moving half way across the country

[crazypumpkin]

I know I can't be the only one facing this, moving half way across the country to go to grad school. My move will be DC to Madison, WI. I'm struggling with how to find a place to live. Not the listings of places to rent, but how to figure out, from a distance, where I want to rent. I'm sure I could scrounge the money for a flight out there for

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[ravenword]

A friend of mine moved from Boston to Berkeley for grad school. She found a CA-based roommate (another entering first-year) and the roommate was nice enough to scout all the apartments so my friend didn't have to fly in from the east coast. If you know you're going to need to share an apartment for budget reasons, you could try asking if current grad students are looking for roommates, or if any other incoming first years who are more local might want to room with you.

I'm lucky enough to have a friend who lives in my soon to be home of Atlanta, so she's offered a lot of advice and has even gone so far as to offer to put a deposit on a place for me (to be paid back, of course) if it becomes necessary!

My boyfriend and I have also planned a trip for a weekend of apartment hunting. With my friend's advice to help us narrow things down, we know 2 or 3 specific neighborhoods to investigate. I also found an apartment search service that will give me a list of complexes with units open for my move-in date in the price range and neighborhoods that I specify, so I can hit several of those in a short period of time. We're using Craiglist and the university off campus housing website to find other options. Trying to make as many appointments as possible that weekend! The flights weren't cheap, but since I have a friend to stay with we at least can save money on lodging for that trip.

It's a pretty nerve-wracking process. If you're going to fly out and visit, book the flight ASAP (as prices only get more expensive...) and try to hold off on looking at apartment listings until a week or two before your trip. It's hard for me to resist, but I know what's available now probably won't also be available in May when I visit (planning to move for June 1) so there's no point in obsessively checking the real estate ads yet.

[roseofjuly]

YAY Atlanta! Are you going to Emory?

[ravenword]

Yep, for a PhD in neuroscience!

[comodulate]

Exciting! What do you research?

[ravenword]

Heh, it hasn't been determined yet... I'm interested in the neurobiology of human disease. My previous work has all been on genetic developmental disorders. So I hope to rotate with some labs that span the Neuroscience and Human Genetics departments, but I may fall in love with monkey behavior or something while I'm there.