Apartment shopping

[Jahira]

So my life is sorta at a crazy/exciting/crazy-exciting time.

I am graduating from pharmacy school May 15th and moving to Austin, Tx to work as a Walgreens Pharmacist.

Tangent: For those of you who remember I was going to go to law school, I put that decision on halt. I got accepted to Iowa, Loyola (Chicago), Drake, and St. Louis but even with solid scholarships, it didn't make financial sense to add another 90k of debt on top of my almost 70k I already have from pharmacy school. So yeah - that went out the window when I got an offer to work in Austin.

More excitement is that I get to go apartment shopping May 8th weekend. I am flying down there and picking out my first apartment that I will be in by myself. Really scary though, as I have never done this before.

My main concern is what price-range should I put myself in and still be able to live comfortably. I want a place downtown with lots of amenities, but what would be too expensive? I know people will say "Well look at how much money you are going to make, deduct all your bills and other expenses, etc." Makes sense because I know how much money I will be making (say a little over 100k/year), but I have no idea on other bills, because I have never had to pay them.

I need some ideas on how to get this all undercontrol without going crazy.

[Keller]

Without knowing anything about the Austin market, I'd say you should look in the $800-1100 range.

www.mint.com (http://www.mint.com) is a pretty cool budgeting tool that my wife and I use. Even if you don't know your current budget, if you keep the info at mint updated, you'll have a very clear idea of how you spend your money within a year. It's actually very helpful feedback with very low maintainence.

[Allereli]

Congrats, looks like Austin is pretty cheap for that salary, http://austin.craigslist.org/apa/. Besides prostitutes, craigslist is great for apartments. Add a few hundred for utilities and cable/internet

[ElvenFury]

I've always lived by the "one week's take-home" rule. If a place costs more then I get a roommate. It can make it hard depending on where you are, but it's always kept me from becoming rent-poor.

[Jahira]

Without knowing anything about the Austin market, I'd say you should look in the $800-1100 range.

www.mint.com (http://www.mint.com) is a pretty cool budgeting tool that my wife and I use. Even if you don't know your current budget, if you keep the info at mint updated, you'll have a very clear idea of how you spend your money within a year. It's actually very helpful feedback with very low maintainence.

My original thought was between $1000-1200, but I wasn't sure if that was too far off base.

That website looks surprisingly helpful, but won't do much for me until I know what all of my actual bills will be.

[Keller]

My original thought was between $1000-1200, but I wasn't sure if that was too far off base.

That website looks surprisingly helpful, but won't do much for me until I know what all of my actual bills will be.

I agree. But you should at least set up an account and a general budget. You will refine everything from month to month, if my experience is accurate.

The only problem is that with such an accurate budget, my wife can tell exactly how many times per month I eat lunch out. I need some sort of husband slush fund! (Not that she cares, but I feel guilty that she knows).

[NocturnalRob]

The only problem is that with such an accurate budget, my wife can tell exactly how many times per month I eat lunch out. I need some sort of husband slush fund! (Not that she cares, but I feel guilty that she knows).
tell her to make you more delicious sandwiches.

[Stanley Burrell]

Yeah, sandwiches are pretty important actually.

[The Ponzzz]

Are you going to be living alone? Do you want room mates? Lot of questions really about all that. Do you plan on owning a home soon? 100k a year even with your loan debt, you could get into a home within a year or two.

Personally, I think you are shooting a little high on what you want to pay. Again, not sure how you want to live, and if there will be a secondary income (spouse/room mate). Austin is a pretty cheap market, when I was looking at work down there, we found homes very cheap as well as 2-3BRs for under $900 a month (apt).

[Keller]

tell her to make you more delicious sandwiches.

Five Guys > any sandwich she can make.

Edit: unless she gets a job at Five Guys. Then it is just Five Guys = the best sandwich she can make.

[Sean of the Thread]

Jahira is HAWT.

[kookiegod]

Dunno why you even flying down to apartment shop...

Rent.com or the other big rental sites have virtual tours, apps online, leasing online, your background check, etc.

~Paul

[The Ponzzz]

Yeah. Unless you're going to see the city and get a good idea of the layout, I wouldn't bother wasting time/money flying to actually seeing the place.

[Jahira]

Yeah. Unless you're going to see the city and get a good idea of the layout, I wouldn't bother wasting time/money flying to actually seeing the place.

Exactly. I am going to make sure I like the actual place and the location. Anyone can make a shitty place look good with a few well placed pictures.

If i am going to be living there for 1+ years, I am going to spend few hundred bucks to make sure I am getting a place I like. What would suck more than signing a lease and then hating my place

[The Ponzzz]

Yeah, I understand where you're coming from. They have a lot of virtual tours these days though. And I'm not sure if Austin has this, but there was a company in South Bend that you could pay $50 to have them do a tour for you and give you a live feed to your computer in real time to see the place.

[NocturnalRob]

i'm gonna be down there from the 7th-10th. If I see anything worthwhile, I'll let you know. Granted, I'm going down for a bachelor party, so given the state I'll be in, my opinion may not necessarily be trustworthy.

[Sean of the Thread]

google street view is an option.

[AnticorRifling]

Who cares what your place looks like you're a single woman you can find other places to crash at the drop of a hat duh.

[Keller]

Exactly. I am going to make sure I like the actual place and the location. Anyone can make a shitty place look good with a few well placed pictures.

If i am going to be living there for 1+ years, I am going to spend few hundred bucks to make sure I am getting a place I like. What would suck more than signing a lease and then hating my place

When we were looking for an apartment in DC from Los Angeles, my wife and I flew out for about 36 hours. We saw 15 apartments over two days. At times we had to split up to make our appointments, but it was doable.

I would have a few appointments (5-6?) lined up in different buildings in different neighborhoods. Then you can get a feel for the different management companies (if it is anything like DC, there are about 10 dominant management companies and a ton of independents) and areas of town.