Author My First Apartment

doug

Doug Mack is a writer based in Minneapolis and the author of the travel memoir Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day: One Man, Eight Countries, One Vintage Travel Guide (Perigee Books/Penguin). He has lived in apartments large and small, historic and modern, in Minneapolis and Chicago. Visit his web site at www.douglasmack.net or find him on Twitter @douglasmack.

Conquering Your First Rental Paperwork

March 2, 2013 | By doug AuthorMy First Apartment

Searching for an apartment, while stressful, also has its enjoyable moments. You daydream of your view overlooking the park, or imagine the grandeur of living in a historic building, hardwood floors at your feet, chandeliers lighting the hallway. And then you get to the paperwork part of the process. There’s nothing glamorous about reading sprawling…

Super-Budget Decorating Tips From the Pros

February 3, 2013 | By doug AuthorMy First Apartment

So you’ve found an apartment and you have the basic necessities of everyday life: things to sleep on, eat on, sit on … and so on. Everything seems to be in place. But as you look around your new abode, perhaps it feels a bit … unfinished. Spare. There’s stuff, but no personality to it.…

Roommates and Overnight Guests:Tips to Avoid Problems

January 28, 2013 | By doug AuthorMy First Apartment

Ben Franklin may have known about electricity, politics, bifocals and one or two other things, but one of his more overlooked gifts to posterity is this immortal observation: “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.” What he didn’t say is this: If they’re your roommate’s guests, rather than your own, the smell can…

Checklist When Leaving Your Apartment for a Longer Period

January 1, 2013 | By doug AuthorMy First Apartment

Are you leaving soon for an exchange program abroad? Or a long work assignment out of town? Or maybe your dream trip bumming around the ski slopes in the West? Leaving your apartment for longer than a few days is always more work than you’d think and it requires some effort to carry it out.…

Great Gifts for Every First Apartment

December 3, 2012 | By doug AuthorMy First Apartment

‘Tis the season for … gift lists. And if someone on your own list has just moved into a new apartment–especially a FIRST apartment–there are probably some things he or she could use but hasn’t yet procured. Let’s assume that there’s already been the obligatory shopping spree at the big three purveyors of first-apartment goods:…

What To Do If You Don’t Get Your Security Deposit Back

November 13, 2012 | By doug AuthorMy First Apartment

It’s supposed to work like this: you give your landlord your notice (“So long, I’m moving, it’s been swell!”), clean the place till it literally sparkles, pack your belongings Tetris-tight into a truck, and head out to your new abode. A few days later, your security deposit refund appears in your new mailbox. You congratulate…

Beyond Craigslist – A Brief Guide to Apartment-Hunting Web Sites

October 30, 2012 | By doug AuthorMy First Apartment

We recently listed a few resources for those who want to get off the beaten path and find an apartment without using the internet. But, of course, the web is an invaluable research tool, especially once you’ve figured out how to narrow your search, and how to harness the wealth of information without drowning in the onslaught. …