Hi,
I’m currently in the process of final interviews for paid internships that are based in San Francisco and Grand Rapids, Michigan. I’m based in the general Chicago area so either position would require me to move for the summer and I currently haven’t found any paid opportunities in Chicagoland. In the event that I land one of these jobs, does anyone have any tips for 20 year old looking for an apartment in a new city? I’ve been searching through Craiglist a little, but without any local knowledge of either area I’m less able to discern what a scam would look like or what the student friendly neighborhoods are in each place. I could figure it out through Google, whatever but if any of you have insider knowledge regarding the apartment hunt/interning in a new city I’d greatly appreciate it!
I don’t get out of school until mid June so I will hopefully have at least six weeks from the time of a (hopefully) offer until my start date. Thank you.
Look at the UCSF and University of SF websites and see if they have visitor rentals (in the dorms) during the summer months. Friend’s son found a place this way one summer.
A couple of years ago my dd did an internship in SF and they offered dorm style accommodations, so it is possible your employer could offer that and it would make it easy for you. She is familiar with the City so she opted for the stipend instead and took a sublet herself. She used craigslist. Found a teacher who was going to be away for the summer. They agreed on the rental but nothing changed hands until she arrived, saw the place, met the roommate and got the key, then she wrote a check. I considered it pretty lucky that they struck a deal and no one reneged. AirBnb is probably a good suggestion as you are protected, but it won’t be the cheapest, I’d guess.
Craigslist is a good place to look and has many valid listings but also is full of scammers. This site does a pretty good job of describing the most common. If you get broken english or any kind of squirrelly letter, delete it. Don’t bother to reply–you can never turn a scammer into a real deal. http://cactusbythesea.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Avoid-Apartment-and-House-Rental-Scams-on-Craigslist
There are all kinds of neighborhoods that will work, and knowing the location of the job would help. But I don’t want to go into different neighborhoods right now. I’m sure there is some kind of ‘revewi’ site to provide descriptions.
My son stayed in the apartment the job provided, first time around. He roomed with other interns. Second time, took a lot longer going thru the other sources mentioned.
In Grand Rapids, the nearby state college, Grand Valley State University has a campus downtown (engineering, medical sciences, etc). Many upperclassmen live in or near that campus. I’m sure you could find a super cheap sub-let. Perhaps call GVSU’s housing office and see if they can tell you what places students who are leaving during the summer, advertise their vacancies. Also, speak with the internship sponsors of both companies and ask what services previous students have used successfully—they may have some good inside info.
Also for GR, Calvin College owns an apartment complex that houses upper classmen–Knollcrest East. Previously they have allowed summer rentals for non-students. It might be worth a call.
Go on the reddit for colleges in those cities and post you want to sublet. My D’s schools reedit has tons of students posting they have available sublets. Also check Greek housing for nearby colleges. All of my children’s Greek house offer sublets for summer.
I have to look for some kind of housing in Menlo Park. I wonder if Santa Clara has summer sublet and where to find for it. Stanford sublet seems to require the student to be at Stanford. Airbnb is somewhat expensive, my daughter can pay for it but I wonder if there are cheaper alternatives.
I’m a Grand Rapidian. You can definitely go a lot, lot further on internship wages here than in SFO. GVSU’s downtown campus does have some apartments attached to it, but there are not too many (someone just announced a new development for that purpose today, actually), so look now if that interests you.
The northwest areas between GVSU and the zoo tend to attract a fair number of younger people, but there are some rough areas there. Stay away from the southwest side (unless you get out in the suburbs) if you can. A fair number of students also rent up on Heritage Hill, and the areas around Eastown and East Hills are very student friendly and trendy. The streets around College Avenue are good bets, appropriately enough.
Going further out of town, Wyoming is fairly affordable but more family than student oriented. Kentwood has a lot of rental properties but is like Wyoming in its character.
Feel free to message me with any questions you might have that you’d rather not post publicly.
So while I was posting a question here, I was able to find reasonably not pricey housing from airbnb. Last time I sent her something she didn’t act fast enough and it became unavailable. In case any one one to find out, it’s between $1600-$1700. Whew, I now can have my weekend.
San Francisco (and the entire Bay Area) is in the midst of a housing crisis. Rents are skyrocketing and availability is extremely low. I like the idea of checking with local universities to see if they have dorm housing available over the summer, because otherwise you’ll be lucky to find a single room in someone else’s apartment for an amount that won’t make you pass out in horror.
Thanks for your suggestions, everyone! Obviously GR is the more financially reasonable option but in case I don’t get the offer there, still feel like I needed to do my due diligence in terms of figuring out the SF housing options. As for saving money, these are unfortunately my only two paid possibilities so although I wouldn’t be saving much in either place, right now they’re the only options where I’ll get marketing experience and any money this summer.
I’ve heard from my daughter who stayed at a youth hostel in SF is to stay out of the tenderloin district. I think her youth hostel was next to it. For airbnb you need a credit card to book, unfortunately my kid 's credit card didn’t have high limit to put the whole month so I had to lend her my card. Just posting here to let people aware of it. I never used airbnb and didn’t know this fact.
Hey guys. I wanted to find out what i need to do to improve my chances of gaining an internship. I am currently a chemical engineering major (although i am kind of undecided on that) and will be a junior this fall and my CGPA is 3.22. Also, Do i need to state my CGPA on my CV and my major because i am kinda undecided on which engineering i will stick to.I am also an international student and I kinda have little experience under my belt.I would like to find out if you guys know any companies hiring engineering students or any ones that are easier to get into and are still hiring for paid summer internships. I just basically want to know what my chances of getting an internship are based on the fact that I am a sophmore with 3.22 CGPA and also an intermational student with little relevant experiences under my belt. Thanks so much guys.