How to Find Housing in a New City

By Alyssa Laffitte on September 19, 2018

Moving to a new city can be intimidating. It’s hard to leave your familiar life and your routine behind as you build a new life in a new place. Moving so far away comes with unique challenges. Things in your new city might be very different than you are used to. It might be particularly hard to find housing in a city you don’t yet live in! Still, with some help and with good planning, it will be possible for you to have a smooth transition into your new city. Let’s discuss how to find housing in a new city.

Image via Isorepublic.com

 

Narrow down your search

In any move, it’s a good idea to narrow down your search, as this will make it much less overwhelming! This is especially true if you will be moving to a new city. You can narrow down your search in a couple of ways. For example, you can narrow it down to a specific location. If you know where your future school or workplace is, try to find housing around that area. Location is often the most important factor for most people because they want a short commute to school or work. If this is the case for you, pay close attention to the location of your potential new place. You can also narrow it down by price. Having a budget will help you choose a place you can afford. Your new city might have higher housing costs; keep that in mind when you set your budget.

Finally, you can narrow down your search by making a list of “must haves” and “nice to haves” for your new place. You should have a list of things you absolutely NEED in your new place and a list of things you would like but would be willing to go without if need be. To make this list, think about what is most important to you when choosing your new place. Is it proximity to your new school or workplace? Affordable rent? A pet-friendly policy? Covered parking? (Very helpful if you live in a city where it snows a lot!) The answer to this question will vary from person to person. Having this list will help you find housing that will work for you.

When you narrow down your search, it will be easier for you to find housing in a new city.

Ask people who live in your new city for recommendations

If you know people who live in your new city, you can ask them for housing recommendations or for general information about the city. You can turn to people from your new school or workplace for this kind of advice. Someone who lives in the city will be able to answer important questions, such as:

  • Which neighborhoods are the safest and which aren’t? (If you don’t live there, you won’t know this information, which is why this is a good question to ask someone who lives in your new city.)
  • Where do people who study/work here live?
  • Will you need a car to get around the city, or is public transportation sufficient? (This could be important for people who don’t want to drive! If you already have a car back at home and you will need it in your new city, you can start planning your road trip.)
  • If you will need a car, is parking free? Will you need to parallel park? (This will help you determine how much money you will need to budget on parking, and if you will need to brush up on your parallel parking skills!)
  • Is the public transportation any good? How far do the buses/shuttles go? (Even if you don’t like driving, you might still need to do it in your new city if the public transportation is not convenient.)
  • Where are the nearby grocery stores? Pharmacies?
  • What food delivery services are available? (You’d be surprised that some cities don’t have many food delivery options!)

I’m sure you can find answers to these questions on Google, but if you can, it’s easier to ask someone you know. It will be much easier to find housing in a new city if you can get in touch with someone who already lives in the city and ask them some questions.

Learn about any school/company sponsored housing options

Sometimes, your new school or company can recommend housing options for you! This is more common for schools, as they will likely have dorms or apartments for their students nearby the campus for an affordable price. You should be able to find out about housing options at your school through your school’s website. Their “housing” page should have information about their dorms or apartments (including the cost of living there, the amenities, and the location of each building). If you are a graduate/professional student, or if your school is small, they might not offer on-campus housing. Even if this is the case, your school might still have a page for off-campus housing recommendations, which is still worth looking at. In fact, off-campus housing might actually be cheaper than on-campus, so explore both options! Do the math to find out which option will be financially better for you.

If you are not a student, your company might at least be able to recommend some housing options that will point you in the right direction. If you can’t find any information on housing options on your company’s website, you can contact someone at the company and ask them.

If your school or company provides any housing options, at least check them out!

