germanguy

So I've decided to take a semester off from school and spend a few months living on my own in Portland, Oregon, to take a break from family and friends and also work on my screenplay. I'm just not sure what I should expect and how much money I need to take with me. I do plan to get a minimum wage job but it will probably take me some time to find a job and get a steady income coming in. Currently all I plan to take is my car, computer, clothes, small fridge, and other basic neccessities. I've searched through apartments online and it seems like I can get a decent place for ~$500 per month. Any advice on what I need/should expect? Thanks!

Hardknock

Depends on how you want to live. If you can live on very little then you should be just fine with what you have. First thing I'd suggest is some back up cash in case it takes you a while to find a job. Since you said you don't have any furniture you might want to get a furnished apartment. But you've probably been already looking into that. Like I said, if you can live on a little then you should be fine.

st33lr4t

do you already have the money? there are lots of fees for an apartment...phone, cable, hydro, water. you will need furniture like a bed, and food can get expensive. plus you are going to want to do some things while you are there. oh yeah you have car insurance, gas, and repairs. minimum wage just aint gonna cut it.

Rodney

Find out what standard move-in costs are in that area. In some areas, landlords want a month's rent in advance and a month's deposit: "first and last month's rent." In other areas, they want first and last _plus_ a cleaning deposit. And in some places, just the first month's rent. This is going to affect how much up-front money you need.

drakers

Utilities is the biggest expense associated with the apartment besides the rent, plus you got groceries, telephone, cable if you need it and other misc. things. Good luck, it is hard at first.

thinktank

I dont know if you're going to need this kind of stuff, but I was in a target the other day and i saw this huge kitchenware set, it had like silverware, pots and pans, resealeable containers, spatutlas, measuring cups.... all sorts of stuff for like $25. I picked one up for my little sister as she's graduating from high school this year and moving out of the city for college next year.

nickynicole

I suggest buying a bunch of cleaning supplies right up front. If I move into a new apartment (which I've had to do three times in the past few years) and don't have a broom, It will take me months to remember to buy one. In one apartment, I remembered to bring a broom, but not a dustpan, so we just sweapt the dust under the fridge. Another time, I remember having to "mop" with two wet towels under my feet. It was actually pretty fun. All those cleaning supplies, sanitizers, and such can be really helpful to have around right from the start.

But then again, some people [read college boys] like things really dirty.

NotMVH

Preparing to move out I found in a cooking book a list of all the basic kitchen supplies suggested to have a well stocked kitchen and make a big list and evertime I felt up to it I would just buy a couple hundred dollars worth of supplies. I work at a hardware store though so I purcahsed alot of nice kitchenware and tableware at cost plus but I have spent around $800.00 in supplies and expect that the last few items will cost around $200.00 more.

As far as furniture go, it all depends on your personality. I didn't want to move out into a slum so I though about what I like and how I wanted to set up a living room and bedroom. I still don't have great furniture but I am taking my time to shop around and build or buy furniture I appreaciate. I am planning to build a custom coffee table in the next couple of weeks.

I would strongly suggest also using your current situation to save up a small reserve fund. I aimed at 5K in the bank so that in case of emergencys I had the money to bail myself out, even in the case of unemployment. It gives me peice of mind and means that I won't have to go to my family if I run into financial trouble.