Apartment Essentials: People

By Lev Novak

Here at uCribs this week, I’ll be updating the blog every day with a special eye to each of five possible priorities: location, price, stuff, people, and balance. Which should you emphasize? Which do you care about?

Today we’ll be talking about People.

What Is It?

People are the people that are going to be involved in you day-to-day life with whatever apartment you choose. It sounds simple, but it can be more complicated than you might expect. People aren’t only your roomies, but they’re also the neighbors you’re going to have and the landlord that comes with whatever apartment you select.

The people you’ll see in the lobby, the people in the bars you’ll go to, and the people you live with are all the people you need to think about regarding any apartment you select.

How to evaluate

Unlike utilities- which I advocate designating into a “good or bad” binary, people come in a lot more shades than that.

First are your roomies: they’re the most important people that come with every decision, and they should be ranked on two different axises: how much you like them as people, and how much you like them as roomies. The two can be different, but ideally there should be some overlap: some of my friends would make difficult room-mates, and some acquaintances might turn into great ones. That said, always go with friendship first: an annoying quirk of a roomie is very forgivable if he’s also the guy you drink beers and watch Netflix with. A dirty sink is a fine price for friendship.

Next comes the landlord: you’re not going to see him much, but when you do, you need him: a good landlord will seem on the ball, focused, and friendly. A bad landlord will seem distracted, unhappy, or over-worked. It might not seem like a big deal now, but if anything goes wrong, you can save yourself a lot of stress by knowing your landlord is a cool dude.

Lastly are neighbors. This means the people you’re going to be seeing everywhere- in the building, on the streets, etc. Even though you see them everywhere, I wouldn’t worry too much about this. Who you see can indicate a lot about the location of your apartment, but in no way is this a deal breaker or maker. Tons of cute girls around? That’s nice- but meeting them is a whole different ballgame. Your area full of boring professionals or worse, families? Not a big deal- just don’t blast too much Meek Mill at 2 AM. Wear headphones and it’s no issue.

How to Beat the System.

Simple- put people over stuff.

This is my take on it, but everything else in an apartment- the size, the location, and even the price- will be taken for granted over time. Ultimately, your apartment is going to be a place you rest, party, eat, hang, and the rest: it’s about the people there, not the furniture. No one in college ever said they had a great time because of their chairs.

Similarly, you can use people to your advantage. If you have a friend who’s cheap but fun, you can maybe set them up with a “bed” in the living room. If you don’t mind an extra body, you’ll all have cheaper rent: most of all your cheap friend. Plus: extra friend to hang out! Win-win!

Have a bunch of friends looking for places? All of you can live together in a boring, cheap place. Suddenly it’s party central! All for low rent.

Beating the system with people is the easiest way to do it. Live with friends, be creative, and the rest falls into place.

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