Apartments
technology
We admit it: often when we wake up, the first thing we do is check our e-mail. Or our texts. Or Facebook. Or Twitter.
It’s hard to stop even as we eat our breakfast and come into work. Sure, it’s easy to say that work is why we’re checking them, but we know deep down it’s not true.
Digital notifications and communications absolutely rule our lives - so at what point does the need to stay connected become an unhealthy addiction? This article shares some signs that your digital life is a digital addiction, including:
● My phone started loading slower from having too many apps running and continual notifications popping up.
● When asked to print a photo for my son’s preschool class, I couldn’t find a single picture of him I hadn’t taken on my phone (and could easily print). You can read the full story of what happened here.
● When I almost left home without my wallet (and driver’s license!) because I knew I could rely on my phone for all my payments and transactions.
● When quality time with my husband started to mean sitting side by side on our devices.
● When I attended a wedding where everyone spent so much sharing the festivities online that it was hard to hold a face-to-face conversation.
If any of those things sound like you at all, head over to the article to read more and find out what you can do to curve your addiction - and please share it if you know anyone who fits the description in it as well!
Original article: I Was Addicted To My Smartphone, Are You?
Apartments
Roommates
Looking to split the cost of an apartment with a roommate? Before making a quick decision about who you’re going to live with, take a minute and make sure you’re approaching the search for a roommate the right way.
Believe it or not, the process of picking a good roommate can be - and should be - just as involved and important as finding the right place to live. While it’s easy to think that picking your apartment itself will be the most important part of moving into a new place, consider this: your roommate can literally make or break your living experience. While you can do little things to improve an apartment once you have it and make it your own, you won’t ever be able to change the person you live with. If you don’t take the time to seriously consider who you want to live with, you may find yourself stuck with someone you can’t stand.
So what’s a renter to do? The good news is that finding a roommate is a lot like finding a good apartment: you just need to know what you can and can’t live with. If you’re willing to be honest about what you need in a roommate and you take the time to screen potential cohabitors properly, your future apartment will feel all the more welcoming and homely to you.
For additional reading and tips on what you should be thinking about and doing when searching for and screening a potential roommate, we recommend both this article on realestate.msn.com and this guide on Livestrong.com - and to make things even easier, we’re also including this fantastic infographic about finding a roommate!
