Adjusting to a New City

"City of Seattle: One" by John Tregoning is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Moving to a new city is a brave step, whether it’s for a job or because it’s a place where you have always wanted to live. It can be a tricky transition from old life to new life, but if you go into a move like this with reasonable expectations and a plan for putting yourself out there and making friends, life in your new city will be more fun than you could imagine! Keep in mind these tips from Apartment Therapy.

Say yes to everything. You need either all or some of the following life essentials in your new city: friends, a BFF, a boyfriend/ girlfriend, and a job. You won't find these by sitting at home and ordering delivery while watching Bravo. Get out there! Go to everything people invite you to. Remind yourself that you are on a mission to find these life essentials!

Ask to be set up on friend dates... or date dates. Welcome to the way grown-ups make friends. We're not in college anymore. Ask your BFFs in your current city if they know anyone in your new city. Ask your family if they know anyone who might be a nice friend for you. Scour Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and whatever other social media you're on and find out who from your network lives in town. You might be surprised.

Join organized groups. From nonprofit volunteering to kickball leagues, even if you don't normally consider yourself a joiner, joining something is a way to meet new peeps. Start with a hobby and find a group. Even better: find something you've never done before. Being a beginner is a great way to connect with other people who are also beginning; you feel awkward, they feel awkward, bingo: new friend.

For your first 6 months, stay somewhere comfortable. You are in a new city, it's all strange and unfamiliar. You don't know where CVS or the grocery store are or who your BFF will be. You don't know the good neighborhoods from the okay neighborhoods from the bad neighborhoods. You don't know the secret side streets to cut around traffic. You don't know the cool bars, the cool restaurants or where the best farmer's market is. So instead of adding to the stress, I encourage you to stay somewhere comfortable for your first chunk of time... while you get used to your surroundings. "Comfortable" means something different to everyone. For me it meant splurging on a temporary apartment in a pricey area where I feel really safe and free to explore my surroundings. For you it might mean living with a friend or relative temporarily even though you know that long-term you want to be living alone.

Give yourself a year to acclimate. Anytime you start thinking "OMG, this was a huge mistake!," "I was so stupid for thinking this was a good idea!" or "I'm never going to like living here and I'm going to die alone!" — and, trust me, it will happen — remind yourself that things are still in transition, moving is hard, and you are giving yourself until you have a year under your belt before making any overarching judgements on the move.

Don't forget about your friends and your network from your former city. You have it easier — you left. I've always believed that the "mover" has it easier than the person left behind. You're out exploring a new city, having new adventures, learning new things. Your old pals are in their same routine and probably missing you. Don't forget about them. Make an effort to keep in touch and to go back and visit from time to time. Yes, it will be hard — you're not sharing all of their day to day adventures and even a small time difference call be awkward — but soon enough things will fall into place.

How did you adjust to life in a new city after a move? Share your thoughts!

Should You Get Rid of Your Furniture?

"Repurposed trunk" by Paris on Ponce & Le Maison Rouge is licensed
under CC BY 2.0

Furniture can be an expensive investment, depending on the quality of the pieces. Because it can be so costly, throwing furniture away should be a last resort. After evaluating these steps from Apartment Therapy, consider donating it or giving it to a friend in need and, then, if all else fails, toss it.

1. Can it be used for in another room, maybe for a different purpose?

Consider the other rooms of your house, and consider your household needs. Something that you don't want in one room, might serve a different purpose in another. I had been using a small dresser as my daughter's changing table in the nursery for the past couple of years, but now that she is a toddler, she doesn't need it and the dresser was just taking up space. At the same time, I had been needing a bed side table. After deliberating about its fate, I realized the dresser might work as a nightstand. I packed up the contents of the changing table dresser and moved it into our room next to our bed. Voila! It turned out to be the perfect height for a bed side table and so it will stay.

2. Can it be updated?

There are several ways that you can give your old furniture new life with a couple of simple updates. If you are tired of your coffee table that you've had since college, take a good look at it and determine if you can give it a new coat of paint and a different style of table legs. Maybe your old dresser can be spruced up with some beautiful hardware and that might inspire a whole new life out of it. If you know how to reupholster chairs, try a whole other color or pattern to change it up.

