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Most landlords do a credit check but it is a rental history check mostly, not a traditional credit check. They are looking for evictions or if you broke your lease
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Which reminds me that it would be a good idea to arrive armed with references or letters from previous landlords or folks you rented from. If you stayed in campus housing you might even get an RA to impersonate a landlord and give you a reference. I recall a long time ago my power company also put a notation on my final bill receipt saying that I had paid my bills on time; not sure if utilities will do that any more, but if they do, that will help give you some street cred!
Another nifty advantage to living near a college campus that I forgot: sub-leases! College students might need someone to sublease their place during breaks, or to help them out of a financial jam (among other reasons) and they are typically desperate enough to give you a good deal and not ask too many questions! Subleases by nature are short-term, and it would be a win-win situation if done correctly.
So, the way it works is: I get hired somewhere and THEN look for a place, not vice versa? How long is the employer going to wait for me to find a place to live?
If you are looking for employment in multiple cities, then definitely yes. The ore flexible about where you live the more likely you will find a job that interests you. So whenever possible I think the job comes first, then the place. If you are moving somewhere for other reasons then it may be different. But even in that case, the nice thing about getting the job first is that you know what your income will be and where you will be working, which are important factors in determining where to live.
Location: The Northeast - hoping one day the Northwest!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lilac11
Hello,
I just finished graduate school and am applying for jobs across the U.S.
If I get a job in another state, how do I go about finding housing?
How do I find out if I like the area if I cannot travel to see it?
Mainly, how can I secure an apartment before I arrive at my place of employment? (So that I don't have to spend days in a hotel while trying to find an apartment).
Thank you for any suggestions!
There are various apartment search engines you can use. When I moved from CT to FL, i used those and the google street viewer to "drive" down the street to see the apartment complex I was interested in and seeing the area around it.
I was familiar w/ Tampa before I moved here and the areas that were good, so that is always something you will want to know when moving to a new place. The city data forum is a great place to find out what areas are good in a city and bad. Sure, of course some people will love an area and another won't, but at least it gives you names of areas of cities and you can google and see what would work for you.
Good luck!
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I recall a long time ago my power company also put a notation on my final bill receipt saying that I had paid my bills on time; not sure if utilities will do that any more, but if they do, that will help give you some street cred! 
