The other side of being accepted....shopping and planning the trip! :D

[callista]

I'm staying in my home, but will have about an hour commute to school (unless I get on-campus parking). I'm looking into weatherproof outerwear, shoes, and bag for whatever comes my way in the urban wilderness. Also excited to finally get a new laptop - considering a macbook air. I want to upgrade my home office to be more suitable for my impending study needs (new desk, filing cabinets, shelves, bookcase, printer, comfy chair). Finally, I don't know if it's just me, but I get so excited when I get to buy back to school supplies (pens, pencils, notebooks, highlighters, calculator, binders galore) ...major dork, I know    But I'm going to try to be patient until mid-summer before I start stocking my home full of school stuff.

 

Similar here - I finally have the impetus to work on my home office in earnest!  And my husband and I are office supply junkies... I join you in dorkitude.

[Andean Pat]

I'm currently apartment hunting right now. Very exciting since its my first time living my myself!

Oh, you'll love living on your own. There are a lot of ups and downs, but you'll be surprise how well you can manage! 

 

Maybe you could try and find another grad student from your program/school? Or you could always skype the potential roomie to make sure they're not a total creeper

My condo has a roomie-fitting-service or something of the sort. 

 

A question...how do you hunt for apartments when you're in another country? How reliable is the internet? Or is it better to go there, stay temporarily at a hotel or something and then look for apartments?

This is what I did: I was afraid of getting to town and not finding anything nice/close to school/within my budget and besides, how well can you get to know the city in a couple of days? So I decided to rent a room in the university's owned condo for graduate students. It is not THE best choice, but it fits my needs. The first year (especially the first semester) is going to be tough. away from home, speaking another language all the time, trying to fit in. Thus I need to worry about surviving coursework. I figured that a university-owned place is more suitable for now. The school's free shuttle stops at the gate and takes me to school. So I know that I will not be alone (don't know my roomies yet) in case I want to have a beer with someone and talk about what the heck we are doing.

[Maggi]

I will be heading to Minnesota this Fall. I am already apartment hunting. I am looking to stay by myself in a studio atleast for the first year, until I find like-minded people, off campus( I am somehow not totally up for living on-campus amongst all the partying, noisy undergrads.. there is nothing wrong in that though.. I have done my share of wild partying.. just dont think I would fit in!). I am also married  but my husband is going to start school in another city, so thats the sad part.  
There are already a bunch of apartments available on craiglist. So just checking out, although, it is very difficult to finalize on something sitting half the world apart. Also finalized on buying MacBook Air 11`. I have a relative staying in Abu dhabi. since electronics is much cheaper there than here in India, I am considering ordering from there. 
I am totally dreading the winters in Minnesota. I have never ever lived in a place ( for more than a couple of days) where the temperature has gone below freezing. So I am totally lost on the kind of winter gear that I should buying and from where I should be buying it from. 
Since i am going to be living off a stipend, i am considering not doing much clothes shopping at all, but instead manage from my existing wardrobe. I am not all that fashion conscious anyway. So i would be looking to save every penny. The startup costs itself is pretty high - flying, rent, deposits, initial temporary stay, some necessary fees and so forth, I am already digging deep into my savings 
 

[pears]

I will be heading to Minnesota this Fall. I am already apartment hunting. I am looking to stay by myself in a studio atleast for the first year, until I find like-minded people, off campus( I am somehow not totally up for living on-campus amongst all the partying, noisy undergrads.. there is nothing wrong in that though.. I have done my share of wild partying.. just dont think I would fit in!). I am also married  but my husband is going to start school in another city, so thats the sad part.  

There are already a bunch of apartments available on craiglist. So just checking out, although, it is very difficult to finalize on something sitting half the world apart. Also finalized on buying MacBook Air 11`. I have a relative staying in Abu dhabi. since electronics is much cheaper there than here in India, I am considering ordering from there. 

I am totally dreading the winters in Minnesota. I have never ever lived in a place ( for more than a couple of days) where the temperature has gone below freezing. So I am totally lost on the kind of winter gear that I should buying and from where I should be buying it from. 

Since i am going to be living off a stipend, i am considering not doing much clothes shopping at all, but instead manage from my existing wardrobe. I am not all that fashion conscious anyway. So i would be looking to save every penny. The startup costs itself is pretty high - flying, rent, deposits, initial temporary stay, some necessary fees and so forth, I am already digging deep into my savings 

 

 

some of my cold weather favorites: tretorn and sorel boots, patagonia nanopuffs (they fit very well under shell/snow jackets), fur hats with ear flaps (yes, real fur; you'd be surprised how easy it is to find gently used rabbit fur hats!), and stockings (they keep heat in under leggings really well). keep an eye on steep and cheap, the clymb, sierra trading post, and backcountry online- they all tend to have really good deals out cold weather apparel, especially now that the snow season is coming to a close.

