The apartment search is on!

I have picked up the various apartment books. (You know, the ones at the grocery store that want to guide or find an apartment for you.)
I have looked at rental websites.
I have looked on craigslist.

Now, I am searching YouTube.

I tweeted last night that I am using YouTube to assist in my rental search. I was retweeted by a few people and some asked questions. They wanted to know how that was working and why I chose to do it.

Well, I chose to use YouTube because I wanted to get an actual representation of what these apartments look like. As a photographer, I know that images can sometimes give you a false sense of reality, or may be taken out of context because of angles and lighting and image editing software.

Anyway, I wanted to see video so that I could have a better understanding of the size of the spaces AND to view the fixtures/finishings. Also, Philadelphia has a lot of places to live and I don’t want to waste my gas driving to see a run down shanty. So far, the YouTube search has been helpful, and I have been able to find examples of the many tiny apartments I am contemplating.

If you decide to go the YouTube/Craigslist route to search for your next place, let me give you a few tips:

1. You may not see the exact dwelling space you are looking for, but search for something in the same building or on the same street.

2. Don’t look at the “pro” videos. Try to find a video uploaded by someone who actually lived there. The “pro” videos only want you to see the good. Like I stated in one of my tweets, “I’m not going to be living in the lobby or the fitness center.” I am happy that they want to show off their amenities, but I can’t live on the rooftop deck. I need to see the actual dwelling space. 

3. Grab the address and go to Google maps to get a street level view of the neighborhood. Could you visualize taking your morning walk on that street? Would you want to park your car there overnight?

Wish me luck in finding THE ONE!