Moving to a new town or city, finding a better area to live, or getting your first place on your own? Whatever your reason for relocation, looking for a new place to live comes with so many challenges and considerations. What kind of neighborhood will you be living in? How far will you be from shopping centers, attractions, and essentials? What does the cost of living look like? Even more importantly, when you're researching where to put down roots, you'll be considering key questions like: Is buying a house better than renting an apartment? Is renting an apartment easier? Which will save you more money or bring you better returns in the long run?

When it comes to deciding whether to rent an apartment or buy a house, the right choice really comes down to your lifestyle, your budget, your personal preferences, and your circumstances. While buying a house was once the more traditional and popular choice — as people put down their roots and began families earlier in life — most young people today choose to rent apartments when they're starting life independently and then progress to purchasing houses as they mature, move up in their careers, build savings, and have families.

The homeownership rate today is relatively low, with 64.2 percent of Americans owning their own houses in 2018. On the other hand, rental rates are high, with a national vacancy rate of only seven percent in the beginning of 2018. That means the other 93 percent of rental properties are occupied.

While these U.S. Census averages seem to indicate renting is the more widespread choice, both buying a house and renting an apartment have their advantages and disadvantages. If you're looking for help making the choice, we're here to guide you. From considering apartments vs. houses based on budget to considering some general renting vs. buying pros and cons, here's everything you need to know about buying a house vs. renting an apartment.

Costs of Buying a House

Before you dig into the fine details of lifestyle, location, space, and other living considerations, it's essential to think about your budget and break down the costs involved in both buying a house and renting an apartment to determine which might make more sense financially.

While buying and owning a house involves some steep upfront expenses, it can also provide financial returns over time, so consider whether you're interested in making a long-term investment. Here are the costs you can expect when buying a home:

1. Down Payment

When purchasing a home, you'll be expected to provide a percentage of the price upfront before securing the property. This is your down payment. While the amount you pay depends on the local market, your mortgage type, and your personal credit score, the cost can range from 3.5 percent of the home's value up to 20 percent or higher.

2. Earnest Money

In addition to your down payment, you're typically expected to provide an earnest money deposit with your purchasing offer to show you're serious about buying the property. Generally, you can expect to provide up to three percent of the house's value upfront depending on the market. Your deposit will go towards the purchase of your home once the sale is approved.

3. Home Appraisal

When you're taking out a mortgage to help finance your new house, a loan approval from your lender will most likely require a home appraisal to make sure the house's value matches that of the asking price. Before or during the inspection of your new home — including consideration of the interior, exterior, property size, improvements, and additional features — you'll pay a fee of about $300 to $400 for the average home.

4. Home Inspection

When you're deciding whether to buy a home, it's probably a good idea to hire a home inspector to spot any defects or potential problems you might not have an eye for as an inexperienced buyer. Your home inspection will likely cost about the same as a home appraisal and you'll most likely pay at the time of inspection.

5. Property Taxes

When you own a home, you're responsible for paying property taxes set by your county or city to support local schools, public services, and infrastructure costs. While tax rates are subject to change each year and vary from location to location, you will pay property taxes both upfront when purchasing and annually, or in monthly escrow payments.

6. Homeowner's Insurance

Insuring your new home is a requirement both prior to closing to ensure loan approval and every year of ownership to protect your property against accidents, weather, and other threats. While homeowner's insurance costs are variable based on your credit score, coverage limits, and policy deductible, as well as your home's location, contents, value, and style, the average annual premium is about $1,173 in 2015 and will likely continue to rise. You'll pay your first annual premium upfront with the sale of your house and continue to pay annually or in monthly escrow payments.

7. Closing Costs

In addition to inspection, appraisal, and down payment costs for purchasing your home, you'll face a variety of other closing costs with the sale, including credit report fee, loan origination costs, recording taxes, lender's and owner's title insurance, and a closing fee, among others. You can expect your closing costs to range from two to five percent of the total sale.

8. Mortgage Payments

Once you've purchased your new home, you'll need to keep up with monthly payments on the principal and interest of your mortgage payment for its entire duration — usually for 15 or 30 years. Depending on whether you have a fixed-rate or adjustable-rate mortgage, your rates will either remain constant or vary, but you'll pay your mortgage fee as part of your monthly escrow.

