[canudigit]

Our daughter recently graduated from U of M and has accepted a temporary internship position in the Brighton area that will last from this coming week into early next year. The position is just under an hour's drive from us, much of it in heavy AA rush hour traffic.

We would like to find housing closer to that area for her, but everything seems so expensive. Even a youth hostel in AA is $72/night, which is just not doable for the long term. Any kind of studio or 1 bdrm apartment in a safe area is $600+/month, and this internship does not pay that kind of money, not to mention that she would likely be forced to sign a one year lease, and she may no longer be in that area after the internship ends.

She has some college friends who live in AA, but they are all still students in their senior year, so they live in campus housing which is not accessible to her...or is it? Has anyone ever heard of a university allowing recent grads to stay in their housing? I doubt it because of space constraints, but it would be ideal if she could room with a friend of hers who has a room near campus in university housing.

Can anyone suggest any options that we may not have considered? Safety is the main issue, with cost being a distant second. She can commute from home and save her money, but it is a long drive four days a week.

Thanks!

[Coldjensens]

She needs to get out of AA and away. AA is one of the most expensive areas in the Detroit Metro.

Right in close to Brighton is a little bit expensive, but if you get out a ways it is affordable. There are inexpensive apartments in South Lyon, New Hudson, Pinkney, Brighton Township, Fowlerville, Milford. . . .

Maybe she could find a place in Hell. That would be funny at least.

It may be hard to find a place through advertisements. A lot of small landlords just put up a sign and do not advertise.

She also might need to get away from the traditional apartment complex. Most of the small towns have apartments above the stores downtown. Many places have small houses or trailers to rent or a guest house.
If she does not have a problem with trailer parks, there are often cheap rentals there.
Depending on her budget, you can sometimes find an RV or camper for rent. People just set them up in their yard and rent them out. They do not advertise that though because it is illegal.

There is a good chance her employer can help her find an affordable place.

One of the best ways to find something for rent is networking. If Mable at church hears your daughter is looking for a place, she till tell her nephew John who is renting a small house but only to a nice tenant. The problem is you cannot meet Mable unless you are already living there and attending that Church.

Also she can get a roommate. My daughter did that and found a trailer for $700 a month so they will be paying $350 each. A short term deal is harderto find, but they are out there

[belleislerunner]

I'm concerned that you have a college educated adult and you aren't having her do the apartment hunting process. You're being a helicopter parent and aren't affording her the opportunity to develop on her own. It's setting her up for failure long term (i.e. thinking someone else will solve her problems). It's okay to encourage and provide guidance - but this should be her search, not yours.

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by belleislerunner

I'm concerned that you have a college educated adult and you aren't having her do the apartment hunting process. You're being a helicopter parent and aren't affording her the opportunity to develop on her own. It's setting her up for failure long term (i.e. thinking someone else will solve her problems). It's okay to encourage and provide guidance - but this should be her search, not yours.

I can understand where you could think this, and you are entitled to your opinion. However, in our family we help each other out and we are just helping her to find something. We are not going to pay her rent or utilities, or help her out in any other way. She lived away at college for the past four years and did just fine without us, financially and otherwise. She is only living with us temporarily and comes and goes as she pleases.

Pretty much every parent with adult kids that I know is willing to help them out when asked, and she has been asking us for our advice and guidance in this matter, as she has never lived anywhere other than at home or in university housing and is a young, single female.

It would be a sad world if it were the norm not to help our kids, wouldn't it?

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

She needs to get out of AA and away. AA is one of the most expensive areas in the Detroit Metro.

Right in close to Brighton is a little bit expensive, but if you get out a ways it is affordable. There are inexpensive apartments in South Lyon, New Hudson, Pinkney, Brighton Township, Fowlerville, Milford. . . .

Maybe she could find a place in Hell. That would be funny at least.

It may be hard to find a place through advertisements. A lot of small landlords just put up a sign and do not advertise.

She also might need to get away from the traditional apartment complex. Most of the small towns have apartments above the stores downtown. Many places have small houses or trailers to rent or a guest house.
If she does not have a problem with trailer parks, there are often cheap rentals there.
Depending on her budget, you can sometimes find an RV or camper for rent. People just set them up in their yard and rent them out. They do not advertise that though because it is illegal.