Infographic by Alyssa Laffitte

Visit the city before you move there

I know this is not always possible, but if you have the chance to visit the city before you move there, you should definitely do it. Visiting beforehand will not only allow you to see potential housing options, but it will also allow you to visualize what your life will be like once you live there. The Internet and other peoples’ advice is extremely helpful, but there’s nothing like seeing a place with your own eyes. If you can, set aside a weekend (a few weeks in advance of your move) to travel to your new city and to tour potential housing options, as you will see some things you won’t see on the Internet. For example, when you search for housing online, it’s not always obvious if the place is in a good or bad neighborhood, or if it is near a busy, noisy street. However, when you visit the place yourself, these things will become obvious.

While you’re in your future new city, don’t limit yourself to only exploring housing options. You can take advantage of your time there by scoping out other parts of the city, too. Figure out what areas might be your favorites! For example, I had to find the local bookstore, as I love reading. Thankfully, I found two bookstore cafes near my place! If you like parks, try to find one. If you like movies, keep an eye out for the closest movie theater.

If you can visit your new city before moving there, definitely do it! Visiting a new city will give you a glimpse of your new life and your new home.

Consult a rental agent in your new city

No one knows the rental market in your new city like a rental agent. They are especially helpful resources if you have no other reference points to help you find housing in your new city. If you can’t find anyone from your future school or company to help you, a rental agent can answer your questions about the housing market and about your new city in general. Don’t be afraid to ask them these things; that’s what they get paid for! Hiring a rental agent will be able to help you narrow down your options (as I said before, this is very important!). If you can, consult a rental agent in your new city to help you find housing.

Beware of any scams!

Especially if you’re looking online for places, please beware of any scams! Nowadays, it is way too easy to be scammed online. This is another reason you should travel to your new city to see places before you move there. Do not make payments to landlords online, and especially do not send cash to someone you have never met. When looking for places, listen to your intuition. If you feel like something is off, it probably is. Please be careful when browsing the Internet for potential housing in your new city. Don’t let yourself get scammed by someone trying to rent you a place that’s not theirs or that doesn’t exist.

Find temporary housing in your new city as you search for permanent housing

If you absolutely cannot travel to your new city before moving there, consider finding temporary housing in your new city as you search for permanent housing. Some landlords are willing to give you a short-term contract. You can sign one of those when you move to your new city. While you stay there, it will be much easier to find permanent housing (as it will be easier to tour different places because you are actually in the city!). Sometimes, your job or school will help you find temporary housing. If this is something you are interested, ask about it!

Once you have a place in mind, research it

When you have a particular place in mind, do some research on it. Your rental agent or someone from your new school/workplace who lives in your new city should be your main source of information, but you can use the Internet as a secondary source. Go online to see if you can find any information on the landlord, the building, or the neighborhood on the Internet. There are websites similar to Rate My Professor where people can “rate” their landlords. If you check out these websites, you can make sure your potential landlord is good (the same way you would check if a professor is good).

Image via Isorepublic.com

Do not sign the lease until you’ve seen the place yourself, even if you have seen pictures of the place

As I said before, there is nothing like seeing a place with your own eyes. Even if you have seen a million pictures and videos of the place, you should still see it yourself before signing a lease. It is possible for a place that looks perfect in pictures to be a dump once you actually see it. For this reason, touring your potential new place before signing your lease is so important. Once you sign a lease, that is IT; you are legally bound to it. You don’t want to be legally bound to a place that is completely different than the pictures you saw. Protect yourself by waiting until you have seen the place yourself before signing anything.

If you cannot travel to your new city before you move there, ask your potential new landlord if they would be willing to wait and allow you to see the place before making you sign the lease. You will be glad you asked!

Moving can be difficult, but it’s twice as difficult to move to a completely different city. You won’t be able to see places unless you travel there. Things might be different than you’re used to in your new city. You won’t know what to expect if you haven’t seen it yourself. Still, you can have a smooth transition to your new city if you prepare ahead of time. Contact people from your future school or job, or a rental agent to help you narrow down your housing options. You can even take a trip beforehand, as this will help you so much when looking for a place. Then, you can double check on the Internet to see what people say about potential landlords. But definitely, see your place before you sign the lease. If you do these things, you should have a smooth transition to your new city.

Good luck with your move!

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