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Home2014 (Page 5)

September 2014

ApartmentSearch_ChicagoIf you just moved to Chicago, then you probably have seen or heard of the quintessential tourist places to visit (like Wrigley Field or Millennium Park). Once you’re settled into your new Chicago apartment, it’s time to venture out and find your own beloved local treasures. You probably won’t find any tourists here, but these 5 spots will be your favorite local hangouts.

My Pie

Obviously, no Chicago list is complete without a deep-dish pizza restaurant and there are plenty to choose from. My Pie, our go-to, local pizza establishment, ranks on a lot of Chicagoans favorite pizza places. And what’s not to love? The homemade sauces and fresh ingredients are lip-smacking good. Don’t worry if you don’t like deep-dish pizza, My Pie has delicious thin crust options too!

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City Living
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Tailgating Football FansThe NFL football season is back and sports fans around the country are celebrating the return to action of their favorite teams and players. When you move into an apartment, you also join a team. A team composed of neighbors as well as the employees that manage your apartment community. As a member of this team, you receive many benefits and lifestyle perks that make every day a victory.

Price

In recent months, exaggerated reports plague the news that living in a house is more affordable than apartment living. These examples are only true in five percent of U.S. markets where the population is living in densely-populated urban cores. Examples of this include San Francisco, New York, and Washington, D.C. In the other 95 percent of housing markets, the apartment lifestyle remains the most affordable option, which takes more into account than mortgage versus rent. The unforeseen maintenance costs and increased utility expenses cost home owners thousands of dollars per year over what renters pay.

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Apartment Life
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Unhappy Neighbor Covering EarsTHUMP. BUMP. WHUMP. If you’ve ever lived on the bottom floor, these kinds of noises might be all too familiar — but what’s going on up there? When you go knock on your upstairs neighbors’ door to discuss the noise, they never seem to have any idea what you’re talking about. Here are a few theories that you may want to ponder next time you feel compelled to go upstairs and investigate.

Your neighbors might be…

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Apartment Life
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Boston Massachusetts SkylineIf you’re new to Boston, you’ve probably already heard about all the tourist-y spots the city has to offer (think Fenway Park and Cheers). But when you live here, you’re probably looking for something a bit more personal to explore and call your own. Here are some places around Boston that you won’t see on the likes of TripAdvisor. Tourists may not visit them, but as a local, you’ll truly treasure these 5 Boston spots.

Find Tranquility Downtown

One of the most common complaints about the Kendall Square area is that it’s crowded and bustling. Sure, you can find all kinds of awesome food and killer boutiques, but can you find a place to take a breather? Turns out you can! The roof of the Cambridge Center parking garage is actually a beautiful garden with winding walkways, a picnic area, and beautiful plant life. Just look for the entrance with the simple sign ‘Roof Garden,’ and make your way to the top.

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City Living
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Smiling Blue Collar WorkersOn Monday, September 1, our Nation pauses for a moment to celebrate Labor Day. For most people, this is simply a day off of work. But in all actuality, it is a celebration of the American Worker. It is on this day that we honor the contributions that the U.S. work force has made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. We celebrate the blue collars, the white collars, all of the business professionals, and we celebrate apartments. For it is apartments that house our nation’s workforce.

From part-time college students to hourly workers on an assembly line, and to waiters, waitresses, and bartenders, we honor those professions that call apartments home. And it is not limited to the previously mentioned hard-working hourly jobs. Sales professionals, salaried office staff, and corporate executives choose apartments as their preferred lifestyle as well. In fact, there are 19.3 million apartment homes with approximately 34.6 million apartment residents, comprised of Americans from every walk of life. And the factors for which they choose the apartment lifestyle are as diverse as the people themselves.

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Atlanta Georgia Skyline Over WaterWhen you come visit Atlanta, there is a lot of fun to be had touring classic attractions like the World of Coca-Cola and Six Flags Over Georgia. But when you’re coming here to live, you’re going to want to get deeper into the local culture. Tourist attractions are fun, but they won’t always give you the real Atlanta experience. When you’re ready to venture out of your new Atlanta apartment for a day of experiencing ATL on the street level, check out some of these amazing local spots.