9. Maintenance, Repairs, and Renovations

Owning a home comes with the responsibility of keeping up with and paying for regular maintenance and repairs as well as renovations to improve your house's quality, value, and appeal over the years. Addressing uninsured damage, replacing appliances and fixtures, taking care of interior and exterior paint jobs, maintaining mechanical elements, replacing carpets, and installing home improvements can be costly and vary greatly depending on the job. But good quality will increase your property value over time.

10. Utilities

Unlike renting, owning a home means you're responsible for paying all property utilities and services, including electric, gas, water, cable, internet, recycling, and garbage. The monthly or quarterly cost of each will vary by property, location, and personal usage.

11. Furnishings

When you're a first-time homebuyer, odds are good you don't have the amount or array of furniture and fixtures you need to fill your bigger space. You'll need to budget for the amount of spending necessary to purchase new furnishings and decorations to adorn your home.

12. Moving Costs

Whether you're buying a house or renting an apartment, moving costs will be a part of any moving experience. Depending on how much you need to move, how far you're relocating, what season you move in, and whether you use a professional service or rent your own truck, moving costs can range from $100 to $1,000 or more.

Costs of Renting an Apartment

While renting an apartment typically involves fewer upfront costs than buying a home, there are definitely expenses involved. Here are the typical costs of renting an apartment:

1. Security Deposit

When you sign your lease agreement to rent your new apartment, your property manager will typically require a security deposit to protect against property damage, broken leases, delinquent rent, and other expenses. Your security deposit might be up to 1.5 times the cost of your monthly rent.

2. Rent and Pet Rent

Rent varies greatly depending on property size, location, age, condition, number of occupants, and local market, but you'll be expected to pay monthly rent on a strict payment schedule. If you have pets, you might be expected to provide a pet deposit, monthly pet rent, or both, to protect against possible pet damage. In addition, unless you live in a rent-protected property, your rental rate can increase whenever you sign a new lease.

3. Renter's Insurance

Unlike homeowner's insurance, renter's insurance isn't typically required to secure a lease, but it helps to protect your possessions against theft, damages, fires, and other threats. While your insurance rates will vary based on deductibles, coverage limits, the value of your property, and other factors, the average monthly cost of renter's insurance is as low as $15.

4. Utilities

Some rental properties include certain utilities — like water, gas, electric, trash, lawn care, and snow removal — in the cost of rent, especially if you live in a large apartment complex. Other rental properties, however, may leave the responsibility of all or most of the utility costs to the tenant. What you pay depends on where you rent and how much you use.

5. Laundry

Many rental apartment units will not include an in-house washer and dryer, so you'll either need to use your building's coin-operated machines or find a local laundromat. You can expect to spend $2 to $4 per load, so you'll have to budget and plan your visits to the laundry machines according to what you can afford each week.

Pros and Cons of Buying a House

Now that you're familiar with the overall costs involved in buying a house vs. renting an apartment, it's time to delve into the more complex pros and cons of choosing each for your lifestyle. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of buying a home.

Pros

While expensive, home ownership does provide plenty of advantages:

1. Tax Benefits

Owning a home can make you eligible for specific tax benefits, including homestead exemption — which exempts homes occupied by their owners from part of the regular property tax burden — and federal tax deductions — which allow you to itemize your federal income taxes, deduct property taxes and mortgage interest, and reduce the total burden of your income tax.

2. Investment Building Over Time

Unlike a rental property, buying a home is an investment — meaning you build equity as you pay off your loan, owning a bit more of the house until you've paid it off in full, and you also benefit from your home's value increasing over time. You can boost your value with home improvements and increase your property's overall worth, making it both easier to refinance when you need more funds and worth more in profit if you ever decide to sell.

3. Possible Source of Income

One of the best benefits of owning a home is your freedom to do what you like with it. If you're comfortable with the idea, need more cash, and follow all local rental property laws, you can turn your home investment into a source of income by renting out rooms, floors, or even the whole house to tenants.

4. Community Roots

Because homeowners are putting time and money into their houses, they tend to stay in their homes longer, put down more roots, start families, and engage with their communities more than a temporary apartment-renter might. Owning a property will give you a sense of belonging and encourage you to get involved in other parts of your community, like associations, clubs, volunteer organizations, businesses, and more.

