Housing for Nurses in the USA

Welcome, everybody, it's Friday. So it must be Connetics USA nursing recruitment agency weekly show onwards and upwards. Everything that a healthcare worker needs to know about coming to live and work in the United States. I am your host, Tanya Freedman, CEO of Connetics USA, and I have a great panel who are going to be joining us today.

Our topic, very important topic is how to rent an apartment in the United States gotta have a roof over your head. So this is a really important topic for those of you who are outside the United States. Not sure how this is going to work. And those of you who aren't arriving in the United States and are worried about finding the right apartment, the right place, for your family or for yourself if you're coming by yourself.

So today we're going to be talking about just the basics how to find an apartment reserving an apartment, signing an apartment lease, moving in doing a walkthrough, all of the things and topics that are important to learn about before you come and live and work in the United States.

And I am joined today by a great panel. We have nurse Mia who's joining us hi. Welcome we also are joined by Christian welcome, Christian. Morning. How are you doing? We have Namita joining us Hi Namita Good morning, everyone. Good evening, whatever it is all over the world. And welcome to enter who is no stranger to the show. Welcome back, Anna. Hi, everyone. Evening, wherever you are. welcome Anna. So we're going to be digging into the topic now how to rent an apartment. And but I also want to welcome all of our viewers that are watching from all around the world. Last month we hit a record number we had 1.3 million people who watch the show look at Anna's face. Oh my gosh. Lots of people are watching the show. And great information if you want to know about living and working in the United States.

So we have today Machado who's joining us remotely. He's saying hi Tanya and guests happy to be here. I love the topic tonight. Great Rommel. I love that you love our topic. And I lean is saying hi Eileen is a regular Cheryl is saying hi Marcel says hi. Jen. Francis says hi. Pina says hi Nizar is saying hi Lizelle is asking when are you going to feature North Carolina State winner from your previous poll? Zell, thank you for that question. I will let you know at the end of the show North Carolina's coming up so and so that is a great topic. Coming up. Tess is watching from Kenya. If you're watching from anywhere in the world today, please put into the chat your name and where you're watching from so fun to see you everybody watching from all over the world, Ashley from Jamaica. So let's get started.

When nurses come to the United States, it's a long and involved process, you can look on our website and see our success path. It's a great way to figure out the steps of how to get from step number one which is passing your NCLEX to step number seven which is enjoy and prosper and enjoy and prosper is where we will be needing an apartment your first apartment when you come to the United States. We have some pictures of nurses who've got a friends department and that will put onto the screen and me as smiling is great day when you get that first apartment. And so here we've got some pictures there we've got a great pool we bought an apartment somebody who's living in a colder climate with those cars parked outside. I know we have another picture coming up of some more apartments there you can see the family standing so excited in front of their first apartment and somebody owning their shirt getting ready for work maybe and making themselves at home. So this is the dream. This is where we're going to. I'm going to ask each of the panelists to introduce themselves and then we're going to get dig into the topic. maintenance Mia, let's start with you. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Hello everyone. My name is nurse Nia. I'm a nurse from the Philippines. I've been here for almost four years now. And I have a YouTube channel where I talk about nursing in the states and my life here in the States. So please subscribe to my YouTube channel.

I'd love to have you there and you can also get in touch with me there. Thank you Miss Mia. So if you're joining now for the first time please subscribe to nurse Mia's channel and great information there and we love when nurses are paying it forward like you are and this Mia and sharing your experience so that other people who aren't TTR can learn from you. Christian, you want to go ahead and introduce yourself? Yeah, thank you. My name is Christian. I'm a local developer here in San Diego. I've owned and operated a property management business in San Diego for since I was 19. I'm 35. So I guess 16 years. Okay, so lots of experience. Lots of expert tips Christian is going to be sharing with us on how to rent an apartment. Thank you, Christian. And Namita, do you want to go ahead and introduce yourself? My name is Namita. And I am an immigrant like Ms. Tanya, I moved here about 25 years ago. And before joining Connetics I worked as an international recruiter for a major hospital facility in the Midwest, and onboarded, hundreds of nurses. So I'm very excited about sharing my experience of finding an apartment, which was affordable and comfortable for our interior national health care professionals. So welcome to the show. Thank you Namita.