The Buford Highway Flea Market has more than 260 booths full of local vendors selling hand-made, recently-found, or simply zany goods. Just a half-dozen miles out of downtown on highway 13, this international market is rarely over-crowded if you can make it on a weekday afternoon, and the prices range from reasonable to amazing.

Gladys and Ron’s Chicken and Waffles might sound like it is owned by some elderly couple whose soul food recipes are insanely excellent — and you’re half right. Gladys Knight (yes, that Gladys Knight) came up with some choice entrees to craft a menu around, and her son Shanga keeps her ideas alive today at this incredible Atlanta treasure. If you think of ‘soul food’ primarily as ‘that Vanessa Williams movie,’ educate yourself at this eatery. Stop by Gladys and Ron’s, and you’ll never think of chicken or waffles the same way again.

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City Living
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Golden Gate Bridge in San FranciscoRent is one of the many expenses that can vary quite a bit depending on where you live. And the more expensive it gets, the more important it becomes to find the right place the first time. Here are some helpful tips to help you find an apartment in some of the more expensive cities in the U.S.

Los Angeles, California

  • Median studio apartment: $1,405
  • Median one-bedroom apartment: $1,740
  • Median two-bedroom apartment: $2,406

If you want to get an apartment in LA, the first thing you need to understand is your budget. You shouldn’t be spending more than 1/40th of your annual gross income on an apartment. So if you are making only $40,000/year before taxes, you need an apartment that costs less than $1,000 a month. The choices in this price range will be limited, so you may need creative alternatives such as finding one (or multiple) roommates.

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Finding an Apartment
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Roommates Having a FightThe day has finally arrived. You just moved back to college and into your new student housing apartment. Summer is over and you are gearing up for an action-packed semester. However, the worst-case scenario has come true: you have discovered that one of your roommates is also your worst nightmare. You definitely cannot live like this until December. So what can you do? Use these tips to wake up from the nightmare and into a happier apartment life for the fall semester.

Can the Problems be Resolved?

In many cases, the challenges of a bad roommate are ones of perception. People from different experiences and backgrounds than you often make completely different lifestyle choices. Many times, a meeting of the minds and a discussion about each other’s expectations can provide a mutually beneficial solution. Get everyone in the apartment involved and keep the tone of the discussion light. No one wants to feel confronted.

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Apartment Life
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Penthouse BedroomThere are two kinds of renters who need an interior designer: those who want an apartment that looks stylish and put-together but don’t know the first thing about how to get there, and those who have a vision in mind and need help executing it. There are some relatively affordable options for either type of apartment dweller, and they are actually fairly distinct from each other. To keep your apartment redesign from looking like a home makeover show gone wrong, think about these tips as you hunt for your perfect interior designer.

If You Need Ideas…

If you are an interior-design newbie and what you need is a vision for your home’s redesign, start by finding a designer that fits your overall sense of style. The best way to make sure that your designer fits that category is to look at the work they have already done. If you can find a designer that has a website and a portfolio, that can be an easy job. Think about the things you already like about your apartment’s design, and look for those traits in a designer’s portfolio.

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Apartment Decorating
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Furnished Apartment with CORT FurnitureThere are several great reasons to rent a furnished apartment, the most obvious being “furniture you don’t have to pay for!” But there is a lot more to take into account when deciding between a furnished and unfurnished apartment. Here are some important considerations:

Rarity

Furnished apartments are significantly rarer, which has a lot of effect on your search. Most importantly, it means that the likelihood of finding a furnished apartment in the best possible location is much smaller than finding an unfurnished one. Location is usually the single most important thing about an apartment since it determines the amount of time and gas money you will have to spend to get to the places you need to go, so this is a big deal. That said, if you do find a furnished apartment near where you need to be, it will often save you enough money on purchasing furniture to make up for the extra rent you will pay versus a comparable unfurnished unit. This also depends, however, on how long you plan to stay there.

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Finding an Apartment
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