[peternewman89]

I'm relocating from Boston to Nashville and am trying to apartment hunt in a very different rental market from 1000 miles away.  Not the easiest thing in the world.  There's also nothing available at this time in late July/early August, which is when I'm looking to move.  I'm planning a trip down but am trying to figure out when there will be a lot of apartments available.  It's frustrating.  I'm also trying to decide how close to campus to be, as it's cheaper to be further away but my girlfriend and I will only have one car and neither of us wants to be trapped anywhere.  

[annieca]

I started apartment hunting until I realized that I have absolutely no idea what my budget is. The area I'm looking at has ridiculous rent ($900 for a studio? Eeek!!!) and I haven't gotten my loan package yet. But, I have a family friend in the area that I plan on making a trip to see and apartment hunt early in the summer. That way I can get a head-start on the process instead of moving up early and getting what's left. 

 

I'm going to be downsizing a LOT but, thankfully, either of my parent's houses (they're retiring and becoming half-time snowbirds) are a 10-13 hour drive away. I can always get them to mail stuff. The hardest thing is going to be getting rid of clothes - I need both cold weather and hot weather, as usual. Okay, that won't be the hardest thing. The hardest thing is going to be resisting Ikea - there's one in the town where my new university is!

[Ohm]

I've decided to stay at the university accomodation at least in the beginning...I'm going for en suite self catered single occupancy rooms. I'm going to Manchester so it'll be pretty darn cold. I'll need to use the room heater extensively and it'll pipe up the power bill, hence better go where all utilities are covered! Now I'll need to shop for thermal wear, snow boots, cloaks and jackets and stuff!!!

[sansao]

I'm transitioning from AZ to (most likely) somewhere far colder (New England or Great Lakes area). I'm going to have to buy a whole winter wardrobe, watrproofable everything, and probably have my car/tires adjusted too. We just dropped $1000 on a laptop, and I still have the cost of moving too. This is a little intense.

[kabelo]

To-Do List:

 

- Find an apartment

- Find the airline with the biggest luggage allowance

- Find a good bank where I can open an account

- Find the best-value cell phone carrier

- Find a decent road bike on craigslist

- Find funds to buy an iMac for the office

[Andean Pat]

You can take your tennis racket as a carry on. . I saw a couple girls do that on my last flight.

Yeah, I thought of that. Moreover, sports equipment do not count towards luggage allowance so I thought of taking racquet, stick, shin protectors, etc in my hockey bag. But, honestly, they are SO OLD that it wouldn't hurt buy a new one in the States.  

 

I've already been scouting out a new MacBook Air, a stylus for my ipad, and getting price quotes for the cross country move. I'm really excited to be moving to CA!! My boyfriend and I will be living with family while we search for an apartment. In the meantime, I have to finish work, say my farewells, and pack up.

Yeah, I want new tech too. They will have to wait though....

 

To-Do List:

 

- Find an apartment DONE

- Find the airline with the biggest luggage allowance DONE. British usually has good allowance. I bought a ticket with 2x23. 

- Find a good bank where I can open an account I my school they have Well Fargo ATM. can you open an account without having SSN?

- Find the best-value cell phone carrier Will do closest to aug. My brother lives in the US so I'll ask him.

- Find a decent road bike on craigslist DONE-- Will rent a school bike, then I'll see. Have you checked www.mapmyride.com? It tells you the safest and/or fastest route, the slopes and you can save your maps. 

- Find funds to buy an iMac for the office Well, this will have to wait, I'd love to buy a mac, but I can't afford yet...

 

Since I am buying everything new, I am making some lists on Amazon: urgent, not so urgent, nice clothes, etc. It's so fun!!!! :D 

 

In my urgent stuff I included (besides what I told you earlier):

Bathroom curtain + rug set

dish set service 4

drinking glasses

cutlery

 

What am I forgetting?

[Namash]

im looking for a place in NYC in august. I couldnt find any reasonable priced places in NYC around that time... most are looking for people in may-june so i thought maybe i am looking too soon.... i will be applying for uni accomodation as well but in case i dont get it i have to find something before i move... 

[Nife]

In my urgent stuff I included (besides what I told you earlier):

Bathroom curtain + rug set

dish set service 4

drinking glasses

cutlery

 

What am I forgetting?

 

Oh, whoa, cutlery, drinking glasses, etc. Oh, my. I was totally forgetting about that kind of stuff! 

 

Check list. I need a check list. 

[Andean Pat]

Oh, whoa, cutlery, drinking glasses, etc. Oh, my. I was totally forgetting about that kind of stuff! 

 

Check list. I need a check list. 

 

although it is meant for college shopping, this list may come in handy....

 

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/bts01_checklist.asp?

[Nife]

although it is meant for college shopping, this list may come in handy....

 

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/bts01_checklist.asp?

 

Thank you!  

 

It's actually very comprehensive. 

[annieca]

When is the best time to start looking for housing? Okay, not looking but seriously looking? Like, going out to the city and signing leases and all that stuff?