There is a good chance her employer can help her find an affordable place.

One of the best ways to find something for rent is networking. If Mable at church hears your daughter is looking for a place, she till tell her nephew John who is renting a small house but only to a nice tenant. The problem is you cannot meet Mable unless you are already living there and attending that Church.

Also she can get a roommate. My daughter did that and found a trailer for $700 a month so they will be paying $350 each. A short term deal is harderto find, but they are out there

Thanks for all of the excellent advice. I have passed it along to our daughter.

[Coldjensens]

It is pretty common for college graduates today to have no idea how to find/rent an apartment. There is nothing saying she is not hunting on her own. The post simply said the daughter ran into a dead end and Mom is trying to help. Nothing wrong with that. Mom has CD connections.

We helped our daughter hunt for a place to live as well as a roommate. None of our location leads panned out and she found a place on her own, but I was able to draw her attention to a possible room mat who will apparently be her roommate.

I do not see a problem with any of that.

Heck my wifes parents bought us a new washer and dryer when I was 31 and making a decent income. While visiting, the noticed our W/D were old battered and not working very well so they went and bought new one and had them installed while we were at work. We had lots of bills to meet and a new WD was not on the horizon, but they wanted to be sure our new babies had very clean clothes and diapers. We were appreciative, and it did not make us any less independent or incapable, it was just a nice gesture.

My dad is 86. When he comes to visit, if he arrives before we get home he will go out an chop up a fallen tree, or mow the lawn, or something. He is not a "helicopter parent and he is not making us dependent. He is just doing something nice.

My sister loves shopping at salvation army and resale shops. She buys stuff for everyone when she goes. She just likes to make her circuits and find stuff. We give her a list and she finds it and we send her the $. I have never bought casual clothes for myself and none for my kids in the past 10 or so years except for an occasional Christmas present. If my sister has a legal problem or question, or wants to know about plants or selecting a car, or travelling within the US, she would call me for help. We are not co-dependant, we just like to help each other out when practical.

When my 24 year old daughter was looking at moving from Yuma to Denver or Portland, I sent her stuff from CD on both places. I also E-mailed apartments and other rentals I happened to come across. I helped her get in touch with a friend of a friend of mine who teaches in Denver and was willing to tell her about the area and teaching there. She did her won searching and researching as well. That is not "helicopter" parenting. It is helping out with a monumental task and exploiting your resources to help your kids. I will do that my entire life. You do not just chuck your kids out the door and tell them have a nice life. Part of being a family is helping each other out.

Families stick together had help each other out with their tasks. It is what they do. I would think it would be difficult to get through life without that.

[GoBlueA2]

Craigslist. It's a rural area and there are legitimate people with apartments out back or a bedroom for rent. A friend should go with with her, of course, when checking them out.

[jaynarie]

Check for sublets. I believe Craigslist has a whole section.

Is there anyone at work that would rent a room? When I had a temporary job and had a hard time finding affordable, short-term options, one of my coworkers with kids off in college offered to rent a room. Perhaps she should ask around at work.

However, sub $600 is getting pretty hard to find in most communities, especially within driving distance to Ann Arbor or Detroit.

[canudigit]

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions. She drove up to that area yesterday to look around a little more and the drive is not terrible, albeit she went in late morning after rush hour in AA was over. At least the one lane construction on 23 is gone now and it is pretty much wide open all the way, so since she will start out commuting at least at first and it's summertime, it won't be too bad.

She did check Craigslist and there are a lot of sublets, roommates needed, etc. on there, it's just a matter of finding one that is safe and practical, especially safe. A young woman just about her age was abducted and murdered while riding her bike along rural roads about thirty miles from us a few weeks ago, so the world is definitely not a safe place for a young woman on her own anymore, sadly.

Thanks again.

[zthatzmanz28]

Green Oak, Hamburg (Pinckney) and Putnam (Hell) are going to be cheaper and closer to Brighton. Howell may also offer affordable accommodations, but these maybe north of Howell. Fowlerville is a commute--even via I-96 and Grand River is not a quick drive.

Best bet is south of Grand River, possible a sublet or if there exits a month-to-month in the area east of Rickett--North of LEE Road--west of US 23...