Renting: House vs. Apartment

[Rachel B]

I'm starting to look at housing options and I seem to be going back and forth between renting an apartment or renting a house. In numerous cases, renting a house is a bit cheaper and it seems like every apartment building I've looked at has horrible reviews online (cockroaches, excessive noise, maintenance men stealing women's underwear-- I kid you not).

Another issue is that I'm going to have to choose my housing from 1,000 miles away. So this means no in-person tours. The more I think about housing the more stressed I get. But I'm hoping other grads can weigh in on the pros and cons of renting a house versus renting an apartment. Anyone?

[Gneiss1]

I think it really all depends on where you are renting citywise and the types of options you have available with the house/apt. As someone who has lived in a few different houses and apts in different cities though here is a really basic breakdown of some pros and cons to consider:

Housing pros:

- Neighbors are at least not attached to your building so you have less chance they are going to be obnoxious (walking loudly, loud music, staying up late, fighting, etc)

- More space/better layout (usually)

- A yard (this can be a pro and a con, for me personally though I used to love studying outside in a hammock by my garden, I cannot do that in my current apartment)

Housing cons:

- Upkeep, more space inevitably means more upkeep. Also yard maintenance? I have heard of some landlords handling yardwork for tenets, but in every house I have rented that was the tenets responsibility and also required I buy a lawn mower.

- Utilities are more expensive. This is especially the case with homes that run off of oil, gas, or the old-style electric heating. I see you are headed to Illinois, you are going to want heat ;-) Air-conditioning too can be more expensive. Houses tend to be older than apartments (not always, but more often than not). Older appliances come with higher electric bills. You also will have to see what your city trash regulations are. One place I lived required I drive trash to the dump and another required either an annual can fee or trash tags be purchased.

Apartment pros:

- Onsite landlords (or at least close by ones hopefully!), if something breaks they fix it. No yardwork, no filter changes, etc assuming you are in a decent apartment complex.

- Communal and often include desirable ammenities. If you are lucky enough to have good neighbors (perhaps you can find an all grad student complex) you can have close by friends. Also it is quite nice having an on-site gym and swimming pool.

- Cheaper utilities and some places include utilities. Trash is generally included and I have seen some places that offer free internet and/or cover water/sewage bill.

Apartment Cons:

- Neighbors (Bad/loud ones and there is no real surefire way of knowing who you will get)

- Space/position. Generally less room internally and if you end up on the third floor you will seriously take into consideration the size and weight of the groceries you buy.

In the end it all will come down to what you like and location. The cost may balance out depending on your options. You could alwyas look for a more expensive nicer place and get a roommate, but that of course comes with gambles of its own. Figure out what is most important to you to narrow down some of your options (location? do you want to be right on the busline on do mind driving a bit? Do you need complete silence to study? Will you feel secure in a house by yourself? etc etc) and go from there:)