3. Can you take it apart to use its various parts?

I've determined that our coffee table needs to go, but recently I've been eyeballing it again to see if I could use its parts of other purposes. For example, I can take the legs off and then paint the table top with chalkboard paint, and stand it up in my daughter's room as a chalkboard. Or maybe I could replace the skinny legs with sturdier ones, add some cushions and turn it into a bench for our foyer area. Maybe you have a dresser that is falling apart but each of the drawers are still in good shape; paint the drawers, add a couple of table legs, and turn that into a side table.

4. Can you sell it?

It is always worth trying to see if you can sell the item through a service like Craigslist. Check your local listings, see what similar items are being priced at and put it up for sale with a couple of good pictures. You can take the money your earn from that sale and put it towards that new replacement item you are saving up for.

5. Do you have room to store it?

If you have room to store it, consider putting it away in that attic or basement. Especially if the item has good bones, it might be worth keeping around. You might end up needing it, liking it again or gifting it to a friend or family member who needs it in a few years. Even if you don't recognize a need for it in the present moment, the item might meet a need in the future.

If you have gone through these factors and determine that you have no more use for it, and the item is still in working condition, make sure to donate it to your local thrift stores. Give someone else a chance to squeeze more life out of it!

25 Winter Survival Tactics

"Approaching Park Avenue" by Josh Madison is licensed under CC BY 2.0

It’s only November and winter hasn’t officially begun, yet the term “polar vortex” has already made an appearance in the weather forecast. We may not get a lot of snow in San Francisco, but we do get the occasional winter chill. If you are a member of the crowd that does not particularly care for the cold weather, then this list is for you. These hacks from Apartment Therapy will make the winter more bearable!

1. Cover your windshield wipers with old socks before storms. Ice won’t build up and make it hard to use them. Similarly, cover rearview mirrors with plastic bags.

2. Park your car facing east to take full advantage of the sun.

3. Make your own windshield washer fluid from 1 quart alcohol, 1/2 cup water, and 1/2 teaspoon regular dish detergent.

4. After taking off wet shoes and boots, stuff them with newspaper to absorb moisture quickly.

5. To take advantage of passive solar, open up curtains during the day to let the sunshine and heat in.

6. Prevent drafts by installing foam cutouts behind outlet covers on the walls.

7. Make your own hand warmers with resealable plastic bags and ice-melt pellets.

8. Cover your windows with bubble wrap for added insulation.

9. Reverse your ceiling fan to keep warm air at floor level versus in your stairwell or ceilings.

10. Pre-warm your bed with either a hot water bottle or electric blanket. Stick your pjs in there to get them all toasty before you get changed for bed.

11. Wrap foam pipe insulation around the bottom of exterior doors to prevent drafts.

12. Fill a shallow plastic tray with rocks to store your boots when you come in from the snow.

13. Spray pipe exterior and joints with WD-40 during the winter to help prevent them from bursting.

14. Use tin foil behind your radiator or heating vents to reflect heat back into the house.

15. Use a disposable razor to get rid of your sweater pills.

16. Make DIY boot toppers out of old sweaters.

17. Make homemade sidewalk and driveway de-icers.

18. Rig some thermal curtains to temporarily install over your windows.

19. Make your own fire starters.

20. Skewer a dryer sheet with the bristles of your hairbrush, and leave it on to get rid of static while you brush your hair.

21. Spray your shovel with nonstick cooking spray, or WD-40, before you use it so snow doesn't stick to it.

22. Attach mitten clips to your cuffs (and loop around your insole) to keep your pants down while wearing boots.

23. Save money by closing the heater vents in rooms you aren’t using.

24. When faced with a frozen lock, use heat rub intended for sore muscles. Hand sanitizer (with 60% alcohol) or a key heated by a lighter, is also rumored to do the trick.

25. Keep moisture in the area with a teakettle or saucepan of water boiling on the range or wood stove. Add mulling spices for a nice scent in addition to the more humid air.

