THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)
Fun Stuff => CHATTER => Topic started by: GarandMarine on 15 Jun 2013, 12:40
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Okay guys I have a serious question and am in need of advice. I've rented an apartment once in my life and that was years ago. I've either lived with some form of family or in military barracks. What should I be looking out for as potential issues? :psyduck:
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Having just moved into one blind I would recommend checking it out if at all possible before filing an application and paying the app fee. I saw a roach on the floor when I got here and had already payed $135 before signing the lease. Being 900 miles away from support you don't get a do over easily. It turned out fine, I got some bait traps and never saw one again so far, but it was a little concerning being the first thing I saw. So if you can afford it a motel or extended stay in the are you are going to might be worth it to check out several places before applying to one. Inquire about utilities and look up independent ratings of the complex online (most tend to be bad because you usually don't go out of your way to tell about a good experience, but if you start to see some troubling themes it could get you to reconsider). If the place is close to a school or park it will mean sex offenders can't live there (civil rights issues concerning how people get on that list and are treated aside, it can go toward peace of mind).
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When you get to the point of doing the walk-through, take pictures of everything wrong. Stains in the carpet, dents in walls, closet doors off hinges, even pre-existing satellite dishes. Make sure you have some way to document the date in the photo (like a newspaper or a timestamp on the photo). It will make life so much easier moving out.
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Okay I'm having trouble figuring out if this is a good move or not. I found a room in a townhome with a friend of mine from HS, Karrie, she's cool and we have similiar interests in delicious food stuffs and anime, but with minimal "interest" in each other. Room is kinda small but I'm used to that. $300ish/mo (Karrie's mom is the land lady so we have to talk to her) otherwise it's not a bad neighborhood with cool roommates who are both grad students which means I don't have to worry about moving out in the summer, etc. The only hitch is it's about 30 minutes across the city from my college campus... though given how hard it is to find affordable housing in Denver and that my school has no native housing, and kinda leaves it's students to twist in the wind as far as housing goes (I'm the youngest person in the class by like... six years, so it's not unfair to assume they don't need to hold our hands). So should I go with it in the name of a positive living condition and sacrifice the inconvenient transit time?
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Yes! If you think you'll enjoy it, that should trump the inconvenience, shouldn't it?
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Yes! and the savings in Cost of Living vs. getting my own studio apartment or something is significant enough to hopefully balance out the gas costs. Also contrary to popular belief I am not some cave dwelling murder monster (I swear live in a cave just once and you're stereotyped for life) and do occasionally enjoy the company of other human beings.
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All in all, a 30 minute commute really isn't too bad. Hell, I live less than a half-mile off of the base and it still takes me 20 minutes to get to my unit.
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Denver have good public transport that will get you from A to B at all likely hours?
Silly me, it's Denver, of course it does...
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....Denver has horrible Public Transit compared to say Tokyo. So I'm guessing that's sarcasm. 2 hours one way.
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Plenty of study time, then. :-P
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I'll just drive, and I can't really study gunsmithing on public transit, people tend to freak out when you're assembling an AR-15 lower in public.
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Especially in Denver. Though it blows my mind that we can open carry here...but not have "hi-cap" mags.
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I got a stack of Pmags specifically to blow that law off, I don't even have an AR-15. All my other rifles and handguns have eight rounds at most not counting the .22's tube but, tell me I can't have something for no good reason and I'll be the first in line to grab some before you ban it. Good way to show support to Magpul before they leave too.
Also I don't think you can open carry in Denver specifically. I don't remember the exact reg, concealed carry is still legal of course, but no packing open heat licensed or unlicensed in the city.
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All in all, a 30 minute commute really isn't too bad. Hell, I live less than a half-mile off of the base and it still takes me 20 minutes to get to my unit.
Gotta love that morning crush.
Was especially epic after DBIDS was implemented at Vandenberg AFB and hardly anyone had gone in to preregister before it went online. The line at the main gate was backed up for miles.
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I'll just drive, and I can't really study gunsmithing on public transit, people tend to freak out when you're assembling an AR-15 lower in public.
You assemble a AR-15s while driving? :-P
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What do you while sitting in traffic? :-D
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Do you really want to know? :-P
(okay, realistically, I pray that my engine doesn't stall as it likes to do whenever the weather is hot...)
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My partner's car has stalled on speed ramps so now whenever we're going up a slight hill we both aggressively yell support to the car.
We may need a car thread to whine about car issues.
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I'll just drive, and I can't really study gunsmithing on public transit, people tend to freak out when you're assembling an AR-15 lower in public.
You assemble a AR-15s while driving? :-P
Sure, what do you do in stop and go? AR-15s while loudly singing along to Hammerfall, that's how I get most of my weapons maintenance done.
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As others have said, 30 minutes commute is nothing. Mine is not much less than that, and I only have to travel 7km by bicycle. I just regard it as two free cardio workouts a day!
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My dad has a one hour commute every day. (which means so do I, when I'm roped into helping out with the family business)
Even an hour drive really isn't that bad.
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The place I'm at now has given me the shortest commute I've ever had at a whopping 10 minutes. (15 if we catch all the red lights on the way) But prior to that, 30 was my norm and for a few years, I was stuck traveling for an hour each way. Half hour is pretty good for a commute and $300 for rent?!?!? Holy crap, I'm jealous. We pay just over $500 each for our place- and that's cheap around here!
Everyone has given good advice thus far, so the only thing I can add is to echo their sentiments and say that Nikolai made the best point of all- take photos of EVERYTHING. I didn't do that for one of my apartments and it caused such a pain in the ass that I was miserable for a few months while dealing with an asshole landlord. Also- communicate asap about anything going wrong- to roommates and to landlord- the sooner things get dealt with, the better. And make sure that you chat "ground rules" with roommates- communication, again, is key. Good luck!!