Dorm Life Vs. Apartment Life

May 23, 2014 | By Melissa AuthorMy First Apartment

Transitioning from a college dorm to an apartment may seem easy, especially if you’ve been lucky enough to enjoy suite-style living, but there are plenty of hurdles (and costs!) along the way. First, and most importantly, you need learn to budget for the rent money. Dorms typically charge by the semester, so you’re pre-paid for…

Graduation Move-Out: From Dorm to First Apartment

April 30, 2014 | By Melissa AuthorMy First Apartment

School’s out for summer! Well, forever, actually. Once your dorm collects your keys and inspects the furniture for permanent damage, you’re out in the world! It’s scary, exciting, and shocking, even if you’ve been preparing for months. If you’ve decided not to move back home, chances are you’ve found your own apartment, perhaps with college…

14 Point Moving Checklist

March 31, 2014 | By Melissa AuthorMy First Apartment

Moving day can be stressful and unpredictable! You’re uprooting your life and settling down in a new place. Even if you’re only moving into an apartment a few blocks away, make sure you have everything lined up so your move can be as easy as possible. Here are some questions to ask yourself to make…

Our Favorite Online Resources for First Apartments

December 28, 2013 | By Melissa AuthorMy First Apartment

If you live in an apartment as small as mine (do I complain about this enough?) there’s a fair change that a good part of your home life actually takes place within the constraints of your laptop. Or iPad. Or smartphone. Daydreaming about the decorations and objects you’ll one day put in your regular-sized dream…

Roommate Gift Giving Alternatives

December 12, 2013 | By Melissa AuthorMy First Apartment

Gift exchange season is upon us, as is the impending doom of shopping for everyone on your holiday list while also managing to pay rent. And let’s hope your lease isn’t up at the end of the year too… Sharing presents with roommates can be a fun group activity or a potential disaster. If you…

It’s Not Me, It’s You: Breaking up with a Roommate

October 27, 2013 | By Melissa AuthorMy First Apartment

Sometimes things don’t work out the way we expect: relationships, friendships, living situations. No matter how mature or experienced we are, when something goes awry, there will be hard feelings. The cardinal rule of roommate break-ups is don’t blindside your roommates. Don’t just pack up and leave a post-it on the fridge. Also, it’s not cool to announce that…

My First Apartment: An East Village Shoebox

September 22, 2013 | By Melissa AuthorMy First Apartment

With this post we welcome Melissa to the My First Apartment blogger team. At the end of my junior year in college, I decided I was ready to move out of the dorms and into an apartment. I was in New York City after all, and ready to try and make it on my own.…