What tips do you have to make the winter seem a little less harsh?

Happy Budget-Friendly Thanksgiving

"Thanksgiving Turkey" by tuchodi is licensed under CC BY 2.0

The holidays can be a stressful time of the year, especially if you’re living on a tight budget. In addition to your regular monthly spending, there are also presents, decorations and extra outings to take into account. The holiday season kicks off with Thanksgiving, so let’s explore how to save money on this holiday so you have a little more to spend on Christmas. Try these tips from Apartment Guide:

Handling the Turkey

Many grocery stores run promotions on their turkeys, offering them up as loss leaders. The turkeys are a standard part of the Thanksgiving dinner, so you’re going to buy one no matter what.

The grocery stores want to get you in the door to purchase all the extra fixings that go along with this meal. Some stores offer free turkeys if you have enough reward points through their programs, while others price their turkeys at under $1 per pound.

If you have the space in your fridge and you don’t mind waiting for the turkey to thaw, get even more for your money by opting for frozen turkey. It takes a few days to completely thaw a turkey, so keep that in mind if you want to go this route. Avoid running the turkey under water to thaw it out, as this results in a dangerous temperature level for food safety.

Keep an Eye on Coupons

Another way to cut down on your Thanksgiving meal costs is by maximizing coupon use for your local stores. Check the grocery store sites and manufacturers’ websites the closer you get to Thanksgiving. Wait for your grocery stores to coupon match existing coupons so you get double the value.

Create a Meal Plan

Before heading to the grocery store, create a complete meal plan so you don’t end up purchasing far more than what you actually need. When you purchase only what you need, you won’t have to worry about significant food waste after the festivities.

After all, you’ll have plenty of leftovers to deal with in the week after. Another benefit of creating a meal plan is having a concise grocery list to consult when you’re making your purchases. To save the most amount of time, organize your grocery list according to the aisles in your store.

Skip the Boxed Options

Boxed and prepackaged sides are tempting when you’re cooking for a large group, but creating everything from scratch is less expensive, healthier and gives you better control over what you’re putting in the food.

Stock up on ingredients such as butter, flour, eggs, sugar, bread and other essentials necessary for creating classic Thanksgiving dishes. Many recipe sites provide step-by-step instructions, or even videos, to help with creating these dishes. You don’t have to be a master chef to create a memorable Thanksgiving for your friends and family at your apartment.

Understand Your In-Season Options

One thing that drives up your costs is attempting to buy produce out of season. Not only do you get lower quality produce, you’re also paying a premium because it is shipped across the country, or even internationally.

Watch for the in-season options in your area, such as Brussels sprouts and other late harvest vegetables. If you must have something not in season, go to your frozen food section. These vegetables are flash frozen when harvested, so they are at peak quality compared to the out-of-season produce offerings.

The exact type of produce available varies based on your geographic location, and if you’re lucky, there may be a farmers markets continuing into November to provide you with farm-fresh produce.

Consider a Thanksgiving Meal Potluck

Want to really cut down on the cost without asking your friends and family to pitch in monetarily? Ask them to bring side dishes, drinks or desserts for a Thanksgiving potluck. A potluck is also great if you have vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free or friends with other dietary restrictions who worry they won’t have anything to eat beyond a veggie platter at your dinner.

If possible, create a collaborative list so all your guests see who is bringing what to your get together. With a collaborative list, you won’t end up with three bowls of pasta salad and no extra desserts. Handle the basics yourself, such as the Thanksgiving turkey, gravy, stuffing and cranberry sauce.

What tips do you have to offer on saving during Thanksgiving?

5 Home Items You Don't Actually Need

"Alessi Dinnerware" by Didriks is licensed under CC BY 2.0

You’re in the home goods store looking for items for your apartment. You’re surrounded by everything from towels, to cutting boards, to “as seen on TV items.” So what things do you truly need and which things should you never spend money on (Hint: You’ll never need the “as seen on TV” items)? Apartment Therapy offers this advice:

Top sheet — Are you hip to this trend? I'm on board (Teresa is too). Forgoing a top sheet has made zero difference in my sleeping comfort, but a major difference in my laundry load and morning bed-making time. I'm a convert.

