Apartment Hunting Sucks!

So, I've been apartment hunting for the past several weeks now. It's been quite the experience, especially considering I haven't even been to Auburn since my interview (Auburn is where my pharmacy school is). Which means my apartment hunting mostly consists of me sitting my in front of my computer.

I'm looking for a one bed-room, one bath with a descent sized kitchen and living area. That's it. I don't need anything too fancy. I also don't want a dump, either, which makes this process even more difficult. How in the world do I know what's good and what's not when I can't even see the darn place. Well, don't get me wrong, some places are obviously nice--problem is they cost more money than I'm willing the put out. Better yet, they cost more than I have. With my price range being between $400 to $650 a month, it seems the only places available are either pretty run down or pretty far from campus. All the nice, close apartments are taken. What's more, I'm having to find a place for both me and Wende, and believe you me, that makes the whole process that much more difficult. For starters, I can't just find a roommate like many of the other first years (P1's). Most of them are roomming with upper classmen who've already gotten a place. I have to start from scratch. And it sucks. I don't know anyone down there and it's a freakin' three hour drive from my house, which means I can't just drive to Auburn and look around. 

Originally, we were going to stay in a townhouse within walking distance of campus. Problem was, the place was way too expensive. $780 a month. And even though it was fully furnished and the total price included cable, Internet, washer and dryer, and an electricity packet for an additional $85 a month, that just seems steep to me, especially when I'm reading about classmates who only paying $500 a month--for all the same perks, except the for the funiture part. Now granted, they may not be as close to campus; but even when you consider the gas difference, Wende and I still come out paying more. What this really comes down to is that it's cheaper to live with roommates. The more you have the less you ultimately end up paying.

Another issue is, Wende is currently unemployed. Now this isn't that big of a deal yet but it could definitely be one if we were going to stay in that townhouse. Seriously, the school only gives me a small allowance and, trust me, living in an $885 a month apartment really puts a strain on our budget. But, then again, if she worked--even if at just a Wal-Mart--it would help out tremendously. Mostly, we'd just need money for food. Everything else would be covered. We wouldn't have much to "play" with, so we should probably say good bye to those fun Friday nights at the bar, but I think we'd live. As long as I can get a six pack from time to time, it should be no problem.

Mostly, though, I'm just a little worried I won't find a nice place in time. I feel like I have so much to get done and not very much time to do it--and not to mention all the things I have to buy, especially if we don't get the furnished apartment. Oh, and did I mention that because I'm a student the apartment office requires us to have a parent sponsor. This may seem like an easy fix to most but neither of us have parents with the best credit. Yeah, as you can see things are pretty intense right about now but I'm going to try not to let them get to me. I'm going to get through these two months and before you know it, I'll be telling you guys all about my first day of orientation.