I’ve had a lot of interest in my apartment hunting journey; how I found my apartment, how I’m going to decorate, etc. I’ve decided to do a full series about it all and today we’re discussing the first few steps: finding the perfect apartment! THE NECESSITIES Determining what you want and what you can compromise on is important before you start looking at places. Mine are as follows: Location I’m moving in with my boyfriend, so we discussed the locations we would want to live in. If you know me, you know I hate driving – so farther than 20 mins from work was not a vibe for me. Collin doesn’t mind driving & eventually wants to end up in Cleveland, so we chose close to the C-L-E. His obsession with Baker Mayfield may have influenced his move to Cleveland more than living with me… Price Finding an apartment that wasn’t gross and still, a decent price was a challenge. I wanted a lower price but wasn’t willing to give up the “I feel comfortable in this neighborhood” for a price-cut. My fellow ladies will understand. Like, yeah $400 a month is DOPE but I can’t walk outside after 6 pm without fearing for my life? G2G. Collin and I are splitting the rent, utilities, wifi, etc. The good thing about Collin is he is much more realistic than I am, so he gave me a budget and I stuck to it – which was good because we ended up having additional costs. Our budget was $800-$900 a month ($400-$500/month each). I succesfully stuck within my budget and found the cutest apartment ever. Light I love natural light. I NEED natural light. My last apartment was very dark – not a lot of windows – and it made my seasonal depression rage. The apartment I ended up choosing doesn’t have a lot of ceiling fixtures, so all of the light was coming from the windows – and it was BRIGHT. Obviously this means I’m going to have to invest in a lot of lamps for the winter season when Ohio gets dark at 4 pm, but I’m fine with that. CLEAN Nothing worse than walking into your future home and feeling slimey. You know, when the carpets look like they haven’t been changed since Grandma Molly’s first birthday? When the walls are stained from the pack-a-day smoker that lived there before you? YA. Fck that. I’m very picky for someone who has such a small budget. The apartment I chose has brand new carpets & windows, has recently been repainted, and it feels CLEAN. THE PROCESS After I had my list of necessities, I googled “apartments in *insert city here*” and then a bunch of links popped up. I looked through zillow for a while which was helpful but ended up finding my apartment on apartmentguide.com. I called the number of the leasing agency and set up a date to visit. We toured 3 apartments, and I loved the last one. It had everything I wanted, plus it was in a super fun neighborhood with lots of shops, restaurants, and bars. Bonus: I found out my best friends from college live in the building right behind the one I liked. Honestly, I think that was what made me decide 100% on it. & there is a Panini’s bar down the street, which seems lame but I love my Panini’s dates with Collin. When the Browns have an away game, sometimes we go there and order spinach artichoke dip, a pumpkin hard cider for me, and an Oktoberfest for Collin. Perf night, k? I’m super excited about this series and plan to document it all – holiday decor, furniture shopping/redecorating, moving in with the bf – drop a comment if there is something specific you want me to cover! xo, Caro Follow along on insta for daily life, fitness, and more hehe. all photos found on pinterest.