Place settings for 12 — Every registry will encourage you to stock up, but don't do it. Chances are, if you're ever expecting 12 people at once, there will be ample notice to arrange to borrow or rent enough china and silver. And in the (probably long) interim between your epic dinner parties, you won't have to devote storage space to your huge collection of dishware.

Specialized cleaning products —Every cleaning line wants to convince you that you need to buy many different lotions and potions to get each specific part of your home clean. An extra-strength disposal bomb to get it lemony fresh? Why not just try a lemon? Or...VINEGAR.

Matching nightstands or lamps — Of course retailers will try to convince you to shell out for two instead of one, but don't blindly buy what you might not need. Ask yourself, do both sides of your bed need the same storage? The same lighting situation? Do you even like the look of a matching set? If the answer is no then you're probably a candidate for an unusual nightstand.

ALL the knives — Why buy a set and let the store choose which knives you get? Pare down your collection to the ones you know you'll use and love. (Hint: you probably just need a chef's knife, paring knife and bread knife, says the Kitchn)

What apartment items do you have that you wish you didn't spend the money on?

Scope Out Your New Neighborhood

"Neighborhood character, Berlin" by La Citta Vita is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Once the physical task of moving is complete, all the boxes are unpacked and you complete your basic tasks of grocery shopping, cleaning and decorating, then what? Next comes the task of creating a life in your new neighborhood. This includes finding the things that make you feel comfortable and settled in your new surroundings. Plus, finding these places allows you the opportunity to get to explore a bit! What kind of places do we mean? Here is a first-hand  account from a mover and explorer, courtesy of Apartment Therapy.

I moved to small-town Illinois from San Francisco 16 months ago, and to rural Illinois two months ago. Let's see how I'm doing:

Thrift Store: Absolutely crucial. Every time I've moved, thrift stores absolutely saved me. I bought all of the home goods I couldn't fit in the suitcase/car/trailer, I bought cheap clothes for interviews/new jobs, I bought 25¢ magazines when that was the only entertainment I could afford, and sometimes I was even able to score boring necessities like brooms and cleaning supplies.

Found? Check! There is an absolutely amazing warehouse-size thrift store about 25 miles from my new house. That is quite a long way to go (and lots of expensive gas to burn to get there), but totally worth it if combined with other errands. All of the money goes to charity, all of the workers are volunteers, and the prices are cheap. I scored a poofy coat for me and thermal shirts for my partner to help us survive another Polar Vortex.

Restaurant (Bonus Points for Delivery): I love to cook, but even if I was thrilled to cook 364 days out of the year, there will always be that day when you Simply Can't. You're too sick, too sad, too exhausted, too whatever, and the greatest thing in the world is to be able to buy a meal made out of groceries you didn't have to buy that doesn't yield any dishes you have to wash.

Found? Check! It's crazy, but I live in the middle of nowhere, yet there is a place that makes excellent vegan pizza less than 10 miles from my new home.And they deliver. It's magical and wondrous and just knowing it's available makes me miss the city life less.

International Grocery Store: These are my favorite anytime, but they're especially helpful when I've just moved. Indian, Mexican, Italian, and Middle Eastern grocery stores have always proven themselves to be chock full of affordable, vegan-friendly ingredients. If the "regular" grocery stores around you are boring/limited, they are crucial for acquiring interesting spices, beans, grains, flours, and more.

Found? Check! It's, again, at least 25 miles from my house, but there's a great Mexican grocery store in the town where I work. I go there regularly for beans, locally-ish made tortillas, the cheapest limes around, the only decent avocados around, Tamarzula hot sauce, spices at 1/4 the cost of grocery store prices, masa, and more. My cooking and my life would be a lot more boring if it wasn't for this resource.

