKEA and $300 at the mattress store (woohoo sales), so it ended up being cheaper AND less stressful.
YMMV depending on where you're going and how picky you are, but it would have made me fairly nervous to wait until a couple weeks in advance. Davis has a very low vacancy rate, so it is very much a lessor's market and the big complexes start taking deposits for September leases in February. While there were other vet students who got spots in May/June, I think it would have been tough to get what you wanted in August.
As for moving, again, it depends. How valuable (monetarily/sentimentally) is your furniture now, and how far are you moving? I thought about taking some furniture from home, but since I was moving from Maryland to California it would have been well over a thousand dollars to get the smallest self-pack pod/space on a truck and storage for a few days. I packed what I could fit in my Subaru, packed some things like dishes in boxes (a girl's got to have her paella pan) and left them with my parents to send by UPS, and bought everything else when I got there. I spent something like $600 at IKEA and $300 at the mattress store (woohoo sales), so it ended up being cheaper AND less stressful.
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Personally, I'd start looking at local listings on Craigslist and rental sites to get a sense of what's available and how soon you need to sign a lease to get a good deal. If you can talk to local students, ask around about good and bad areas. Plan a trip to go stay in the area for a week or so, look at apartments, and find a place. Personally I would never, ever sign a lease on a place I'd never seen - I've done a lot of apartment hunting, and sometimes places that sound great and look great in photos are actually a really bad idea. Last time we looked at apartments in a new area, we literally drove away from the first appointment without stopping the car because the area was so nasty. 😱
As for furniture, if you're moving clear across the country I might not bother, but even halfway across I've always brought my stuff. I've used both Uhaul and Budget rental trucks and had no problems with either. Much easier for me!
As for furniture, if you're moving clear across the country I might not bother, but even halfway across I've always brought my stuff. I've used both Uhaul and Budget rental trucks and had no problems with either. Much easier for me!
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I was in MI when I found out I was going to VA for vet school. My mom lives in MD so she drove down to look at places for me. I had all the appointments set up for her and gave her a questionnaire of things that were important for me to know about the places. She gave me her honest opinion on which place I should pick and I went with that. I signed the lease and sent the deposit all through the mail.
If you aren't too far away I would schedule a bunch of walk-throughs on one day and make a weekend of it.
My lease didn't start until August but I was moving out of MI in May so we rented a moving truck and drove all my stuff down to VA and put it in a self-storage place for the summer. I looked into all the PODS-like companies and what they were asking was outrageous! What we paid for the van, gas and storage over the summer was nowhere near what the other companies were asking.
If it's less than a days drive, I would totally move your furniture yourself.
Between Uhaul, Budget, Penske - they all have different deals going on. And some offer discounts to students. Look into all three to find which is cheapest.
If you aren't too far away I would schedule a bunch of walk-throughs on one day and make a weekend of it.
My lease didn't start until August but I was moving out of MI in May so we rented a moving truck and drove all my stuff down to VA and put it in a self-storage place for the summer. I looked into all the PODS-like companies and what they were asking was outrageous! What we paid for the van, gas and storage over the summer was nowhere near what the other companies were asking.
If it's less than a days drive, I would totally move your furniture yourself.
Between Uhaul, Budget, Penske - they all have different deals going on. And some offer discounts to students. Look into all three to find which is cheapest.
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Don't forget- if you have AAA or know someone that does, they often offer discounts for truck rental.
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When I moved, I used UPack (http://www.upack.com/). Similar to pods and I liked them a lot. They bring you a cube and you get 3 business days to fill it then they pick it up and deliver it and you get 3 days to empty it. Weekends don't count, so you can get extra days if you schedule it right. They have discounts if you schedule it for off-peak days and I think they had a student discount too. For me, it was about the same price as a UHaul or other rental truck when you considered the price of gas and mileage for the truck. You use your own locks so I felt my stuff was safe in the cube. Everything that I wanted to put in, including furniture, fit and everything arrived in perfect condition.
As far as finding a place to live, I would try contacting the school. I know LSU has a classifieds website just for the vet school for people looking for roommates and places to live. Maybe your school has something similar or can offer some advice. I think you definitely need to visit before signing a lease. Maybe a trip during spring break or during the summer to find someplace. Good luck apartment hunting 🙂
As far as finding a place to live, I would try contacting the school. I know LSU has a classifieds website just for the vet school for people looking for roommates and places to live. Maybe your school has something similar or can offer some advice. I think you definitely need to visit before signing a lease. Maybe a trip during spring break or during the summer to find someplace. Good luck apartment hunting 🙂
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I'm going to my IS school, but I was finishing up my senior year of college half-way across the country when I found out I was accepted. I set up my housing entirely remotely -- I knew I wanted to live with a second-year vet student (someone I could relate to, but wasn't going to be in class with all day). The second-year ended up doing all the work (she already had the apartment all picked out and had signed the lease - just waiting for a roommate she could "plug in"). We talked on the phone for a while before agreeing to live together. There were other people I tried living with, but they were adamant about meeting me first, and that wasn't going to work.
As far as brining my stuff up to Davis, I did it from within the state, but it was still a 7-ish hour drive. My family rented a cargo van from the cheapest rental company we could find and loaded up my modest amount of bedroom furniture (and waited until we were up in Davis to purchase a bed) . . .
As far as brining my stuff up to Davis, I did it from within the state, but it was still a 7-ish hour drive. My family rented a cargo van from the cheapest rental company we could find and loaded up my modest amount of bedroom furniture (and waited until we were up in Davis to purchase a bed) . . .
