Apartment Blog

St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations

In the United States there are many festivities to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. It goes back to the first celebration in Boston, Massachusetts in 1737 where the first Saint Patrick’s Day Parade took place on March 17th.

From the major cities like Boston or New York to your home town. Here is a brief list of some major festivals, parades and events happening in the U.S. Feel free to add your city’s celebrations to our list!

Savannah, Georgia
Savannah’s Saint Patrick’s Day parade usually takes place on March 17th, regardless if it’s during the work week. However for 2008, the parade will take place on Friday, March 14th to honor Holy week in the Catholic faith. The parade route changes each year but usually travels through Savannah’s Historic Park District and Bay Street. In additional to the parade, Savannah’s Waterfront Association has an annual celebration on Historic River Street which mimics Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street.

New York City, New York
According to Wikipedia, the New York parade has become the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the world with more than 150,000 marchers and close to 2 million spectators on the street! The parade marches up 5th Avenue in Manhattan and ends by the U.S. 69th Infantry Regiment.

Seattle, Washington
A unique fact I did not know is that Seattle and Galway, Ireland are sister cities given that Seattle has many Irish residents! The annual Irish Week Festival is enormous and includes activities such as Irish step dancing, food, historical and modern exhibitions and Gaelic lessons. It starts on March 14th and goes through the 17th.

Chicago, Illinois
The dyeing of the Chicago River has been a tradition for over 40 years. While many cities have tried to mimic it, none can get as true of a St. Patrick’s color as Chicago’s river can. This year the dyeing is to take place on March 15th. Chicago also has a St. Patrick’s Day parade that takes place on the same day.

San Francisco, California
On March 15th, San Francisco will have the 156th anniversary of its Saint Patrick’s Day parade. At the end of the race there will be a family festival with games, music and various other ‘green’ activities!

If you enjoy celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, there are many options to choose from! Regardless of where you are, cheers to you having a great time!

Source: Wikipedia.com

It’s no secret that rents are skyrocketing all over
the United
States. People are constantly looking at ways
to save money as the cost of living increases. One thought I find extremely interesting
is that couples are now ‘shacking’ up to save some money!!

According to the Census Bureau’s latest research,
there were an estimated 6.02 million unmarried-partner households in the
U.S. in 2006! Forbes.com researched these cities by
collecting data for 40 of the largest metropolitan statistical areas for five
different categories: marriages per 1,000 people, divorces per 1,000 people,
starter-home affordability, income disparity and availability of couples or
family counseling.

The round-up of the best cities for couples
were:

1. Dallas

2. Houston

3. Minneapolis

4. Denver

5. Austin, Texas

This is interesting news on Valentine’s Day!! We’ve
posted numerous blogs about the benefits of having a roommate, so why not
make that roommate your sweetheart!

For more information about how these cities were
selected, visit Forbes.com or Realestate.msn.

On Sunday we posted Single this Valentine’s Day? Here’s how to find a date, a blog about online dating and how to put your profile out on one of the sites. It seems that not only are generations x and y looking into online dating to find their special someone, but seniors are as well! In fact, seniors are the fastest growing segment of Internet users, and more and more of them are using the Internet to look for love. In fact, according to cbsnews.com, 16 percent of all those active on the top five Internet dating sites are 55 or older. A majority of the dating sites like eHarmony, Match.com and Date.com may cater to a slightly younger crowd, so there are senior specific dating sites popping up like SilverSingles.com and SeniorsCircle.com.

Whether you’re 28 or 57, everyone needs love in their life and online dating seems to be fulfilling a need for many. So why not try your hand at online dating? You never know who you may find!

Visit Find a Date on ForRent.com’s website and set up your profile today! You may even set upa date before this Valentine’s Day!

Source: cbsnews.com

Did you know that there is a town called Valentine? It’s the “Heart City” of Nebraska with a scenic backdrop comprised of cliffs and pine trees. It was named after E.K. Valentine, who as a Congressman from Nebraska was chairman of the house committee on Agriculture for six years while in office. From 1870-1885, as a member of the House of Representatives, he was instrumental in passing a bill to protect settlers from ‘land sharks’. Due to his popularity in the region, Valentine, NE was named after him. This small town has a land area of 2.01 square miles with only 1,380 people per square mile! It’s comprised of 46.6% males and 53.4% females with the median resident age of 40 years old.

Something of particular interest for you apartment renters, is the “Heart City’s” median rent asked for vacant units, in 2000, was $283!! The median gross rent in Valentine, in 2000, was $435!! That’s amazing! I know that I pay double that where I live!! View apartments in Nebraska on ForRent.com.

During Valentine’s Day this town is always buzzing with festivities. For example, February 14^th, Valentine’s Day itself, gets many travelers from all over the country wanting to get married there! Another big event that happens on Valentine’s Day in Valentine, Nebraska is the Valentine’s Day Coronation. The Valentine’s Day Coronation, which is a community-wide celebration, is where students from each grade, K through 12, are elected to participate in the ceremony which has a different theme each year. The King and Queen of Hearts are crowned from the Senior class with a dance held afterwards for the high school students.