Backup Wi-Fi: No matter how fast and expensive your internet is, there's always a chance of something going wrong— and it can take awhile for it to get set up in the first place (cough, cough). If you're job searching in a new place, having access to the internet right away is totally necessary. Whether you're a freelancer who depends on wifi for work or just a human in the modern world, having a backup plan lets you rest easy.

Found? Check. No exclamation point, because the closest source of wifi is the public library approximately 25 miles away. You may have noticed that I appear to live 25 miles from anything— this is accurate. So yes, I have a backup plan that I've been dependent on these last few months, but it is a long way to drive and libraries aren't open 'round-the-clock. It's no stroll down the street to a cafe, is what I'm saying.

A Way to Work Out: Whether it's setting up your DVD player for kickboxing videos, figuring out a safe biking or running route, finding the nearest public pool, buying a cheap set of dumbbells at the thrift store, or trying out a new gym, having access to exercise is crucial to me. After a move, when everything can be stressful and up-in-the-air, it's incredibly calming to pick up something heavy, put it back down, and repeat.

Found? Check! I was given the absolutely incredible gift of a gym membership, and it has kept me sane this last year. It's— you guessed it!— 25 miles away, so I only work out when I'm already going into town for work. The roads here are too fast (60+ MPH) to bike comfortably on, but I hear there are great paths through the woods and prairies. I was also given an awesome stack of workout DVDs, which will help immensely when winter traps me in the house.

Friends/Friend-Making Venue: In order to make friends, you need to be places where there are other humans, ideally other humans that like at least one thing that you like, right? I'm a little rusty. This means that when you move, it's important to do something or go somewhere that might attract people that you might like. Finding those places, activities, and people is challenging, especially when you're on a just-moved, still-job-hunting budget.

Found? Sadly, No Check For Me. I really like the people I work with at the library, but so far no outside-of-work friendships have developed (not too shocking due to generational differences). I'd like to join a kick-boxing class in the same town that has the amazing thrift store, there are ceramics classes offered sporadically in the town where I work, and a bar I like hosts trivia nights... but all of these things cost money, plus lots of gas to get to them in the first place. They also cost time, which I haven't had during the renovation, so I'm optimistic that my newly-found free time will soon be spent with at least one suitable human.

Turn Your Bathroom Into a Spa

After a long day at work, sometimes coming home and collapsing onto the couch just doesn’t help you to de-stress. But imagine if you had your own mini-spa right in your apartment bathroom! Some simple re-decorating is all it takes to turn your bathroom into your oasis. Use these tips from Apartment Therapy to get started.

"giant bathtub" by Erica Nicol is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

1. Enclose it

Part of the joy of a spa is that ability to take a break from life — to step away from the stresses and just focus on you. So consider a way to create a barrier between you, your bathroom and the rest of the world. It could be an extra lovely/dramatic shower curtain. It could be a curtain that you place over the door for an extra barrier. It could be big plants that partially obscure the rest of your bathroom from say, your tub. Get creative to think of a way you can enclose yourself to feel protected and a little bit transported.

2. Consider the presentation

As you can imagine, bath salts, yummy-smelling soaps and other treats for your body are a great way to treat yourself to a spa day. But don't just line them up unceremoniously on your bathroom counter. Think about the presentation. Put products in lovely containers you like handling. If you have a tub, consider splurging on a lovely-to-you bathtub caddy that you can slip into a warm bath under.

3. Add something surprising

Maybe it's a piece of art in your shower (or something more practical). Maybe it's a giant mirror in a weird spot. Perhaps it's just a bouquet of flowers on the edge of your tub. Just add something that will surprise you and perhaps transport you to a feeling of relaxation.

4. Consider all your senses

Start with neutralizing the things that might stress you out first. Loud noises from construction down the street or neighbors? Include white noise or soothing music to cover up sounds you don't want. Hate the overhead light in your windowless bathroom? Bring in candles.

5. Surround yourself with softness

When you're ready to leave your spa-like bathroom, take that relaxation with you by surrounding yourself with softness. Make sure you step onto a plush bath mat or into fluffy slippers. Towel off from a bath or shower with an extra cozy towel. Wrap yourself in a robe.

What would you put in your spa bathroom?