5. More Creative License

While property managers will impose limitations and rules regarding how you can treat, decorate, and renovate your property, owning your own house opens up so many avenues of creative and decorative possibility, from painting and hanging art on your walls to embarking on DIY renovation projects like finishing your basement, adding new fixtures and appliances, updating your rooms, and building onto your property. Your home is your canvas.

Cons

Despite the numerous benefits of owning a house, it comes with its downsides as well, including:

1. Cost of Maintenance and Repairs

In a rental apartment, you can call your property manager whenever you have an issue with plumbing, electric, broken appliances, or other defects, and your property manager will be responsible for both handling and paying for maintenance and repairs. When you own a house, the tasks and expenses are your responsibility alone.

2. Steep Upfront Costs

With numerous upfront fees, including your down payment, earnest money, home appraisal, and more, buying a house involves a lot of expenses both upfront and over time.

3. Potential Financial Loss

Homes can increase in value over time. While you have the chance to build equity and make profits, you also run the risk of losing money on your investment if your home decreases in value instead, depreciating your assets based on the local or national market.

4. Long-Term Financial Commitment

Homes are a significant investment. From mortgage payments and property taxes to maintenance, repairs, and renovations, you will need to continue to pour money into them over the years. When you buy a house, you're making a long-term commitment to care for it and pay for it, so make sure you're prepared mentally and financially.

5. Long-Term Lifestyle Commitment

If you have the kind of lifestyle that requires constant movement or you like to keep things temporary to make life interesting, home ownership probably isn't for you. In addition to the time, money, and maintenance you'll put into your new home, you'll also need to go through a complicated selling process if you need to move. Unless you're ready to settle down and put down long-term roots, think twice before buying a house.

6. Lack of Furnishings

Some apartments come furnished, but a new house won't. You'll need to be prepared to purchase a full set of furniture and provide every living essential for yourself.

7. No Included Utilities

As we mentioned before, owning a home means you're responsible for the price and management of every utility you need.

Pros and Cons of Renting an Apartment

Offering an easier transition and a more temporary lifestyle, apartments are the choice of many — from young beginners to retirees looking to downsize. If you're considering renting, here are the advantages and disadvantages to help you decide:

Pros

Easy to lease and often inexpensive, apartments offer a variety of benefits, including:

1. Easier Relocation

Renting an apartment means you have less space to work with and therefore fewer possessions. If you're not certain about putting down roots yet or prefer to live more minimally, apartments offer an easier relocation process and more flexibility when it comes to your lifestyle. If you need or want to pick up and move away at some point, there's no drawn-out sales process — it's as easy as waiting until your lease ends and leaving.

2. No Repair or Maintenance Costs

Because you won't own your apartment, you don't have to worry about scheduling repair and budgeting for fees every time a pipe bursts or an appliance stops working. Your property manager is responsible for handling the details and expenses of all maintenance and repairs, so all you have to do is make a call when you need assistance.

3. Less Strict Credit Requirements

While buying a house requires stricter, higher credit scores and comprehensive checks, renting an apartment is more lenient. As long as your credit score is decent and you don't have any bankruptcies on your record, you're likely to be approved for the lease you want.

4. Included Utilities

Although not all apartment complexes cover all utilities, some complexes and units include some utilities in the cost of your monthly rent, meaning you save money and time while homeowners pay up to hundreds of dollars for utilities each month. Included utilities also mean you won't have to worry as much about your usage.

5. Better Locations

While houses are likely located in quieter neighborhoods farther from the hub of your town or city, you're more likely to find apartment complexes in prime locations near the best shopping, attractions, nightlife, and other entertainment. Downtown locations can be especially valuable for young tenants.

6. No Concern for Real Estate Market

Homeowners have to worry about market value, economic conditions, and which way their property's value fluctuates in response. But as a renter, you don't need to concern yourself with anything but paying your rent.

7. Less Expensive Up-Front

Renting an apartment doesn't include any of the costly fees you pay for a house upfront. You just need to provide a security deposit and your first month's rent and then you're ready to move in.