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I spent a long time on Craigslist and looking through sites like rent.com to see when things were going to come available, what price range seemed common and reasonable, and how much of a safety deposit I'd need to put down. At the same time, I was emailing potential renters to get a sense of their interest in having me as a potential tenant (anyone who blew me off did not get a return call/email/etc., and those who responded warmly to me stayed on the list). I wound up not finding my current place until about a month before I left Florida (yikes!) and signed the lease two weeks before I moved (EEK!) without ever seeing the place in person. I asked for lots of photos, and that was the best I could do because I couldn't afford to fly 1,000 miles north for a weekend to look at places AND pay a safety deposit. I basically just had to hope that everyone was being honest and forthcoming with me, and, in the end, it turned out very well for me (and I probably lost like, 10 pounds from stress alone LOL). If you can check out places over a weekend, I highly recommend it, but go for second best and ask for pictures, pictures, and more pictures if you can't afford to both visit and then move.
As for transporting my belongings, one of my parents was kind of enough to rent a Uhaul truck, and we drove all the way up from my hometown. In the future, since I will likely be moving alone and have to worry about getting my car somewhere, I'll probably use something like PODS.
As for transporting my belongings, one of my parents was kind of enough to rent a Uhaul truck, and we drove all the way up from my hometown. In the future, since I will likely be moving alone and have to worry about getting my car somewhere, I'll probably use something like PODS.
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I used craigslist, padmapper, the medical student classifieds website, ULoop, the vet school's housing list...and whatever else I could find to try to find a place. I ended up finding one of my future classmates on Craigslist, exchanging emails and moving in with her, which has worked out quite well and I'll be staying put next year.
As for belongings, I took as much as I could, but since I drive a tiny civic and did a 10 day cross-country roadtrip with a friend and her bag and a tent, I had to leave a lot of stuff behind. Furniture was never going to make the cut. If I lived in a closer state to school, I may have rented a UHaul, but for the distance I was driving, it just wasn't going to happen.
As for belongings, I took as much as I could, but since I drive a tiny civic and did a 10 day cross-country roadtrip with a friend and her bag and a tent, I had to leave a lot of stuff behind. Furniture was never going to make the cut. If I lived in a closer state to school, I may have rented a UHaul, but for the distance I was driving, it just wasn't going to happen.
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I'm going to Veterinary school in London in September and I'm from New York. While this may seem daunting, I have a few friends in northern England and my boyfriend, whom I plan on staying with for a few weeks before we decide on a house (or flat, w/e, that we may find on some London housing websites) and then moving down there once everything is finished. I can imagine that you'll get an email for that school and it'll be easy to contact current students who might be willing to help you out or house you while you look for a place. However, like someone mentioned above, since leases usually start the 1st of a month and are booked a month or many months in advance, you may want to just go down for a week, stay with a current student, friend, or family member (granted you have any friends/family in the area of the school) and look around. I know some people have signed leases without seeing places before it, but this scares the heck out of me and I don't know if I could do that myself, but you could be totally different. But still, I think a lot of current students would be happy to let you stay with them for a weekend or something while you apartment hunted. For me, I would want to see the place before signing a lease and putting down a deposit, but for you just seeing pictures (many! haha) might be enough, it depends on how you feel and what you're willing to sacrifice. Contact family members and friends and see if people have air miles they'd be willing to give to you so you could afford a cheap flight if it's far away.
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I am not sure if anyone recommended this already but I have talked to a couple different vet students about this and got what I think was two great pieces of advice. I would call the local police department and explain that you live out of state and plan to go to so and so school and that you are looking for advice as to what neighborhoods they recommend living in...obviously they really know what areas to avoid. Also, if you are looking for pet friendly areas you can call the local humane society they often have recommendations for which places allow animals. After suggestions from both places you will have a better idea as to where to look! Good luck!
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I second xxalic, I think I've heard of the police part before, but would have completely forgotten, thanks for the tips.
And for moving, if I end up going halfway across the country I know I plan on packing my car and driving it with all the small essentials/boxes but as for furniture am looking at just renting a trailer from uhaul (a lot less $$ than a truck, and makes more sense since I want my car there) and fitting in a few med size pieces of furniture- a dresser, desk, and loveseat, but plan on splurging on a new bed when I get there, and hoping to furnish the rest with craigslist(I find most college towns have a lot of furniture up for grabs over the summer from students who recently graduated) and thrift store deals-- if I get there early I figure it will be fun to re-finish or varnish some furniture to make it my own on the cheap.
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Well, my situation is probably slightly different than most of you, as I am moving with my husband and our 6 cats 😱 😳 (and 2 horses, but they're a little easier to find a place for, LOL). We're moving from Ohio to Kansas, so I scoured Craigslist for a few weeks, emailed or called places I was interested in, and then flew out for the weekend to look at them. We got there around noon on Saturday and managed to look at 5 houses/apartments and 5 barns, as well as the vet school, AND have brunch with the current intern/residents before leaving town at 3 pm on Sunday (with a signed lease, BTW!) I made a ridiculously detailed itinerary and we got a lot accomplished. When we do the actual move, I'm planning to get rid of some stuff, but most of our things will be making the move with us. We have a lot of stuff in storage at my parents' from when we moved here (we owned a house before vet school, and had to downsize a LOT). But yeah, there are a lot of things I'm getting rid of.
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Could not agree or reiterate this more. My mom went apartment hunting for me because I couldn't go, and even though I went off of her judgement, I really wish I had set aside some time gone myself. I am moving in the summer because the place I chose was "cheap".... its cheap alright, but it's also in a terrible area and is very cramped. They also changed their rules once I moved in and told me they don't allow visiting pets, which is a huge problem since I have 4 other dogs at home that would come with my family/boyfriend when they come to visit. It would really be in your best interest to talk to other students around. I wish I had, and maybe I would have been clued in that the place I live is not a good place.
