Moving to a new city is not easy, especially if you don’t have an opportunity to live there while finding a place to live. Finding an apartment while living in a different city and home hunting from a different state are difficult, time consuming and stressful tasks.
However, there are some basic ways to make the search easier. Here are three tips for finding the right place for you without ever seeing it in person:
1. Research a neighborhood first – a bad neighborhood can ruin a good rental, and a good neighborhood can help make a run down spot seem, well, charming. Check local newspapers, talk to friends, look on the Internet and perhaps even read up on the history of the city in the library. Then pick out a neighborhood or two that you would feel comfortable targeting and begin looking for rental units in them.
2. Talk to people – a real estate agent is ideal, but they cost money. However, don’t shy from calling friends of friends, people who work in your industry or even local restaurants and businesses in the area to see what they think about where you plan to live.
3. Use the Internet – on top of offering access to newspapers and online publications, the Internet offers websites, such as Craigslist, that can help you find rental units. It also offers Google Street View, which lets you check out what streets and neighborhoods actually look like, and review sites, like Yelp, which let you check reviews of local fare and events. All together, the Internet is the best way to experience an area without ever being there.