Question

PLEASE HELP Step 1: Preparing for the Future

In this Activity, you’ll complete a simulation designed to introduce you to some of the things you’ll need to keep in mind when hunting for an apartment. Then, based on your future plans, housing preferences, and experiences in the sim, you’ll conduct a mock housing search for yourself.

Step 2: Knowledge Matters: Simulation
Compete the Knowledge Matters simulation: “Finding an Apartment.”

Once you’ve completed the simulation, think for a bit about how you envision your life when you will be first living on your own and renting a place. This could be immediately after high school, sometime after living in college dorms, or even more distantly in the future. Where do you see yourself working and/or studying? Use those specific addresses to center your own apartment search later in this Activity. For example, if you think you will live in a dorm while studying computer engineering, then going on to work for a big tech company, you’d probably consider living in Seattle, Redmond, or San Francisco.

Step 3: What Are YOUR Priorities?
In the sim, you took on the role of a student with a prescribed budget, access to bus and car transport, and a specific schedule. However, it’s quite likely that you have different needs and goals! Before you pick an apartment in the real world, it’s important to think about what is most important to you when choosing an apartment. In a word processing document, make a list of housing priorities, considering things like:

Overall costs/budget sensitivity.
Transportation preferences—walking, public transportation, ride shares, biking, a personal automobile, etc. Keep in mind that some of the options require extra consideration, such as a place to park a car or securely store a bike.
Living alone versus living with roommates.
Feeling secure in your housing.
Pet-friendliness.
Hobby considerations (for example, competitive gamers probably want to live in an area with high-speed internet, while a nature lover might want to live near a park).
Weather and related considerations (not all apartments have air conditioning).
Other location concerns (needing to live near a relative, e.g.).
Then, write a prospective schedule for yourself when you do move into an apartment. Will you need to balance school and work? How much sleep do you need to feel well-rested? Do you need to schedule time for cooking, or do you plan to live off of pre-prepared meals? Create a schedule for a typical weekday like you saw in the sim.

Step 4: Finding an Apartment
Now that you’ve got your priorities in order and know your schedule, it’s time to find a place to live! Based on the area you plan to live and work/study in, search for living arrangements that will meet your needs. While in the sim you were restricted to apartments, feel free to look at other rental options. You can use sites like Craigslist, rent.com, apartments.com, or websites that cater to specific locations in your search.

Just like for the sim, start with the cheapest apartment that allows you to meet your schedule and note the price and location. Then, find an apartment that meets your holistic needs (as determined by your personal list) and note its final price and location.

Finally, write a paragraph of reflection about the experience. Your reflection should include things like:

What you learned from the sim.
What it was like creating a priority list.
If you were surprised by the difference in price between the bare-minimum acceptable apartment and the living arrangements that you would prefer.
If this Activity changed how you will think about apartment hunting in the future.
Your feelings about the Activity overall—was it stressful? Exciting? Inspiring? Dispiriting?
Step 5: What to Submit
Your submission for this Activity is a word document containing:

Your list of priorities for apartment hunting.
Your weekday schedule.
Information on the cheapest and ideal apartments for your hypothetical future.
A paragraph of reflection on the experience of apartment hunting.

Answer 1

Estimate the Cost of Your Bedroom Furnishings

Based on one of these situations:

■ A teenager living at home.

■ A young adult living on his/her own.

■ Ask students to estimate the total cost of the furniture, linens, and creature comforts

in their bedrooms.

■ Discuss their findings. Was the total more than they expected? What items did they

include?

4-2 Calculate the Cost of Setting Up an Apartment or Redecorating a Home

■ Ask each team member to choose a room in an apartment. Choices include kitchen,

dining room, bedroom, living room, and bathroom.

■ Ask each team member to research how much it would cost to furnish and equip that

room. Encourage students to look at various alternatives, including secondhand stores,

garage sales, donations from relatives, etc.

■ Ask all teams to prepare a summary of their findings, including an itemized list of

what they would buy, the estimated cost of each item, the source for each item, and

the total cost of furnishing and equipping “their” apartments. Have all teams present

their findings to the class.

■ As a class, discuss some students’ findings, and brainstorm ways to cut costs.

4-3 Set Up a Budget to Begin Living on Your Own or Upgrade Your Lifestyle

■ Divide students into teams of two or three people. These teams are now “roommates”

or “married.”

■ Assign a realistic income to each student, and give each student a budget sheet.

■ Ask each person to set up a budget that includes the fixed and flexible expenses

associated with leaving home and living on one’s own.

■ As a class, discuss the budgets prepared by each team. How much money would the

team need to move? How long would it take them to save the money? What types

of items did they include in their budget? Given their income and their personal lifestyle

preferences, how long could they stay within their budget? How many included savings

in their budget? How many took into consideration unforeseen events? How many took

into consideration their personal and financial goals?

■ Using the blank budget sheets, help the class design a budget that includes the costs

of leaving home and moving into an apartment, that allows for unforeseen events,

Explanation:

hope dis helps :P