Hella

I know it’s early in the game, but I am faxing an application for an apartment today. After Winter Welcome, I had a really good idea of the one or two buildings I wanted to live in. I called one of them yesterday and found an apartment that will be available mid-June. While this is a bit earlier than I’d like, it will end up working out nicely since I won’t have much of a lease left when graduation in May 2006 rolls around. Hopefully the approval process will go smoothly and I will be able to sign the rest of the documents during Welcome Weekend.

I found that having two cats can narrow the housing search considerably when looking at high-rises. Many of them allow no pets and of the ones that do, they often limit it to one. The building I’m hoping to move into allows up to 2 pets. It also has a full-size washer dryer in the unit which should save some time and will be awfully convenient in the colder months. Access to Septa Regional Rail is also very convenient.

Brownstones are a good option for pets and I have considered some of these. However, I think I will appreciate some of the amenities of a regular apartment building, like the doorman, the freight elevator for move-in, the gym, the rooftop terrace for BBQing, the conference rooms, and the Starbucks!

Numerous current students helped give me advice on where to live and many of them were helping me locate a good deal on a brownstone. Combined with the Wharton Welcome Weekend Housing Guide for 2003 (the 2004 edition will be out soon), the process of hunting for a place to live was really not as bad as I thought it might be.

Filed under: B-School