8. Sometimes Included Furnishings

While it's not common and will cost more in monthly rent, some apartments come fully furnished for your convenience, sparing you the cost and effort of buying, moving, and arranging all your own furniture.

Cons

In addition to the host of benefits renting an apartment boasts, it does have some drawbacks:

1. No Federal Tax Benefits

While homeowners can claim some tax exemptions, you won't be able to as a renter because your apartment isn't technically your property.

2. No Equity-Building Over Time

Although homeowners are responsible for much steeper costs in acquiring and maintaining their houses, they can also reap the rewards of building equity and increasing their home's value over time. Renting an apartment may be easier, but it doesn't give you this opportunity to invest and benefit from appreciation.

5. Less Control Over Ongoing Costs

While your rent is set for the term of your lease, once you renew or sign a new lease, the rate is subject to change. You'll have little control over what you might pay monthly in the future. Paying your rent in a timely manner, being a good tenant, and keeping on good terms with your leasing agent will give you a better chance of avoiding large rent increases, but it's always a possibility when your lease expires.

Rent an Apartment With PMI

If you've looked at all the pros and cons of renting vs. buying and you've decided to opt for an apartment, Property Management, Inc. is the perfect place to look in Central PA. Offering beautiful rental apartments and townhomes across Harrisburg, Shippensburg, State College, Williamsport, and Mechanicsburg in a wide variety of styles — from budget-friendly to luxury — we've been dedicated to providing living options that fit your lifestyle for the past 50 years. Check out our currently available rental apartments and get a head-start on your new life today!
 

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R&L Homes offers brand new single family homes and townhouses throughout central Pennsylvania. Explore R&L communities and discover why R&L Homes is the premier home builder in central Pennsylvania.

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It’s no secret that cities, suburbs, and the rural countryside all offer very different living experiences. None of these experiences are objectively better or worse than the others, but they’re all very distinct. For example, a city dweller will have easier access to far more culture and entertainment than someone who lives in a rural area. However, they also might be hard-pressed to find a moment of peace and quiet. And while the rural countryside lifestyle is far cheaper than living in the city, you may also find yourself driving hours to get to a movie theater or a grocery store.

When it comes to weighing out the differences between urban, suburban, and rural living experiences, it can be difficult to determine what’s true and what’s merely a humorous or exaggerated stereotype. In this guide, we’ll walk through the differences between these living situations and draw attention to certain aspects of living, such as transportation, commute, lifestyle, and more.

1. Cost of Living

This is a hugely important factor in deciding where you want to live. We all operate on a budget, whether it’s large or small. None of us have an infinite amount of money to spend on a house or apartment. We must decide how much we can realistically afford to spend on our house or apartment. Since all our budgets are different, it's important to know how much you can expect to pay in each type of setting.

Cost of Living in the City

It’s difficult to ju dge which is more expensive to live in — the city or the suburbs. While you might expect that housing prices in cities are higher than anywhere else, that’s not necessarily the case. The average monthly rent in an urban setting is $1640.

The average two-bedroom apartment in NYC is $3411 each month, as of September 2017.Of course, this information should be taken with a grain of salt. Some cities, such as the obvious example of New York City, have rent that’s astronomically higher than this average.

 And that’s a decrease from last year.

Other smaller cities will most likely offer much cheaper rent than the larger cities. Beyond this, neighborhoods in different cities will have differing price ranges. To continue with our New York City example, rent in the East Village will be far more expensive than rent in the South Bronx.

And of course, these figures, while accurate, are hard to trust. After all, many city renters are flocking to the suburbs to find cheaper rent rates. There’s so much variation from city to city, suburb to suburb and neighborhood to neighborhood. The only way to know for sure is to look at the city and suburbs you live in and compare the two.

If you have your heart set on living in the city but think you can’t afford it, consider looking in a different neighborhood, or in a smaller city altogether. You might be surprised by the affordable prices you can find.

Cost of Living in the Suburbs

On average, suburban living spaces tend to cost more than urban spaces, which may come as a surprise. The average monthly suburban rent comes in at $1695, just over $50 more expensive than the urban average. While $50 may not sound like a lot, it can add up very quickly when compounded over multiple months.

