Moving Cross Country and Finding a New Roommate

This is part three of a five-part series written by guest blogger Josh Knoll about his experience moving with U-Pack from Arkansas to Arizona.  Since moving involves much more than just packing up a moving truck, we thought his post on how he found a roommate in Phoenix was very interesting.  Make sure to check out Moving to Phoenix Part I and Moving to Phoenix Part II while you're at it!

*The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are solely those of the original author. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of U-Pack, the blog.upack.com staff, and/or any/all contributors to this site.

Moving to Phoenix with U-Pack – Part Three
For anyone living in or planning a move to a large metropolitan area, I cannot say enough good things about craigslist.  You can find anything and everything you need, many things you want, and lots of things that fall into neither category!  I needed a perfect roommate.  Craigslist can make the impossible very possible. 

Trust me! I am living in a gorgeous condo with a waterfall pool, fitness center, laundromat, and barbecue patio.  I can walk to the light rail station that takes me through downtown as well as seven area stadiums/sports arenas, parks and greenspaces, a myriad of restaurants/bars, several big box chain stores, and the university I will eventually be attending.  I have my own private bedroom and bathroom.  All utilities are included in the rent price of $400/month, and my roommate/landlord has become a great friend in the course of just a few weeks.  It is almost too good to be true.

How did I find this amazing bachelor pad?  I started checking craigslist daily a few months before I intended to move.  There is a section in every city labeled "rooms / shared" where those in need of an already established roommate can go to find rental spaces (both furnished and unfurnished) with amenities and prices listed alongside pictures of the available room(s). Oftentimes these ads include links to a map of the neighborhood so you can visit the available sites via Mapquest or Google Maps in addition to seeing whatever pictures were posted in the ad.  (Occasionally, you may even run across a face pic' of an available roomie.)  You may also fine tune your search by putting in keywords like "cats OK," "pool," or "public transportation."