The radiator clanked on for the first time last Thursday at 5:50 in the morning. It sounded like someone hitting a pipe with a wrench, three times, and then a long hiss. I sat straight up in bed, convinced something was broken, before I remembered that heat is included in my rent and this was the building waking up for fall. By the time I made coffee, the studio was warm and smelled faintly of dust burning off the radiator. It felt like a small welcome.
I moved into my studio in south Evanston on June 1. Today is almost five months later. Here's what's been good, what's been hard, and what I'd change if I were signing my first lease again.
The good parts
I love my apartment. That sounds dramatic for 480 square feet on the third floor of an old brick courtyard building, but I do. I love the window over the courtyard, which went from bright green in June to yellow this week. I love walking to the Main Street Purple Line on a Saturday and being in the city in half an hour without paying for parking. I love that the dishes stay where I put them, the thermostat is mine, and nobody's asking what I want for dinner because I'm the only one deciding.
The money also worked out. My first apartment budget had rent at about 45% of my take-home, which I've said plainly from the start is high. Five months in, I've paid every bill on time, my student loans are down to $7,140, and my emergency fund is at $7,400, working toward a new target of $9,000, which is about three months of my apartment costs. My credit score is at 769. None of those numbers went backwards when I moved out, which was my biggest fear.
This is the part I didn't plan for. Sunday dinner at my parents' house is great, and then I drive home to Evanston around 8 p.m., and it's very quiet. No TV on downstairs, no Juno sighing on the kitchen floor, no mom asking if I want tea. The first few weeks, I'd sit on the couch with the lights off and feel strange. Not sad exactly, just aware that everything after this point in the evening was up to me.
What helped: a Sunday night routine. Laundry in the basement, prepping lunches for the week, a phone call with Priya, a show. It's boring, and it works. It's not lonely anymore, mostly.
The costs I underestimated
A few lines in my budget turned out to be wrong:
- Summer electric. I budgeted $38 a month. July was $71, plus a $189 window air conditioner.
- Laundry. $4.50 a load in the basement adds up. I'm at about $18 to $22 a month, which wasn't in my budget at all.
- Household stuff. Light bulbs, a shower drain cleaner, a better kitchen knife, storage bins, a second set of sheets. About $30 to $40 a month in random small purchases the first few months.
- Groceries in the first month. Stocking an empty kitchen cost more than I expected. June was $341 against a $260 budget.
None of these broke anything, because my "everything else" line had some room and I trimmed my fun money in July. But they surprised me, which is the part I'd fix.
What I'd do differently
If I were signing my first lease again, here's what I'd change.
I'd build a first-year fund on top of the move fund. Something like $500 just for the first few months of surprises: the AC, the laundry, the things you didn't know a home needs. My move fund had $325 left over, which I sent to my emergency fund. I'd still do that, but I'd also plan for the surprises from the start.
I'd ask about summer in March. I toured top-floor apartments in early spring when the air was cool. I'd now ask any landlord or current tenant what July is like, what the electric bill runs and whether window units are allowed. I did ask the AC question, which saved me. But I'd ask more.
I'd buy less before moving in. A few things I bought in May, like the coat rack, I barely use. Living in the space for a month first tells you what you actually need.
I'd plan for the quiet. Moving out of a family home after nearly two years is a bigger change than I gave it credit for. A routine for Sunday nights, a standing call with a friend, a reason to leave the apartment on weekends, would have helped from week one.
The lease runs through May 31, 2027, and I'll decide about renewing in the spring. For now, the radiator is clanking, the courtyard is turning orange, and I'm writing this at the curb table I carried home in June. I'd sign again. I'd just go in a little more prepared.