So if you’re not sure what your plans are this Valentine’s Day, you could always visit the quaint town Valentine, NE to celebrate your love!

This is the season for love! And let us tell you why you’ll love using our site…….

1. Easy to navigate site.
2. Searching for your next apartment can be done by searching close to military branches, colleges/universities, city/state, and property name or by zip/distance.
3. Great descriptions for you to get a feel for the communities.
4. Tons of pictures that will actually give you a better look at the apartment community.
5. A video of the apartment community AND surrounding area to give you more insight of the environment you are moving to.
6. Loads of floor plans available.
7. Room planner for majority of our floor plans. This allows you to arrange your furniture layouts prior to seeing the unit!
8. Multiple ways for you to contact the apartment communities such as phone numbers, email and texting services!!
9. Awesome Relocation Center (link) to help you on your move and getting settled!
10. The Apartment Living Blog (link) to provide you with tips and advice on apartment living!

So visit ForRent.com today! And let us help you find your perfect place!

You want to host a Super Bowl party with all your friends and/or family, but have to watch what you spend? Food/drinks is obviously going to be a larger expensive, rightfully so, but how can you have a bit of décor to your themed party when you’re on a budget? Well, here’s a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Make Your Own Football! This is a really cute and neat idea. Just take some paper plates, cut them into shapes of footballs and decorate them (i.e. color them brown w/white threads or in the colors of the football teams playing that day). You could even hole punch them and string them up around the room like a banner!?!

2. Bake A Football Cake! Since you’re already going to be providing food (or maybe have a pot luck) make sure there is a football decorated cake. You can use food coloring for the icing and little sticks (or going really economical-matches) for the goal posts. It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser, decoration centerpiece and a yummy surprise!

3. Styrofoam Bricks! These are really cute ideas for people to throw on the ground when the referee makes a bad call or their team gets scored on. Guaranteed to get some use!! Just go to your local arts and craft store and pick up a bunch of blocks. Get some spray paint (preferably the reddish/brown color of bricks) and paint away! Stack them up in the middle of your room, they’re bound to be discovered!

4. Balloons Galore! Balloons are a cheap and easy way to decorate your house for this party. Get a few bunches (probably not more than a dozen, which can cost you about $6 dollars) and strategically place them where the majority of your guests will be. They will make a big impact for not a lot of $$!

5. Paper Chains! Going back to your childhood days when you use to make decoration out of paper strips, staple them together in circles and build from there. It made a cute little chain that you could decorate the classroom with. Why not mimic that for your party? Sounds goofy, but for two packages of different colored paper (very inexpensive), you can cut them into five strips each and get a pretty decent size streamer around your room! Be creative and do one of the teams colors around the food and the other team’s colors around the T.V.

6. Use Your Computer! Have you found all sorts of neat graphics online that you’d like to use? If you have a color printer, why not use it! Print out some of these images and cut them out. Tape them on various surfaces around your apartment. It actually turns out quite nice (and really good for your budget)! Place them on the bathroom mirrors, the kitchen cabinets or on the fridge. It’s just a little bit of decorations everywhere without a lot of extra money coming out of your wallet!

7. Use The Dollar Store! I swear by this place to everyone! Seriously it’s amazing. Go here for your other items that you have to buy (i.e. paper plates, napkins, cups, utensils, table cloth, etc.). It’ll really save you money in the end and still be sufficient enough for your party! Other stores that are economical that might be in your area are: Dollar Tree, 39 cent store, Party City, etc.

Do you have anymore cheap ideas for decorations? Let us know! The more ideas you share, the more money in everyone’s pockets this Super Bowl Sunday (especially for any of you who have wagered on the game and might loose!!)

Everyone has experienced road rage. Whether you’ve been on the receiving end or directing it towards a fellow driver, it’s not fun. Larger metropolitan areas tend to have the majority of traffic therefore they have some of the most aggressive drivers. The number one city that topped the list for most aggressive drivers (for the second year in a row) is……….Miami, followed by New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Washington.

The most courteous cities, regarding hostile drivers, are Portland, Pittsburg, Seattle, St. Louis and Dallas.

Do you live in a city with high road rage?? The AAA website offers a three-step plan to avoid being a victim of aggressive driving.

1. ‘Don’t Offend’ which simply means do not cut off other drivers, don’t drive slowly in the left lane, don’t tailgate and DO NOT gesture to other drivers.

2. ‘Don’t engage’ other drivers, which basically means do not cause trouble. Don’t look the other driver in the eyes (stare them down) and call 911 should you feel that you are in a dangerous situation.

3. ‘Forget Winning’ If someone has done #1 or #2 to you, let it go. Don’t let it frustrate you till you become angry. Try to put yourself in the other driver’s shoes and free yourself from any aggravation.

