I’ll be moving to the USA (I’m from Portugal) during the next Summer (probably around the middle of August), since I will start my PhD in September.

I’ll be moving to the DC Metro Area, since my University (GMU) will be located in Arlington.

Can you give me any advice on looking for small apartments?! Any there any websites specifically designed for students (especially foreign ones)?

If I can afford it, I’ll try to live without roommates, do you think that this is achievable with a scholarship of around 2000 USD per month? (the euro has been dropping lately so I guess by summer this is the amount it will be worth…)

Besides that, can you give me advices (financial or otherwise) regarding living in the USA for someone who has never even visited it?!

Thanks.

Definately go with the one roomate option…even if you find a 2BR for $600, that’s still $200 less rent per month (vs $495 on your own) plus split cable/internet etc. With that extra $300 per month or so you can make up for underestimating expenses and be able to save a bit too.

Having one well-selected roomate is not all that bad, plus check out the room-share section on craigslist. A lot of times there will be a room in a 2BR house for rent that is comparable to the cost of an apt plus give you more space to separate from your roomate when you want your privacy. As an added bonus, most of the rented room in a house situations are done as an agreement with the owner giving you flexibility to negotiate on the rent and usually can be month to month with 30 day notice. So if you find you and your roomate are not getting along you are not stuck together for a whole semester.

Btw…I’m currently 26 and went to Arizona State, I did the dorms freshman year, absolutely hated it, moved in a shared house (4 ppl) sophmore year again not my style, had one roomate for the past 3 years (not always the same one)it was manageable and allowed me to save a lot of money. I got a better job, and just a few months ago moved into my own 1BR in Scottsdale. I’m not gonna lie, as a young professional I love living alone and will never go back to roomates as long as I can afford it, but I’m glad I made due as long as possible for financial reasons and can now live alone compfortably and securely.

Whether or not you use cloth you may still find a portable washer to be very helpful. Or you may be moving to a place that has in suite units.

I’ve done baby laundry in the bathtub when we couldn’t afford the apartment washers (30 years ago when it cost a quarter to wash & a dime to dry!). It’s not a ton of fun, but it works. My fingers would bleed though from rubbing stains if I wasn’t careful.

As for the idea that baby poo is some kind of biohazard, what nonsense! And it will be on a lot of the baby’s clothes, sleepers, blankets, change pads, etc. even if you use disposable diapers because of its consistency and quantity. At least with diapers you can use hot water and bleach, both of which would ruin most other baby clothes. (Just make sure you clean the washer thoroughly after using bleach so the next user doesn’t end up with bleach marks on their clothes!)

A diaper service as a baby gift is a great idea, for many reasons.

Person who wants to split the mortgage in 15 yr and 30 yr it’s my understanding that you can reset a 30 yr mortgage like an ARM resets thus reducing your payments for a minimum fee saving your the refinancing costs of the method you proposed.

Where I went to school the dorms were pretty open (you could come and go whenever, have guests whenever), co-ed (by side of the building) and generally most rules were just common sense that you’d expect out of any civilized human being (which is I guess why they have to be written out for undergrads to understand :) ). I didn’t really mind dorm life at all, and didn’t find it all that different from living in an apartment complex. I guess, though, that they could have some alcohol policies that would be OK for the underage and not OK for 24 year olds.

From where I’m sitting, the best option might be to find other folks who are about your age (25ish/ recent graduates/ young professionals) who live in a place with several bedrooms and need to someone to sublet a single bedroom. When utilities get split multiple ways, then you can save a lot.

Do NOT move into the cheapest place possible. More often than not, even in college towns, they are in undesirable neighborhoods. Your safety is paramount.

Here’s what to do: if you can stomach it, get a roomie. That’ll cut your expenses in half. Someone mentioned being an RA. Not a bad idea either. 23 is not too old. Hell, I got my undergrad 26 years after I graduated high school. Part of my “college years” were spent in the Navy, so I was a 25 year old sophomore for a while. Following a year in school I found a job, then another, and then another. I went back to school to finish my undergrad when I was 41 and got the degree when I was 43. I then went straight back to school and got an MBA in 19 months. Weird how things work.

In any case, just suck it up and get the roomie, or see what you can do for free on campus.

Just a thought.

I think that people have unrealistic expectations about refinancing in today’s financial environment. Sure, interest rates are quite low right now. However, that’s the best interest rates for the most highly qualified borrowers. Banks are more selective right now than ever, so even though on the surface is seems that the interest rates are low, the interest rate that would be offered to a given less-than-perfect credit score may have actually gone up.

Trent, you make a great point that my estimate is probably too low. Realistically, I’d be barely, if at all, scraping by rather than saving $300/month.

J, Last academic year I did apply to be an RA, and didn’t get the position. I don’t think it would be the right position for me. Besides, as an RA, I’d still be living in the same nanny environment.

Ken and Jim, dorm expenses here are roughly $870/month. If I had to pay for that and all my other expenses out of pocket, it would well exceed $1000/month.

John S, you’re correct. I’d be willing to pay a bit extra for a single room, but only if I can afford it. I think you see my point of view, man.

I work 30 hours a week (mostly on weekends) as an administrative assistant and do freelance work for a quasi-internship whenever the need arises. Fortunately, time management is one of my strong points and I often find disconcerting free time on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays that I’d like to make productive.

Matt, in retrospect, I wish I had rushed when I transferred from a community college to the U at 21. But at nearly 24 years old, what fraternity would even consider me? I’m unfamiliar with Greek culture. Also, like you, I spend most of my time out and about on campus, but when I come back, I’d like to see a place I can call “home” rather than a chaotic, loud scene that makes me feel as though my life hasn’t progressed in four years. It would have been fun a few years ago, but now I’m a more serious student who only wants to focus on getting these classes out of the way and graduating.

Krista, great point. You’re correct in this respect; clearly I still have a lot to learn regarding financial literacy.

TriLCat, those rates are incredible. The absolute lowest studio I found was $399, and the room was in a state of disrepair. 2BRs tend to go for $600 or more. Where else would you recommend looking for apartments? I’ve tried avenues of the U’s website, apartment rating websites, craigslist, newspapers, and Google maps.

My parents took in boarders from the 70′s thru the 90′s in their big 5 bedroom house. We never had more than 2 boarders at a time; they had their own bedroom, kitchen cupboards. Television was communal sharing; one vote per person. My parents had their own set if they were out voted.

It was an inexpensive way for these grad students to live a quieter life than in the dorms. Mike should check out if there is anything similar available.