I never thought  I would have to write a post about "Renting in College and Bad Landlords" for my college advice section, but after the drama that I have had with my former landlord I need to share my advice to make sure that you will (hopefully) never have the problems that I am having. So here it goes: what to do before you rent, what to do when you move in and what to do to prepare to move out! Plus the most important tip of all and advice on handling a lousy landlord!

Before you decide to move in 

•  Make sure to look at more than one or two apartments and look at them IN PERSON. Sure you may have to make a weekend trip to check out places, but the Internet pictures can be deceiving. Seeing a place in person allows you to visualise what it would be like to live there. Can't make a trip up there, see if you can watch a video or Skype with the landlord walking you're virtually through the apartment.

• Check out the location a few different times during the day. It may be surprising and calm during the day but filled with beer pong/parties at night. Sure the parties are high every now and then but when your studying for an exam, it can be miserable and a distraction. 

• Ask your future neighbours what they think about living there. A lot of times this will get you the honest truth!

Signing the lease and moving in

• Read the lease and what it includes. It may be boring but knowing what is written down in the contract can help you if there are ever problems with the apartment.

• Have proof of what you paid upfront (First, Last and Deposit). This will save you time in the end if there are issues when your lease is up, the landlord may want you to pay your last month's rent even though you paid it. Having proof will save you money and the hassle!

• The first day the apartment is yours before you have stuff in there do a walk through and take pictures/video documenting the condition of the apartment. Write down anything that you notice is damaged/needs to be fixed and give a copy of the list to your landlord.

Planning your move out and what to do

• Notify your landlord in writing of when you plan to move out, try to do this at least a month before your lease is ending.

• Once your all moved out, do another walk through and document (photos/video) of how you are leaving the apartment.

• Leave your landlord a forwarding address to get your security deposit and ask when you should expect to get this. Make sure to also get a copy of the landlord's information (if you don't already have it) including name, address, phone number and email if possible.

The most important tip

• Make sure to get EVERYTHING IN WRITING and keep this together , make a folder with all of this information the day you sign the lease. In the end if your tenancy ends with no issues than having this information won't matter. But if you do have problems with your landlord, having all the information in writing and documented will help your case! 

Landlord problems and what to do...

• Make sure to check out the laws and rights that you have as a tenant. I used NOLO that broke down information by each state and then gave where to look for further information.

• Contact your landlord in writing with any issues that the apartment has and make sure to follow-up with them until it is fixed. If the problem is never handled than see what you can do to either get out of the lease and move or in extreme cases withhold rent.

• Talk to your college to get advice on how to handle off-campus housing problems. They may have a list of people that can help you to fix the situation and they may also be able to warn others about the apartment and its issues.

• Contact a lawyer.  If you have exhausted all of your other options and are still having issues (apartment conditions/no return of security deposit) you most likely have a case for small claims court. Sure this will be a pain, but it may be the only way to solve the situation. 

Hope that this helps everyone out there looking to find their perfect place for the start of the school year!

Anyone else have advice on how to find the right apartment? Has anyone else ever had issues with their landlords?

It is now (almost) mid-April, and I know that many of you are planning for that moment where you get to say "I made it through college". Yes, graduation is exciting. You made it through 4 years of tests, exams, late night study sessions, projects and rough nights. All of this may lead you to think that you are done with everything from the last four years, that all the information you've crammed into your head is all you need. Well, I am here to tell you the things that you should keep from college, and I am not talking about the two-story beer bong or your childhood teddy bear.

Here is the list of things that I would HIGHLY recommend you hold onto as you venture out to the real world, looking for jobs or going on to grad school or whatever you have planned.

1. Books from the classes that are your major. Sure you can google the hell out of things to 'refresh' yourself before you go to a job, take the GRE/PCAT/ blah-blah-blah, but I always find it much easier to go to my books (filled with tabs and highlights) and look up what I am trying to figure out. It could be a theory, math equation, instrument setups, I usually have them written out from one class or another. And reviewing things like that may come in hand if your applying for a job that wants you to work with something specifically from your background.
2.  Writing Sample, one that has been critiqued, graded and your professors approved of. It can be a lab report, newspaper article, Honors paper, or even your pottery portfolio. Whatever it is, make sure it is something that you would be proud to share, let it show off your rioting talents and make sure that it is your 'best' piece you can show. Jobs, grad schools, and internships/fellowships often ask for one so go ahead and have one ready! 
3. Poster or presentation that you may have done. There have been times in interviews where I have gotten asked to explain some research that is on my Resume. Being that some of it is now 4 years old, I know to refresh myself on it before going in for interviews! 
4. If your planning to go to grad school or maybe even thinking about it, I suggest keeping notes, study guides, homework, and test from your undergrad. There have been countless times that I have gone back to my old notes/test to look at how to do something. Much easier 'recalling' how to do something when you have your actual work in front of you!
5. My last tip is organizing all this shit I just told you to keep. How about making an ultimate college reference binder. Go through and organise/keep anything that may be important in a large binder! Easy to do, a bit time consuming but probably well worth it in the end. 
   