And so in the media and immigrant herself, having had that experience of renting your first apartment, but also having a different kind of experience, which lends a different lens to this topic. She has helped hundreds of nurses to find apartments, so all immigrant nurses, so that kind of gives us another perspective. And last but not least, our friend Anna. Hello, everyone, and everyone knows me by now. But I'm Anna I'm one of the admin of Unifor. And I met him in New York for seven years. And I'm currently playing a company are you how I got my first apartment, move out Prem, for me good and you're going to learn more? Thank you, Anna. Without credit school, that's the key because most nurses, first of all, don't even know what credit score is. So we're going to talk a little bit about that. And then how does that impact getting an apartment? And okay, so Tess, watching from Kenya, Ashley from Jamaica, George wants to know about New Orleans in Louisiana. So George, we're going to try and get to your question Jimena saying Hi Mary, and Queen Mary from Philippines basher saying hi brands from Philippines Jessa from Philippines back go watch it from the pole and Denise is saying hi Catherine's watching from the Philippines Muhammad from Nigeria innocent from Swaziland wow people resell from Brazil chomp all over the world.

And okay so let's get started and before talking about the experience of renting an apartment so and let's maybe start with you what was just give us a the basics like just an overview of your experience of getting an apartment the apartment in the United States what was that like for you? Well, I arrived 18 I have no credit for I have no car for what are you? I use the app and I called and I hold X number that I found on the app and they asked them hey where you have any availability? And they reply back to my email and drink smoke me old requirements quite a flame and I our rental apartment. Only one except for me. I have no credit score for I went there and hold my contract from my agency. No one I know I'm working legally in the US and for my average client and hold on for both of Burbank. Me. You have to have your paperwork. And it's only Albanian paneling so welcome to veins me you look for type your code and I told the why me for my claim for war rooms I have no power I was partying and I live in New York it's snowing. I'm gonna have a hard time going to warm up is like kind of walk it's already expensive my time but it's all worthwhile. Having not read for you available. Are you fun in applying in apartment? My experience serving your homeroom Thank you Anna so it sounds like you got it in the end but it was a stressful experience. Yeah.

And you had to cover a lot of ground lots of different apartments to get the one the one the apartment. And I've heard nurses you applied to even more than five so I think you were actually quite fortunate with five and this Mia How was your experience? Was your experience the same or different to Anna's in getting your first apartment? It's a lot different I'd first I wanted to say money. So I tried finding a roommate, it was really cheap $300 Just to share that apartment. But when I went there, I saw the place it was messy. So I thought, it's not a good idea. So I bought another place. And that one was a shared unit. So we'd have a shared kitchen and a shared laundry. So I could be on the second floor, and another person would be on the first floor. So I was also considering that because that was $600. And I thought I'd save money, but they couldn't give me an assurance that the other tenant would be female. And I wanted the other person to be a female. So I said, I'm not going to do this. And I decided, I'm just gonna find another apartment where I can be on my own. So I found I tried looking for a one bedroom apartment. And I couldn't find one. But I found one with a loft. So it's basically like a two bedroom unit with two bathrooms. And I got lucky because they actually gave me the rent for a one bedroom apartment because they couldn't find one that are important for me. So I got locked in. And that's where I stayed for the last three years in almost nine months now. I'm still at the same place. Oh, wow. So it took a while to get there. But you obviously happy because you're still there, right? Yes, it's my first and last apartment here in Virginia.

Moving out right now and trying to buy all my stuff. I'm moving up tomorrow. Oh, goodness, how long have you lived at that apartment? Um, the years and almost nine months now. It worked out well, for you. For the first one. Yeah. And for many, for many nurses and employers will give an initial effect all employers will give initial health. So at least that does give you some time to find something. But I think you can hear just from nurse Mia and from Anna that, you know, a little bit stressful. But it does always work out. You've just got to know what to look for and how to go about it. And we're going to be digging deep into that and what are the some of the tips and pointers of how to actually do that. And before I forget also please stay on until the end of the show because we have an influx winner. And Connetics has an NCLEX scholarship, where we pay for the review course for selected nurses. But today, we also have one lucky winner that will receive the NCLEX exam paid for. So please stay on until the end to find out if your name will be droid drawn, we'll be announcing the winner today. Okay, so, um Namita and nurse Mia and Anna have spoken about how it can be a struggle in the beginning. And sometimes you don't even know what to look for in looking for an apartment. I know we have a slide talking about what are some of the pointers and tips to prepare for apartment. Apartment sharing. Can you talk us through some of those tips and pointers. Slide right now here we go. It is very important to do your research. There are various websites you can use Google is really helpful. And my recommendation is start your research early as early as 60 days prior to your moving date so that you have enough time. And you can browse online apartment listings by zip code. It is also called postal code or PIN code.

