Law School, a Wedding, and Moving, Oh My: Apartment Hunting

After the Admitted Student Event, the school hosted a housing fair. Garrett and I had started looking at listings on sites like Trulia and Apartment List for cities where I had been accepted to law programs. It was an extra hard search for us because we have a Bullboxer, Callie, who weighs about 55 pounds. Many apartments near the law school either don't allow pets at all or no dogs over 25 pounds. So we broadened our search.

Garrett and I are kinda picky and had a lot of things we wanted for the lowest price we could get. We're moving from out of state and didn't want to lug our washer and dryer, so we needed them to be included in the unit. We also wanted to be near green space for our doggo. We had it narrowed down to two places: one was 20 minutes from the law school and was cheaper and the other was right across the street but cost a bit more.

My suggestion is to really calculate how much you'd save. I don't have a car (my beloved Penny died two Octobers ago) and would have to purchase one. Calculate the cost of gas, parking passes, and insurance. It turned out, after crunching the numbers a dozen times, that we would save a few thousand dollars by living across the street. Not to mention the opportunity cost of saving time by eliminating 18 minutes of travel time. This was a huge pro for us since we will be adjusting to marriage while my head will be buried in law 24/7. The more time I can spend studying during the day, the more time I can spend with my new husband in the evening.

Always check the place out before you sign anything. Get a vibe from other tenants, the staff in the office, and maintenance as well as the property itself. So after the housing fair, we popped across the street for a tour. It ended up being perfect and they had the style we wanted, with the finishes we wanted, and every amenity on our list. We loved the place, so we signed an application and paid the fees.

Neither of us can wait to move in and start this exciting chapter together!

Until next time!

Rachel

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