I Am Moving Out!

So you’re moving out of the parent’s house, or dorm, or whatever other dwelling that you may be coming from and you are striking out on your own. There are a number of items that need to be taken care of if you’re moving to your first apartment, whether if it’s by yourself or with roommates. With this article we’ll provide a checklist for some important issues that need to be remembered.

1. Make a Budget: This is so often overlooked. You need to know where your income is coming from and how much it is as this will influence the kind of places that you can afford and the furnishing they can be filled with. Also, budget out all your costs: how much it costs to eat, drive to work, bills, etc. All vital are areas that will take a chunk of your income and must be considered.

2. Choosing the Apartment: Research all the apartment rental companies in the area as they will have a variety of properties to choose. Quality is going to be huge so if you can get a nice apartment for cheap by being first to the door, all the better. Placement of the apartment is also critical. Does it have a good proximity to where you work, shop, buy groceries, etc? This decision can cost you in the long run with gas or transportation and is trumped only by the overall rent of the apartment.

3. Initial Things You Need: It’s easy to overlook things when living with other’s support. Cookware is needed to be purchased in order to cook food as well as plates and other items to eat off. You can get these kinds of items somewhere online or at thrift stores. Initial furniture is also a major need. These too can be found for sale online or in thrift stores. Filling the cabinets with food initially will also take a decent investment. Luckily, stuff like pasta, flour, cereals, etc last awhile so the initial costs will even out over the long run.

4. Get All Bills in Order: If you haven’t lived on your own then you probably haven’t considered many of these bills, however, there can potentially be a number of them. Some include electricity, WSG (water, sewage, and garbage), renter’s insurance, and other insurances (like health, car, etc.). These too need to be included in your budget that was mentioned before and some care needs to be taken to keep these costs in check.

This is far from an all inclusive list. Check with the rental property managers for a complete list of everything that needs to be covered or changed into your name. Certain areas will have special insurance needs depending on flood plains and other problems. However, this checklist should cover some of the major issues that you’re going to face when moving in to a new place.