If you don’t want to stay on campus for the upcoming school year, I don’t blame you.  There are so many ways that you can save just by staying off campus.   Not only are you going to have your own freedoms, and you don’t have to follow campus rules, you’re also going to find out that you’ll be able to do what you want, when you want.

How can I find the perfect college apartment?

Know your budget: First, you want to know how much money you’re going to want to spend.  A general rule of thumb is to make sure that you don’t spend more than 35% of your total take home pay for the month.  If you make $1,000 a month, I wouldn’t spend more than 350.

What do you want? There are many things that you can get in an apartment.  From high speed Internet, to a laundry room.  What are the things that you want in an apartment?  It’s best that you write these things down, so that you know what apartments that you should be looking at.

Find a roommate: Many college students out there get a roommate.  Not only is it going to save you a lot of money, it’s also going to be easier to get approved, since you’ll have 2 incomes.  If you know of someone that’s going to college, ask them, or you may want to try online roommate searches.  Just be sure you’re going to move in with someone that you trust.

Location! Location will always be key.  Make sure that you don’t move too far away from campus.  You’re most likely going to have to go there every day, so a 25+ mile commute is going to kill you in terms of gasoline.  It’s best if you find one within 10 miles.  You’ll also want to make sure that you find a place that’s nearby laundry mats, restaurants, grocery shopping, and more.

Do your homework: Don’t apply for the first apartment that you see.  You will want to make sure that you search, and look at least 3-5 different kinds.  You will get a good feel on what you want.  A great place to start your search is right online with places such as Apartments.com.

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