Again, however, expect some variation in these numbers. Different cities will create different types of suburbs that lead to different costs of living. Beyond this, suburbs naturally divide further into smaller neighborhoods. Naturally, some of the neighborhoods will be more or less expensive than others.

Cost of Living in Rural Areas
 

Rural living offers the lowest housing prices, by far. Now, this isn’t to say that there aren’t expensive, luxury houses in the country, but they tend to be few and far between. In almost every situation, country housing prices will be much more affordable than urban or suburban costs.

Keep in mind that even though you’ll be spending less on rent in the country, you may end up making up the price difference in other ways. Depending where you live, you may need to drive 30 minutes or an entire hour to reach your grocery store, a mall, a movie theater, or even your job. With gas prices as what they are, this can add up very quickly.

2. Transportation

Transportation looks vastly different in urban, suburban, and rural communities. In some situations, you’ll find yourself riding trains and subways, in others it’ll be almost entirely cars and in still others, you can do a lot of walking. Each living situation offers possibilities, and it comes down to which are most convenient for you and which fit the most neatly into your lifestyle.

Transportation in the City

When you live in a city, your transportation situation will be greatly dependent on what size city you’re living in. If it’s a small city, you’ll likely still own a car and use it to drive yourself everywhere. You might also walk some places on foot if they aren’t too far, but you’ll probably be very dependent on your car.

If you’re looking at bigger cities, however, a car might not be necessary. Instead, you’ll ride a subway, train, bus, or other form of public transportation everywhere you go. Otherwise, you’ll walk. Having a car in a big city simply isn’t practical — the traffic is crazy, there’s no place to park and it’s often faster to walk than to drive.

All of this means you’ll save big on things like gas bills, car insurance, and car maintenance, not to mention the cost of buying a car itself. In exchange, however, you’ll have to buy things like bus passes, metro cards, and similar items to let you access your cities public transportation systems.

Transportation in the Suburbs

This is an in-between situation where you’ll likely have a few different options. You’ll almost certainly need a car if you live in the suburbs. It would be very hard to live your daily life without one. However, depending on your city, the public transportation systems may extend out into your part of the suburbs.

You may also still be able to get around on foot, depending on your neighborhood and how close you are to shopping centers or local business districts.

Transportation in Rural Areas

If you’re living in a rural setting, there’s typically no way around it — you’ll need a vehicle. There is no other way to get from place to place.

This can be a positive thing. You don’t have to worry about buying public transportation passes or the hassle of learning your way around bus stops and subway stations. Of course, this also means that now you must worry about things like car maintenance and repair, insurance, and other responsibilities that go along with owning a car.

However, being limited to driving can also be a negative. If you love walking down the street to your favorite coffee shop or window shopping as you walk along a busy street, these activities will be off the table unless you feel like driving into the city and parking your car somewhere first.

3. Amount of Space

Space is important to all of us. Whether you live by yourself, with a roommate or spouse or with a family of 10, you need your space. However, some of us are content with a tiny studio apartment, while others prefer a large house with a sprawling yard. Neither is right or wrong, and both can be perfect for different people. Urban, suburban, and rural settings offer wildly different amounts of space, with some small variations.

Amount of Space in the City

Urban settings typically do not offer much space. Of course, there’s an exception to every rule, but this rule is pretty hard and fast. Apartments come in all shapes and sizes, from studios to sprawling multi-bedrooms palaces. However, large apartments are scarce and tend to be very expensive. The odds of finding yourself in a small apartment are very high.

Even if you do manage to snag a gorgeous four-bedroom apartment, you might have little to no outdoor space. You may have a balcony, but it will likely be your only private outdoor space. If you don’t have a porch or balcony, you’re probably don’t have any outdoor space at all.

A house will be very similar. If you do find a house in the city, you may also gain access to a tiny, fenced backyard. Even in this scenario, however, any yard you do have will likely be very small.

Cities, by definition, tend to be lacking in space. They consist of thousands or millions of people all cramped together in a small amount of space — naturally, there isn’t a lot to go around. If space is something you feel you need a lot of, and particularly outdoor space, this may be a serious drawback for you.

Amount of Space in the Suburbs

As is often the case, a suburban setting marks a great balance city and country — in particular, the amount of space offered by each.