   

1. Have your Resume up-to-date and have people (yes, plural not a person) review it. Having an up-to-date resume will save you time/stress for those moments when you have a short time frame before closing dates on things. It is so helpful for me to have my resume that has been reviewed/corrected/re-reviewed on hand for the instances when a new job opening comes up (early bird gets the 'job'?) or when I find a fellowship with a closing date in a few days. Being prepared and ready for such an important document such as your resume is step one in getting a job/grant/fellowship/whatever you're applying for.


2. Have a list of people that you know would recommend you for positions aka your make a PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES LIST. Applying for things in the real world means having your mom/aunt/third cousin on your list of contacts is not ok. Having your college advisor, your internship mentor, or someone else who you've worked with is who you want to have your references. Make sure to have their name, position title, address, phone number and email handy for when your applying.


3. Have a draft of a Cover Letter for the TYPE of positions your applying for. Having a basic outline to go by will save you tons of time when applying for things. This cover letter will change based on the position/company/fellowship that you are applying for, but the basics of your experience/career goals/ past research are all the same. I currently have cover letters ready for jobs, fellowships, and PhD programs all ready to go all I have to do is tweak each one to where/what I am applying for.


4. Have your college transcripts, even if they are unofficial saved on your computer. There are many times that an application asks for these and having them on my computer already saved has made it so much easier than going through the process every time I go to apply for things.


5.  Plan out a checklist of what is required for the application that includes: documents needed (Resume, Cover Letter, Transcripts, Passport, etc.), Application Due Date, References (do they need a list or do they want an official letter before you apply), Position information that your applying for ( what makes you a 'fit' for this position) and lastly the contact information for who/where you are applying. Knowing all of this will make the stress of multiple applications seem much more manageable because you will know everything that is required without having to look it up over and over again.

Another short trip to this fantastic city, but it was totally worth it. I finally made it there after my mishap with transportation read all about it Getting to Chicago. Taxi Fails and Missing Buses.
  

Once I finally got there I decided to walk to the hotel I was staying at, The Inn of Chicago to be exact. According to my phone GPS, it was supposed to be 30ish minutes. Well, that was wrong...

Yep, 50 minutes away and lucky me I was right by the water. I said screw it though I wanted to see the city and experience it all. I slightly regret that now, but it was fantastic none the less. I finally made it and just in time because I was losing feeling in my legs. That wind chill was no joke, and I was there on a warm day. It was in double digits, and there was no snow storm in the forecast. 

On to the fun stuff, what I actually did besides freezing----

1. Head to a mall, I went the Water Tower Place. It was 7 stories, and I could not turn up an opportunity like that. All I bought was postcards to mail home, but still, if I weren't broke I would have left with a lot more! 

2. Eat at The Purple Pig. Being a party of one got me right in at the bar. I was able to watch all the dishes get made and also watch the two drunk girls next to me flirt with the bartender (who had a ring on!). He played along though, and I in return had free entertainment. After the perky two-some left I then had some fantastic conversations with two other travellers. One with a British accent who lived in Manhattan, but was previously in California. And the other an older man, who came to The Purple Pig everytime he was in town, you know a place is good with that! 

At The Purple Pig, I had a few too many Crown and Cranberry, they didn't have the green stuff to make the oh so fabulous Washington Apples. But the drinks were strong which is just what I wanted.

Then there was the food. It all looked so good, the cheese plates, bone marrow, EVERYTHING!! I had the Eggplant Balls and Meatball Slider. Two small dishes that helped with my liquid diet. 

 Eggplant Balls//Kitchen View and of course drinks! // Meatball slider to die for

3. After leaving The Purple Pig, I knew I had a few too many. It was quick vaca, it's allowed. So I decided to take a taxi to Eataly, a block away from my hotel. I have a love for the Food Channel, cooking shows, anything with food in general. So stopping at this place was a must. 

Via

Hello, the place is run by these people! A few should look familiar to all you foodies out there like: Joe Bastianich, Lidia Bastianich, Mario Batali... After walking around this place, I wish I had room to eat. This place is like a grocery store with places to drink wine, eat dessert and sample the cuisine. AMAZING.

4. Head to the Art Institute of Chicago. My final destination for this trip and the place where the conference was. Not only is the museum fantastic, but it is also right by the BEAN! I was walking to the museum trying to find the correct entrance to go to and walked right by the bean. No one was there, it was 8am, and it was slightly cold, but it was magical. My first time seeing it and I was pretty ecstatic to say I had finally seen it!

The bean// Front of the Art Institute// Another amazing piece of art

Well, there it is what I did in 25 hours in Chicago. I know it wasn't a lot but I'll be back to see more of Chi-town, so no worries with that! 

Have you ever been to Chicago? If so what is on your must-do list?