Relocating questions

[3Romeo]

So I was accepted to my school, and now I have to move there.

The situation:

Right now I live alone, graduate in May. Grad school starts August 22nd.

The plan: Head down the second week of July, set up my new bank account, find a place to live or a roomie to live with. Move down July 25th. Bringing important things (books, clothes, computer), but not bringing furniture (cheaper to buy new, and what I have is garbage).

The questions:

1) Will it be possible to stay where I'm living over the summer? I guess that's a dumb question, but if the stipend they pay me doesn't work over summer months, how will I afford rent?

2) Is late July too late to move? It's still a month before school starts, I figured that was enough time.

Thanks!

[mandarin.orange]

1) Will it be possible to stay where I'm living over the summer? I guess that's a dumb question, but if the stipend they pay me doesn't work over summer months, how will I afford rent?

Do you have money saved? Money you can borrow?

2) Is late July too late to move? It's still a month before school starts, I figured that was enough time.

Probably not, though it's best to check with your specific department. I showed up at the last possible moment (the first day of meetings) for my MS program, which worked out okay at the time and plenty others did the same. I did get some flack from the secretary, saying she didn't know if my W4 and other paperwork I had to complete would be processed in time for me to get my first stipend check on time (it did). One in my cohort said he'd arrived a month early and no one was around and he felt at a loss for what to do.

For my relo and start of PhD program next year, I'd like a little more lead time (2-3 weeks) to set up an apartment and check in with the dept. about paperwork.

[lambspam]

July won't be too late to move, but know how the house hunting works wherever you're going. It can be hard to find housing in some college towns because most people sign leases for the next year between January and March. In cities, though, time of year doesn't make that much of a difference. You may be well-served to contact current grad students and ask about the best ways to find somewhere to live. They may even be able to point you in the direction of students in older cohorts who have a room available.

As for money, do everything you can do to save. If you haven't already gotten a job for this summer, get one (or two) and save every extra cent. Moving is incredibly expensive whether or not you're bringing a lot of stuff. Unless you have savings or a rich uncle, you could have a really tough time. Grad stipends often don't kick in for a few weeks to a month after school starts, so call the university and find out when you'll get your first paycheck so you can plan.

[far_to_go]

I strongly second lambspan's advice about saving money. You will need it!

In large part because of the money issue, I moved in only one week before the start of classes. I had made a preliminary trip several months before and found a place to live, but then I stayed in my old location and worked until the beginning of August. It would have been nice to have a little more time to get settled in before the semester began, but it worked out alright.

A word of general advice on moving (since I've done it many times): I always make sure that getting a bed set up is the first priority in a new place. Moving is really exhausting, and you don't want to get to the end of the day and realize that you have no place to sleep. Since it sounds like you'll be getting all new furniture, consider making the bed the first piece you buy.

Good luck!

[3Romeo]

Thanks for the advice, guys!

[The Lorax]

Also moving across the country. Have done it once before, but it was fly by the seat of the pants. Looking for tips. Moving with my spouse, so bringing ALL of our crap.

Pods vs. uhaul? Other ideas?

House hunting from a distance: Is it better to get a place you haven't seen in person, or wait until you get there and try to find something inside of a couple of days? How imperative is it that one of us head out there for a housing hunt?

many thanks for your thoughts.

[lambspam]

House hunting from a distance: Is it better to get a place you haven't seen in person, or wait until you get there and try to find something inside of a couple of days? How imperative is it that one of us head out there for a housing hunt?

Homeowners are often really hesitant to rent to people who live far away because they can't meet them and are worried about getting scammed. I got a really good tip from one of the older grad students in my new program: sublet for the summer. It'll probably already have furniture, and it'll give us some time to take a look around and find a place we'll really like. Also, sublet rent can be decently cheap because people are desperate to get rid of their apartments for the summer. We may just leave our belongings in storage for the summer and unpack them once we've found our new home.

I'm moving across the country with my SO and am going through the same process. I've heard that U-Pack is the cheapest way to move, but it's still going to cost about $3000 to move all our stuff that way. If you're thinking about U-Hauling, don't forget that gas will be crazy expensive and you'll have to pay for food/hotels along the way. It ends up costing about the same, or maybe more, and with a lot more headache. Pods are door-to-door, and you don't have to drive over a mountain range with them when crossing the country.

[michpc]

Also moving across the country. Have done it once before, but it was fly by the seat of the pants. Looking for tips. Moving with my spouse, so bringing ALL of our crap.

Pods vs. uhaul? Other ideas?

House hunting from a distance: Is it better to get a place you haven't seen in person, or wait until you get there and try to find something inside of a couple of days? How imperative is it that one of us head out there for a housing hunt?

many thanks for your thoughts.

I've heard for long distance that PODS can be on par with or more expensive than actually hiring movers. Just do your homework and call around. If movers are even anywhere close to PODS I'd totally go the mover route since they're doing everything for you,

[The Lorax]

Lambspam - straight up on not having to drive over a mountain range crap in tow. I think, if it's comparable to uhaul (accounting for gas) that is what we would want. But it means I have to have an address first. Which means I'm back to the question: to go ahead of time or to try to do it from a distance....

