Countdown to Your First Apartment: Final 3 Steps – Lease, Utilities and Walk-Through

January 18, 2013 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

So you’ve just got the great news: you’ve been approved for your dream apartment! Which means you’re finally done, right? Well … almost. You’re very close, but there are still a few more steps. We’ve already covered what to do before you search for an apartment, as well as how to search for an apartment.…

Countdown to Your First Apartment: 4 Steps to Conducting Your Search

January 13, 2013 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

If you’re looking to move into an apartment for the first time, you’re in luck: this is part two of our three-part series. Today’s topic is how to search for your place. Last week we talked about getting ready (i.e., budgeting, saving for moving costs, and credit scores) and next week we’ll have a discussion…

Countdown to Your First Apartment: 3 Steps to Get Ready

January 4, 2013 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

If you’ve never lived in an apartment of your own, there’s actually a lot to prepare for – it’s not simply a question of moving in. In this three-part series, we’ll give you the tips and insight you need from start to finish. First, we’ll tell you how to get ready for your search. Second,…

6 Steps to Get Your Apartment in Shape for the New Year

January 3, 2013 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

‘Tis the time to make resolutions. Here at My First Apartment we feel there has to be a better way to knock off one or two long-neglected chores around the apartment than by using the vague and quickly-forgotten resolutions traditionally associated with New Year’s – after all, the idea of “cleaning more often”, “making the…

First Apartment Holiday Tipping Guide

December 16, 2012 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

Tipping can be a tricky for the first time renter. When you’re living on your own in an apartment, there’s all sorts of new interactions: dealing with landlords, with handymen and building supers. Whom should you tip? How much should you give? To help you out, we have pooled together the tipping advice our bloggers…

Roommate Gift-Giving: A Complete Guide

December 8, 2012 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

Here at My First Apartment we love the holiday season – it’s a time to get together with old friends, it’s a time to reflect upon the year gone by, and it’s also a time to exchange presents. For the first apartment dwellers among us, that can mean a good ol’ fashioned roommate gift swap.…

How to Sublet Your Apartment

November 24, 2012 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

You’re in the middle of your lease but you need to move, and you don’t know what to do. Luckily, the solution is simple: you have to sublet your place. This means finding someone else to live in your apartment until your lease expires. It’s a relatively common maneuver – and here’s how to do it. The…

Lovely: A Great New Online Tool for Apartment Hunters

November 15, 2012 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

Most people don’t like apartment hunting – it’s tiring, frustrating, and time-consuming. It’s also stressful. Of course, progress has been made – apartment hunting in the twenty-first century is far easier than it was in hoary days of last century. Imagine apartment hunting in 1981 without the internet and cell phones. You’d have to use a newspaper to…

Smart Tricks for Increasing Usable Space in Your Bedroom

October 21, 2012 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

When you move into your first apartment, you might be surprised at how small a space you have, particularly if you’re moving to a dense city like New York or San Francisco. Here you are, on your own, and you can’t even fit all your clothes in your bedroom! What are you to do? Well,…

Thrift Shops: the Best Places for Furniture Bargains (and for a Good Cause)

October 4, 2012 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

As you move into your first apartment, you quickly discover that furniture can be expensive, very expensive. But, as a friend of mine says, furniture is one of those commodities that you can get at any price – it’s just as possible to have an aunt give you her old coffee table for free as it…