In a suburban setting, houses will likely be bigger than any in the city. Three- and four-bedroom houses are common, as are houses with multiple stories, basements, and garages. Unless you have an enormous family, you’ll likely find all the indoor space you’ll need in the suburbs.

There’s also more outdoor space in the suburbs. You’ll most likely have both a front and a back yard, although the size of these yards will be dependent on what kind of neighborhood you live in. It will most likely be relatively small — at least when compared to the yards you’ll find in rural settings.

You may also find yourself in a suburban apartment, townhouse or housing development. Most apartments and townhouses will have less indoor space than traditional houses. It’s also important to note that most developments, whether they’re communities of houses or apartments, will likely have less outdoor space.

Amount of Space in Rural Areas

If you’re the type of person who craves plenty of space, then rural living might be for you. In rural settings, you’ll have enough space for anything you can imagine. The houses are roughly the same size as the houses you’ll find in the suburbs, although you may be able to find larger houses for more affordable prices, since many country houses are older.

The real treasure here is the amount of outdoor space. Of course, not every country house has a large yard. There are plenty of small towns in rural areas where houses have very small yards. However, country houses tend to have more outdoor space, generally. Plenty of these houses sit on lots of multiple acres, and some properties contain woods, streams, ponds, and other natural wonders.

You’re also likely to have more space between you and any neighbors in rural areas. Again, this isn’t always the case, as on the main streets of many small country towns. But most of the time, you’ll be able to enjoy your outdoor space without being three feet away from your neighbors.

4. Commute

While the answers to this category might be obvious, it’s still worth mentioning since commute time is such an important part of every working adult’s life. For many people, a commute can make or break a job offer or potential housing situation.

Commuting in the City

If you live and work in the same city, you’ll most likely be quite close to your place of work. Your commute will either consist of walking, accessing public transportation or both. If you do use public transportation, an excellent way to make your commute less painful is to multi-task during it. You can answer emails on your phone on the bus, listen to an audiobook, or engage in any other activity that might be difficult to do if you had to drive.

Commuting in the Suburbs

In a suburban setting, you’ll probably have to drive to work. The good news is that this will likely be a short drive. Even if you commute, most suburbs are within 30 minutes of the city. The advantage of driving to work is that you stay out of the elements you’d be exposed to if you were walking, and you get to stay away from the lovely sights, sounds and smells of public transportation.

Commuting in Rural Areas

Unless you’re lucky enough to work someplace in the country, you’ll most likely have to commute to the suburbs or the city. This can add up to a lot of hours in the car, especially when you consider the amount of time you’ll spend in rush hour traffic. Again, however, you get to make this drive in the comfort of your own car, safe and sound from any elements. This long drive also might provide the slight advantage of giving you time to wake up in the morning before you arrive at work.

5. Lifestyle

This is a much less definite category than some of the others. Lifestyle can encompass a wide range of things, and likely means something slightly different to everyone. Nevertheless, it’s an important aspect of deciding where to live, as everyone has a different way of living.

Lifestyle in the City

Do you love culture? Nightlife? Shopping? Music, theaters and museums? Do you love unique restaurants and dining experiences?

If so, the urban lifestyle is for you. If you live in the city, you’re only a quick walk or a bus ride away from the most current trends in entertainment, the latest fashions, and the most up-to-date thinkers in the world. World-class concerts and plays are more likely to make stops near you. New stores and trends will hit your location first. You’re more likely to meet people from all over the world and have access to famous speakers and events. People come from all over the world to gain access to this level of culture, and you could live right in the middle of it.

The urban lifestyle is also extremely fast-paced. While you’ll certainly find all kind of people in any city, most city-dwellers tend to adhere to a more urgent pace of living. Something is always happening, and people tend to be slightly more aggressive and less likely just to stop and smell the roses.

Lifestyle in the Suburbs

All kinds of people live in the suburbs. You’ll find single people, elderly couples, and newlyweds. However, it’s impossible to deny the overwhelming number of families you’ll find living in the suburbs.

Suburbs are a great place to raise children. You’re close to businesses and organizations your kids can join, the schools tend to be fairly good and you’re still close to the city, where you might work. You’re also probably surrounded by other families with children who your kids can be friends with. While anyone can live in and enjoy the suburbs, they’re particularly beneficial if you have children.

