Helping Your College-Age Child Find an Apartment

With the end of May approaching, college students across the country will be heading home for the summer. Now that the semester is over, they’ll be settling in at their parents’ house and maybe even picking up a part-time job to help pay for their expenses during break. As a parent, you’re excited to have your child home, but you may have noticed that they’re a little restless once they’re back, or they may have expressed a desire to find their own place.

At EZ Storage® in Philadelphia, we can help you and your child find the right self-storage unit for anything they need to store while hunting for an apartment. You love having your child back for the summer, but you also know that they may be ready to strike out on their own in terms of living arrangements.

Supporting Their Independence

Your child is used to being on their own during the school year, and living at home with their parents during the summer might make them feel like they’re not an independent adult. While they may not have a curfew or a schedule like they did in high school, going back to their old bedroom and being in the same house with their siblings could make them feel less “grown up.”

You can support their independence by assisting with their apartment search. They may still want to be close to home, and you can help them find a place that’s affordable and convenient, as well as nearby enough that they will still stop by for dinner and to do laundry.

If the apartment they choose doesn’t have a ton of storage space, then renting a storage unit can make sense, even if it’s just for the summer. They’ll be signing a short-term lease with the apartment complex, and our month-to-month rentals function much the same way. You pay for the time you need, and then you can move everything out!

Protecting Their Belongings

If your college-age child will be living independently this summer, then they may want to keep some things stored at your house. As long as you have the room in the basement, attic, or garage, that shouldn’t be a problem. However, if your house is short on storage space, then you may be left looking for another solution. This can be especially true if your child has furniture or appliances that they need to store.

You want their belongings to stay safe during the summer so that they can take everything back to school with them in the fall. A secure storage space from one of our metro-area facilities can provide everything you need, and with climate-controlled options, you can safeguard anything that needs to be protected from warmer temperatures and too much humidity.

Encouraging a Budget for the Summer

When your child is planning to live on their own for the first time, it’s important to encourage that they make a budget to get them through the summer. They’ll need to know how much their monthly rent is, what utilities will cost, and how much they should save for food, gas, and other expenses. You can split the cost of a storage unit with them in order to help them out, or, if they have roommates, divide the cost of unit between all of them and allow everyone to store things for the summer.

Budgeting can be tough the first time around, but if your child is ready to live on their own, then they should be able to create and maintain a steady budget. Sure, there will be things they want to splurge on like vacations or a new wardrobe, but if they want to be more independent, they should know how to manage their money. At EZ Storage®, we’re proud to be able to affordable options that fit any budget.

If you’re going to be helping your college-age child look for an apartment this summer, and they need somewhere to store a few of their belongings, then we hope you’ll visit one of our Philadelphia locations. The staff and resident managers at each storage center will be more than happy to show you which units are available, and they’ll gladly answer any questions you or your child may have.

We look forward to seeing you soon!