Do your homework!

Homework for what you may ask? Over the last few weeks I’ve been learning the importance of researching before making a decision. My first lesson was learned a few weeks ago when I could have been saved a night of no sleep just by using the street view feature on Google maps. We booked a hotel room in Lincoln for one night during Stake Conference so we wouldn’t have to drive back and forth too many times. The hotel was a good name brand and a good price, fairly close to the Stake center, so I figured we couldn’t go wrong. How wrong I was! If only I’d taken a look at the street view online I could have seen that this hotel was right next to a rowdy bar and on the same street as the prison. Why is this a problem you ask? The types of people who frequent the aforementioned institutions are also the clientele of this hotel. This became a big problem around 1 am when some very loud and drunk individuals began running and yelling past our room, waking up the boys. This continued on and off for the next few hours. Cheeks ended up sleeping in bed with us, which meant I was pushed to the edge of the bed and unable to turn over. Obviously this is a problem when you’re pregnant and I spent most of the night waking up because my legs were numb. Needless to say, next time we book a hotel I will be doing more research!
The next lesson is ongoing this week. Several months ago we contacted an apartment complex in Sandy we wanted to live in and were told they were 99% sure the apartment size we wanted would be available when we needed it (4 weeks from now). Unfortunately we decided to trust in this estimation and lived with a false sense of security for the next few months. This week we found out that the apartment we need most likely won’t be available until the middle of July (right after the baby is due). So, we’ve been furiously researching other options for the last few days. It’s not very fun, but I’ve learned a few things along the way. First, apartmentratings.com is a great place to find out what the experience of previous tenants has been. Granted you have to sift through the complaints from people who are just not content with anything and look for the real problems. I was just about to sign up for a certain Midvale apartment complex when I decided I might want to check out their ratings; I’m sooooo glad I did! They’re rating was terrible and most of the complaints were about crimes, drug dealing, loud drunken parties, and constant police activity in the complex. Those are some real problems!!
Also, on most apartment websites you can now apply online instead of filling out a paper form. This is nice since we’re not currently living in Utah and it would require a lot of faxing (from Shafer’s work). I realized a little too late in a few cases that it’s a good idea to call the complex first to see if they even have what you want available when you need it before you spend the time filling out the form. Plus, you don’t really want all of that personal information going out to places that you’re not really considering.
Like I mentioned above, Google Maps has also been a big help in figuring out which apartments are in good neighborhoods and are within a short driving distance from Shafer’s work.
So, even though we’re still quite stressed out because we don’t have anywhere to live once we get to Utah, we have learned a few things about doing our homework!