I know on my daily commute to work I sometimes feel the need to bang on the steering wheel to alleviate my frustrations, but what about you? Do you have any constructive methods to help you release your frustrations while you are on the road?

Source: AOL AUTOS, ‘Road Rage and Aggressive Driving’ by Craig Howie

There is a great deal of diversity in today’s apartment communities, much like the diversity throughout our country. And when I think about diversity, I don’t think about students. But there are large cities that often have many students from various countries such as Atlanta, GA. Did you know that Atlanta has 5,500 international students from 140 nations studying at its area colleges and universities! That’s amazing! Many of these students will live in apartment housing, either student housing or regular apartment communities and even though they are living here during their studies, many never really get to meet and know Americans. However, the Atlanta Ministry with International Students (AMIS) has provided “getting to know you” opportunities to students since 1978. Through churches, civic and service organizations, corporations and individuals, the international students get to connect with Americans. “AMIS” is a French word that means “friends” and AMIS has built friendship and hospitality bridges with over 50,000 students!!

One of the programs AMIS has is the Christmas International House. International students from colleges and universities across the US come to Atlanta, and Atlanta international students go out to different cities. Families and individuals share their homes for a one or two-week period during the holidays, and everyone shares another culture, perhaps a different religious background and often different political views. Wouldn’t that be neat, to share your culture/values with a person from another country? Imagine what we’d learn?

Whether you live in an apartment, a condominium, a small house or a big house, there may be opportunities like this for you in your area. In the midst of our diversity everyone stands together as one human family. You could build a bridge!

Do you know of any similar programs in your area that you would like to share?

Can you tell if this tree is real or fake?

With Thanksgiving behind us, the hunt is on for the ideal Christmas tree! Along with this honored tradition is a decision to make: real or fake? In today’s society, your decision on which tree to purchase can speak loads about you as a person.

So how does one choose? Below are some facts about each to help you decide.

With a real tree you get a warm fuzzy feeling when you bundle up and go searching for the perfect one. You also guarantee the smell of pine in your home for the entire holiday season. And of course, an environmental bonus- a real tree is biodegradable. Bet you also didn’t know that more than 100,000 Americans are employed by the live Christmas tree businesses, so you’d also be supporting local economies (not overseas workers) by purchasing a real tree.

However, with an artificial tree you get to reuse the tree for many years to come, which is kind of like recycling. The endless supply of pine needles on your floor will no longer be there and you won’t have to worry about pesticides that are used on real trees! They are easy to set up and easy to store. Plus, you can always buy candles that smell like pine trees to get the full effect!

So seeing the benefits of each, which one would you choose? I can say that last year was the first year I made a purchase of an artificial tree; all the previous years I had a real tree. And it looks like I’m not the only one. Artificial trees are steadily gaining market share. About sixty percent of U.S. tree-displaying homes are putting up artificial trees! Taking a quick poll of co-workers, half have real Christmas trees and the other half have fake.

Another cool thing I read about is that San Francisco’s Department of the Environment started a neat program. For $90, the city will bring a live, 7 to 9 foot potted tree to your home for you to decorate. After Christmas, the city will retrieve it and plant it in one of San Francisco’s tree-starved neighborhoods. The downside; the city doesn’t offer pines! But despite that minor flaw, the program proved to be successful, as it sold out of its stock of 100 in just four short days!

What are your opinions? Has anything you read here changed your views?

I watched “Santa Baby” the other night on ABC’s Family Channel, apart of the 25 Day’s ‘til Christmas special. So here’s a little movie review for those of you who haven’t seen it or would like to. Don’t worry, I’m not going to give away too much information….you still have to see it!

Mary Class, played by Jenny McCarthy, is a smart, capable, hardworking business woman in the Big Apple (New York City). She has her own consulting firm and is kicking butt! And as soon as her business takes on a huge project, her mom calls to say that her dad has had a heart attack. Mary hops on a plane to go home and help. But where is home? Why, the North Pole of course because Mary’s father is the real Santa and Mary’s actual last name is Claus!!

With Santa in bed wearing his p.j’s, Mary eagerly decides she must take over for her father until after the holidays. Otherwise Christmas is in jeopardy for everyone! Using her executive skills, Mary begins modernizing the toy making process. She turns the mail room into a data-processing center, changes the shapes of candy canes and even tries to replace the notorious elves with machines!! Her father, Santa, however does not approve at all (and we think she’s gone a bit overboard too). He believes things should stay the same; after all, it’s worked his way for centuries. Of course the plot thickens with a love story between Mary’s old flame Luke, who lives in Polaris, and her conflicting feelings for her current boyfriend from New York.

The story really explains a father and daughter’s journey to understand each other better and settle the differences that initially drove them apart. With the comedic actress McCarthy playing Mary, the first ever woman Santa, this movie is truly a cute spin on a Christmas tale and teaching us all lessons of love, forgiveness and respect! I give it a thumbs up! You should absolutely watch it this holiday season!