Finding an apartment after leaving your childhood home or first dorm has many complexities and variables to consider. As a student, you want to be comfortable with your safety and your education where you are living. Weigh the negatives and the positives from your previous living situations, try to find the things you can control, and implement this into your apartment hunting.
Some major concerns to think about before signing a lease are your rent price range, location of the property, amenities within the property, neighborhood safety, landlord reputation and lease terms. Once you find yourself a defined list of your confinements and non negotiables, start searching the area for the apartment that is best fit for you.
Where students choose to live is only one of many parts of the equation for having a successful college career. The environment that you find yourself in can either successfully aid in the college experience or greatly take away from it. If you find yourself in a stressful living situation on top of dealing with the typical day-to-day stressors as a college student, your ability to complete your best work could be hindered.
Senior strategic communication major Joshua Fangue said, “When finding somewhere to rent, I would suggest listening to reviews and doing more research. Had I known that my complex was criticized so much for its lack of professionalism and maintenance, I would not have gone with this rental company. So, I would suggest taking the time and scoping out the area more.”
Another aspect to consider would be commute times.
There are a plethora of apartments in the Hammond area due to the need for off-campus student living. Some of the major complexes in the area include Apex at The Grande, Waters at Hammond and Heights at Hammond.
Heights at Hammond employee Tommy Jacobs said, “We have a 24-hour fitness center and a clubhouse where students can come to study with our free coffee machine. We have a nice pool and lounge area that people can study at.” Heights at Hammond offers one to three-bedroom apartments and three different floor plans: the Hammond, the Amite and the Ponchatoula.
Many apartments in Hammond are built around the successs of Students at Southeastern and market themselves as such with amenities that young people would be interested in. Although the complexes that market themselves as student-oriented are ideal, sometimes there pricing and floor formatting makes them obontaibale to students.
Some things to keep in mind once you have chosen your apartment are getting renters insurance, checking throughout the unit for any broken appliances or furniture that is already there so you will not get charged when moving out and finding the right roommate if necessary.
Southeastern Roomsurf is one option for finding like-minded people to live with during your college career and allows you to see if people are looking to live on or off-campus through their profile.
When hunting for an apartment, the most important thing to remember is to do your own investigation. Signing a lease means undertaking a new responsibility that typically lasts six months to a year and you want to avoid being blindsided by any misfortunes.
With the right roommate and place to live, college can be a great experience. Keep in mind that when you find the right groove with a person or even an apartment, it could be a good idea to look into living with them again, resigning your lease, or both!
For more information regarding how to find an apartment on campus, visit Southeastern’s University Housing website.