I see your heading to UW also. Have you heard how quick the housing dries up over the summer??

[runonsentence]

Someone asked about money earlier, too—check with your program, but I know that at mine we don't get our first pay check until 2-4 weeks into the term. (Have to wait for the pay period to end and for the check to clear.) This is one of those hidden moving expenses (fronting money until your pay kicks in).

[The Lorax]

Ok, we've decided to send one of us out on a housing visit. Any tips for how this is best organized? I plan to set a up a series of apartment go-sees...but should we aim to have one secured BEFORE the visit is over? Should we be prepared to fill out applications and submit to background checks before the visit is over? How long should such a visit be? I'm thinking four days - too short?

[lyonessrampant]

We're paying to have a realtor look for rental properties matching a list of our specifications and then record vids and pictures of each place. We'll select from the list. We have a contract specifying our satisfaction, and I know lots of other people who have used services like this. For us, it is cheaper to do this than to fly one of us out to visit and look for places. If you're already going out, try to be there for a few days. Look at a TON of places. Try to find multiple listings through a single property management company. If you see pics and stuff of places you like, it might be best to submit background checks and app fees before you go so that if you find a place, you can secure it while you visit. It can take quite a while to get through the app process, so I'd really recommend getting started on all that before you actually head out.

[rising_star]

So I was accepted to my school, and now I have to move there.

The situation:

Right now I live alone, graduate in May. Grad school starts August 22nd.

The plan: Head down the second week of July, set up my new bank account, find a place to live or a roomie to live with. Move down July 25th. Bringing important things (books, clothes, computer), but not bringing furniture (cheaper to buy new, and what I have is garbage).

The questions:

1) Will it be possible to stay where I'm living over the summer? I guess that's a dumb question, but if the stipend they pay me doesn't work over summer months, how will I afford rent?

2) Is late July too late to move? It's still a month before school starts, I figured that was enough time.

Thanks!

1) Sure, it's possible, depending on what your lease says. If you don't get paid over the summer months, you take out a loan to pay summer rent, set money aside when you are getting paid, or get a summer job.

2) Probably not but talk to some current grad students.

July won't be too late to move, but know how the house hunting works wherever you're going. It can be hard to find housing in some college towns because most people sign leases for the next year between January and March. In cities, though, time of year doesn't make that much of a difference. You may be well-served to contact current grad students and ask about the best ways to find somewhere to live. They may even be able to point you in the direction of students in older cohorts who have a room available.

I think there's more variation in this than lambspam indicates. I used to live in a college town and while a lot of the undergrads signed leases in Jan/Feb, most of the grads did not. The undergrad apartment complexes really pushed people to resign early in the year, even though the lease didn't end until July 31. By checking Craig's List, the classified ads in the paper, and driving/biking around to look at "for rent" signs, you can definitely find a place, though it may not be in one of the ultra-luxury apartment complexes.

Ok, we've decided to send one of us out on a housing visit. Any tips for how this is best organized? I plan to set a up a series of apartment go-sees...but should we aim to have one secured BEFORE the visit is over? Should we be prepared to fill out applications and submit to background checks before the visit is over? How long should such a visit be? I'm thinking four days - too short?

I would go through rental companies, if you can. That way you can get a bunch of listings at once and go see them one after another with one agent showing each of them to you. Alternately, you can do what someone else is doing and pay a realtor to do the hunting for you. You probably won't get everything done during the visit, especially if they want to do a background and credit check. Whether or not four days is enough really depends on where you're moving to and how long you want to spend hunting each day.

[michpc]

I would go through rental companies, if you can. That way you can get a bunch of listings at once and go see them one after another with one agent showing each of them to you. Alternately, you can do what someone else is doing and pay a realtor to do the hunting for you. You probably won't get everything done during the visit, especially if they want to do a background and credit check. Whether or not four days is enough really depends on where you're moving to and how long you want to spend hunting each day.

I wouldn't put all your eggs in the rental agency basket, however. Find some by owner places to view too. I've seen dozens and dozens of apartments in the past, and very few of those shown to me by agencies (that I wasn't viewing through an agency after finding that unit specifically through a site like Craigslist) have been nice. Most have been complete junk, and clueless or slimy (not sure entirely which) agents have tried to take me to units they claimed were in one neighborhood when they were actually nowhere near it. Lots of time wasted. Landlords are naturally going to send their junky units off to an agency so they don't have to show it hundreds of times until some sucker finally rents it. I found my current place through a realtor, but the company was not one that dealt strictly/mostly in rentals, and again I found that unit specifically through a search website; all the agent did for me was open it up and show it, then send us a lease to sign.