Once again, the suburbs seem to have the perfect balance of urban and suburban cultures. You’re still just a short drive from all the culture and happenings of the city life, but you also have the options to pull back from the entire bustle and retreat to your quiet neighborhood at night. There will be plenty of days in the suburbs where life is so quiet you might forget how close you are to the city.

Lifestyle in Rural Areas

The rural lifestyle is, in many ways, the opposite of the urban lifestyle. If the urban lifestyle prizes an aggressive, go-getter attitude, the rural lifestyle is much more focused on enjoying the simpler things in life. Of course, this is a generalization, and not everyone fits into this category at all. People who live in the country often drive all the way into either suburbs or the city for work, so it’s entirely inaccurate to imagine country-dwellers as uncultured or anything of the sort.

However, it’s true to say that it’s much more difficult to drive into the city for a concert, a museum, or anything else of this sort if you live in a rural setting. For lack of a more elegant phrasing, there’s a lot less to do in the country, so life just tends to move at a slower pace. This doesn’t mean you can’t get a great job, have friends, or have fun if you live in the country. It just means you might have to look a little harder for entertainment than you would if you lived in a city.

The rural lifestyle can be wonderfully refreshing. If you love nature, quiet activities such as reading or very full-time hobbies that would be difficult to pursue in a more distracting atmosphere, the rural lifestyle might be just the ticket.

Check Out PMI’s Apartments for Rent

It doesn’t matter if you think you’re more suited to urban, suburban, or rural living. At PMI, we’ve got apartments and townhouses for rent to suit every taste and lifestyle. Our comfortable apartments are spread throughout central Pennsylvania. Check out our rental listings today.

Sources:

https://www.zillow.com/blog/rent-in-city-or-suburbs-197435/ 
http://time.com/money/4253977/city-suburbs-rent-housing-affordability/
https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/real-estate-news/suburbs-gaining-more-renters-than-cities/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/caitlyn-becker/city-apartments-vs-suburb_b_4250588.html
https://www.apartmentguide.com/blog/how-to-decide-where-to-live-city-vs-suburbs/
http://www.livegulfshoreslocal.com/2017/01/26/pros-and-cons-of-rural-living/
http://www.pitlanemagazine.com/lifestyles-and-subcultures/pros-and-cons-of-rural-life.html
https://www.totalmortgage.com/blog/general/urban-vs-rural-housing-the-pros-and-cons/24541
https://www.rentjungle.com/average-rent-in-new-york-rent-trends/

The post The Differences Between City, Suburban, and Rural Living appeared first on GET TO KNOW PMI.

 

Finding Apartments

Browse the Internet for Apartments

Work out a Budget for your Apartment

Don’t Forget About Roommates

• Do they have either a reliable job that will enable them to pay their bills?
• Are they responsible enough to pay their fair share of rent every month?
• Do you agree on pets?
• Do you share mutual ideas of cleanliness?
• Do they have any lifestyle choices you could not stand to live around?
• Do you trust them around your personal belongings?

Visit Multiple Apartments

Ask Questions

• Are utilities included in the rent? If not, ask about the process of setting these services up.
• Are pets allowed?
• What are the move out policies?
• What is the school district?
• When is rent due and what forms of payment are accepted?

Don’t Wait to Apply for an Apartment

• Social security number
• Any previous rental history
• Pay stub or bank records that demonstrate proof of income
• Credit score — if you don’t have a credit score yet, you may need a cosigner, in which case you’ll need to bring their information as well.
• Personal references

Read the Lease

• Term of the lease
• Price of rent
• Responsibility for maintenance
• Responsibility for utilities
• Rules about pets
• Ruled about extended guests

1. https://www.rocketlawyer.com/article/apartment-renting-101.rl
2. http://blog.rent.com/renting-first-apartment-guide-checklist/
3. https://www.apartmentguide.com/blog/your-first-apartment-four-things-you-need-to-know/
4. https://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2014/05/14/a-guide-for-renting-your-first-apartment
5. http://www.thesimpledollar.com/guide-to-renting-your-first-grown-up-apartment/

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