 

I already have a general idea of where I want to live in Maryland (Silver Spring, Hyattsville, Aldephi) and I have applied for campus housing but I won't sign anything until I see the apartment. When is usually the best time to find housing and sign a lease? I was thinking early July, but anyone else have any ideas?

[Andean Pat]

When is the best time to start looking for housing? Okay, not looking but seriously looking? Like, going out to the city and signing leases and all that stuff?

 

I already have a general idea of where I want to live in Maryland (Silver Spring, Hyattsville, Aldephi) and I have applied for campus housing but I won't sign anything until I see the apartment. When is usually the best time to find housing and sign a lease? I was thinking early July, but anyone else have any ideas?

 

I have already rented a room for the fall. My case is special because I live abroad and won't be going to the US until mid-August. I decided to go for University housing before I get to know the area and then decide where to live. 

[pears]

annieca: i'm currently looking for housing in missoula, and we seem to be jumping the gun a little bit- a lot of posts up are still for summer sublets. i've heard that may is a good time to start looking, once most summer sublets are figured out, leases change over, etc. not sure if it's going to be the same for you, but in my case, late april and may seem to be the right time.

[dazedandbemused]

When is the best time to start looking for housing? Okay, not looking but seriously looking? Like, going out to the city and signing leases and all that stuff?

 

I already have a general idea of where I want to live in Maryland (Silver Spring, Hyattsville, Aldephi) and I have applied for campus housing but I won't sign anything until I see the apartment. When is usually the best time to find housing and sign a lease? I was thinking early July, but anyone else have any ideas?

 

I think it seriously depends on the part of the country. I found the place where I currently live at the start of July last year; I'll be moving to Austin for the fall and I've already signed a lease because I heard so many stories about the good cheap stuff disappearing crazy fast. Plus, because there's so much turnover, I couldn't look at some places and then mull it over for awhile like I did when moving to Pittsburgh. Half of the apartments that I looked at when I went to Austin a few weeks ago had already been leased out by the time I called two days later! I don't think it's close to that bad in most cities though, except perhaps New York. I'm really not looking forward to buying furniture again though; taking it with me is just not going to be feasible.

[Ohm]

My case is a bit differnt too - i'll be starting early in the first week of July, and uni accomodation itself might be a bit tricky - it's in between transitions! My fresher's welcome will be in September and ironically, I'll already be 3 months old in the Uni by then  

 

Visa preparations on, lots of shopping planned just for clothes - others I'm just going to go there and buy!

[i.am.me]

I've been apartment hunting and...well, I don't find apartment hunting very exciting lol

 

However, after apartment hunting, I plan to update certain parts of my wardrobe and THAT is exciting to look forward to doing

[sdt13]

When is the appropriate time to apartment hunt for August? I've been browsing craigslist and various sites, but right now everything up is for May 1 or summer sublet. 

 

[lib87]

I'm shopping for clothing once the summer months arrive. Dress pants, blouses and the like. I am excited to get started!

[TeaGirl]

I already know where I'm staying: graduate housing   Really, it's the only feasible option at least for my first year, not that it's a bad one.

I've been really holding myself back on so many things I need to buy. Why bother buying them and having to move everything halfway around the world when I can just buy them when I get there. Packing is what I dread the most!

 

Still, I just bought a new Samsung series 7 laptop. My old Acer still works but it's almost 5 years old and is getting a bit old and slow. Served like a trooper though. I'm glad I got it now because it took me almost 2 weeks to get my laptop customized so I'm comfortable working on it.

[Queen of Kale]

Well, my husband and I have found an apartment for our new city but scouting out a reputable moving company to truck our stuff across the country has been a pain in my rump.  We've had estimates from like 7 companies, most of which have an eerie mix of 5 star reviews and fraud warnings on the internet.  It's just been tiresome.  I completely forgot how much I hated this part of moving 3 years ago when we did the same thing.  And worse, all the big companies just contract out to local guys but they don't want to tell you the local business name and so you can't even be 100% sure what you're gonna get.  ahhhhhhhh I hate this! (end vent)

 

On the other hand, every time I get stressed out I put on my new school hoodie and do some deep breathing exercises.  

[Purplescarves]

Well, my husband and I have found an apartment for our new city but scouting out a reputable moving company to truck our stuff across the country has been a pain in my rump.  We've had estimates from like 7 companies, most of which have an eerie mix of 5 star reviews and fraud warnings on the internet.  It's just been tiresome.  I completely forgot how much I hated this part of moving 3 years ago when we did the same thing.  And worse, all the big companies just contract out to local guys but they don't want to tell you the local business name and so you can't even be 100% sure what you're gonna get.  ahhhhhhhh I hate this! (end vent)   On the other hand, every time I get stressed out I put on my new school hoodie and do some deep breathing exercises.  

My spouse and I had to do this too. We called over 20 companies. It was stressful, but we just chose a moving company and we feel confident about it. PM if you want more specific information.