[juilletmercredi]

Realtors depend on the city; in my city realtors are great because finding an apartment sucks here, but the two problems is that they are expensive (they want 12-15% of the years' rent and that can easily be $1500-$2500 in this city (on top of paying security, first, and sometimes last month's rent) and that they mostly have more expensive listings. I also haven't had good relationships with rental agencies because they'll list their units on Craigslist as no-fee when they actually are, or they'll advertise that they are no-fee when they do charge fees, and yes, they do lie about neighborhoods ("Upper West Side" can easily mean in the 140s, which is Harlem, or even the 160s, which is Washington Heights.)

The less expensive apartments are often by-owner. I've found that Craigslist is more than sufficient for finding places here, as most of the grad students and young professionals I know vacating places list their units there. Also ask the departmental secretary if she has any listings (in both of my departments the coordinators pass around sublets and for-rent units for grad students) and your uni should have an off-campus housing office, who should be able to at least give you listings for affordable off-campus apartments. That's how I found my excellent unit, and ever since when I've needed a roommate I list it on Craigslist and get one within a week or two.

The summer before grad school, I saved money from a loan I borrowed in the fall and lived on that. I stayed at home with my parents, which saved a lot of money. I was coming straight from undergrad though so that may not be an option for those of you who are not.

[smaturin]

I'm going to vent a little bit here. How on earth is a reasonable person expected to be able to cover all of these moving expenses with no relocation assistance? I worked for two years before starting school, and I'm lucky enough to have some savings. However, a number of people start their graduate programs the autumn after they finish their undergraduate work, and those who can't count on help from their families must really struggle with moving their things, paying first/last/deposit, buying books and supplies, and furnishing a new apartment all before they draw a red cent from their stipends/assistanceships.

For my part, I'm watching my savings dwindle and dwindle as things begin to add up. I stopped working two weeks ago to give myself time to find an apartment and move before starting school in late August. But I won't see a payment until September 21, and meanwhile, I've got to cover all the things I mentioned above. I'll practically be in debt before I even start school! The program seemed extremely proud to be offering me a $19,000 fellowship, but when that's spread over 12 months, has to cover student fees (about 1K per semester) and books, and doesn't even kick in until I've been working for a month, it resembles a reasonable wage even less than it did at face value when I received the offer.

I know I should be grateful to have funding at all, but when you combine moving expenses (for me, $3000-4000) with living expenses and spread it over 12 months, it's going to be really, really close to eclipsing the value of my stipend.

[runonsentence]

Well, not that it'll probably help you to feel much better, but you're lucky to have such a high fellowship. You're also lucky to have paychecks coming in during the summer, whereas a lot of other grads are usually scrambling for summer grants/teaching/part-time jobs (a scramble I know all too well...).

I know how much it sucks to see savings dwindle. Unfortunately, them's the breaks in grad school. Just try to keep telling yourself that this will probably be one of the most expensive periods you'll have to endure for awhile (or during the duration of your degree?).

I was lucky enough to have a small pad of savings to draw on for moving expenses, and I worked up til the very last minute (literally, until 2 days before I was supposed to drive out of town), which wasn't my brightest idea. A lot of others I know took out small loans for the start-up period.

[eco_env]

I'm going to vent a little bit here. How on earth is a reasonable person expected to be able to cover all of these moving expenses with no relocation assistance? I worked for two years before starting school, and I'm lucky enough to have some savings. However, a number of people start their graduate programs the autumn after they finish their undergraduate work, and those who can't count on help from their families must really struggle with moving their things, paying first/last/deposit, buying books and supplies, and furnishing a new apartment all before they draw a red cent from their stipends/assistanceships.

For my part, I'm watching my savings dwindle and dwindle as things begin to add up. I stopped working two weeks ago to give myself time to find an apartment and move before starting school in late August. But I won't see a payment until September 21, and meanwhile, I've got to cover all the things I mentioned above. I'll practically be in debt before I even start school! The program seemed extremely proud to be offering me a $19,000 fellowship, but when that's spread over 12 months, has to cover student fees (about 1K per semester) and books, and doesn't even kick in until I've been working for a month, it resembles a reasonable wage even less than it did at face value when I received the offer.

I know I should be grateful to have funding at all, but when you combine moving expenses (for me, $3000-4000) with living expenses and spread it over 12 months, it's going to be really, really close to eclipsing the value of my stipend.

As a recent undergrad (graduated in May), I saved money from my work study job during the academic year and I'm working now until I move for grad school. It helps that I'm living with my parents, though, so I don't need to spend any of my earnings now.

[Eigen]

The moving expenses can be a lot- it took most of our savings for the set up costs. But they slowly build back up if you're frugal, the first year can just be hard.

I ended up moving to the new city and starting research during the summer, so it let me get on the payroll a month early, and it also meant I started drawing from my fellowship right away- there was a 2-4 week delay for those who came just before the semester started.

[ktel]

I'm just super lucky my boyfriend is working full time and is therefore covering all the initial expenses (first and last months rent, furniture, utility deposits, etc.). I have some savings but would have definitely had to borrow money from my parents if I had to do all of this on my own. However I also wouldn't have spent $1000 on flights to visit my boyfriend this summer...haha.