STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

okay, first...yay! get the hell out of southeast pa while you can! it will totally suck you in otherwise!

my suggestions, check out craig's list. i know this is a totally obvious answer, but i really do feel its a great way to find an apartment when moving really far away. its also a pretty good way to sorta judge what's going on, you can browse volunteer listings and other employment type stuff as well as recreation stuff. you can also check out the aol city guide which gives listings of stuff going on in bigger cities around the country as well as bar and restaurant listings.

while it might not be really the preferable option...if you do end up going on to a grad program i would suggest looking at grad school apartments. i think most bigger schools have housing that is set aside for grad students and is much nicer than the undergrad dorm. that's also an option to do for maybe just the first semester to really get you settled and to learn the layout of the neigborhods and stuff.

hope that helps any...the bf and i moved across the state (and yeah, i know it's not the same as the country but...) to philly and took our apartment completely sight unseen. i really would not recommend that, but we lucked out. it is a good idea to start thinking and planning now because a year goes really fast. good luck!

and just an aside....nyla, do it. just do it. you've been thinking about this and wanting it for how many years? just go for it.

I don't know much about Vegas, but I moved across the ocean from Hawaii to Orange County, CA.  Luckily, my FH's company helped w/our relocation & the parent company owns the apartment we live in, so we got a special rate on our security deposit.

I can't agree more about utilizing craigslist.  I found my job this way & also managed to get some leads on other things like our community, housing & random other topics.  But you might want to also look into calling UNLV to see if there are apartments off-campus that's nearby.  We live a block away from UC Irvine, which is great if I were attending school, but challenging now that I'm pushing 33. 

I packed up & moved my stuff w/in 2 1/2 weeks of getting my FH settled, which was 2 1/2 weeks before Christmas.  It wasn't easy, but if I didn't leave then, I'd never leave Hawaii.  I think if you've been longing to leave, go for it.

Good luck.

NylaBelle wrote:

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I've been keeping my eye on craigslist, as well as monster. I also plan on researching specific companies that I want to work for and targeting them well in advance. Informational interview type of things. We'll see. There's honestly nothing keeping me here after my lease is up and I've got enough time in at my job. I don't think I would start grad school right away. I'd probably wait about 4-6 months depending on when I move out there. I'd also like to find a company to foot the bill. We'll see.    

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These are all the things that I was going to recommend.  The DH and I are moving out west in 2 weeks (yikes!) and we found the most adorable house to rent on craigslist.  We also sold our current house by listing it there.

Luckily, I don't need to work right away, but during our last trip, I had a bunch of informational interviews to get a sense of the job market there.  I scheduled those using the current work connections I have.

Maybe you could talk to some people and try to take a trip out there in the next couple months, check out apartments that would be in your price range, to see what it would really be like to live there.