I know it's called postal code in India. Here it is a five digit ZIP code and look at your employment, your employer's address, figure out what the zip code is look at the address and then use that zip code to look for the apartment listing in the area where you want to stay. So you have already narrowed down the area and you find out a list of apartments. And once you have that done, go on a virtual tour I know because of COVID sometimes it's difficult to go and have a personal tour. And when you are in the research phase go on a virtual tour most of the apartment complexes will allow that also determined your budget this is very important because most of your salary, most part of your salary will go for your apartment. Rent then you have groceries if you have a car payment, then you have to consider about that your moving cost That is a big chunk of money. That is only one time cost, but still you have to. So just figure out your budget, how much can you spend on the rent plan your commute This is very important. Finding an apartment closer to where you work is really, really important initially when you are not driving in the New City. So that is also a good recommendation. And then decide on what amenities are important for you is swimming pool important to you having a gym important to you have and prepare your paperwork, make sure you have all the documents ready. So that when you are applying, you have everything ready to either fax or scan, and have your application ready. So these are some of the recommendations I have for being prepared for an apartment finding an apartment.

Okay, so lots of great pointers and tips there to go how to go about preparing for renting an apartment. And I think also just to mention that you might not be able to do all of those things while you're outside the country. In fact, a lot of those things you're not going to be able to do outside the country. So you could start doing your research with most of that is probably going to be done when you when you arrive in the United States. The question I see a lot of people putting in the chat about asking about renting an apartment. Eileen is asking about Georgia, and Rommel is asking about what is the average rent for one person in New York City. Bazar is asking about Memphis. And can you talk a little bit about how different locations in the United States might be different in terms of rent, and even like I live in San Diego, even in San Diego, you find if you're looking for a two bedroom apartment, you're gonna have a wide variation of rentals available depending on your budget. Can you talk a little bit about that? Yeah, there's a wide variety of apartments available. And each city, each city has a probably a very high income area and a moderate income area. And for San Diego, for example, two bedrooms, you can find 2500 A month up to 4500 a month very easily.

Okay, so there really is a wide range. And you're gonna have to do your research in that. And I see Romney is asking how much is an average one read average rent in New York City? And you know the answer to that one? Yeah. Even though I'm not from New York, but I have a lot of friends that I helped when they were an apartment in the community. One man room is $3,500 the flu will only cost 25. And when you're in a meeting, you're going to bribe my homies, my boy, I like here, I'm outside and welcome to your community. I mean, how can you expect an hour away from the community? I'm only paying about $1 for two bedroom, two bathroom, I have a mannequin I have my own laundry, really very for it, or you're not paying him in the first place. Okay, so it's I as Anna says, there's gonna be a very wide range of rentals available depending on the area, the location, how far outside of the if you're in a city, how far you're outside of the city. So there's going to be a wide variation. And nurse Mia, and what in terms of finding an apartment just doing that research? What do you wish someone had told you before you'd come to the United States, just in terms of that, that finding an apartment? you unmute you. And

I didn't expect that I would be paying the deposit of one month worth of rent, because usually online you would see, for my apartment, it would be $300. So security deposit for rental of 1200 per month. But because I didn't have a credit score, they told me no, you can't have that price. It's also going to be $1,200 for the security deposit. Okay, so that that's important because people don't always realize, don't realize, first of all, that there might be a deposit number one number to that the deposit might even be slightly higher, because you don't have a credit score. Christian why is a credit score so important when renting an apartment. It's a security for the owner of the apartment. So a high credit score means to most people that you're going to have a very secure tenant that's going to pay the rent and take care of the apartment. When you have a lower credit score. It's a concerning factor of how they're gonna treat the apartment and how they're going to pay the rent. So if you have a high credit score, it's a trend that you're gonna see, the tenant pays the rent on time the tenant takes care of the apartment when they move out, it's in decent shape. Okay, so it's kind of like past behavior is a predictor of future behavior and that they feel more secure with that. And Namita. In your experience, I know you'd help hundreds of nurses come to the United States and find an apartment, what is your best advice in looking for apartments where they might waive the credit, the credit requirement.

So the onboarding specialists at Canet X is a great resource, I would say, because if you do not have a credit score, and most of the times when the nurses arrive, they do not have their social security number that arrives. So your onboarding specialist can talk on your behalf. And also the onboarding specialist at the hospital site can speak on your behalf, the hospital can also give you a verification of employment letter. So it is not your whole offer letter, it is just a letter from your employer that you are employed there for three years or whatever the length is. And so that gives an assurance to the landlord that you have a stable job, and you can pay your rent on time. So that's a security for the employer and also saying that you are working for the healthcare facility, the apartment complexes near those facilities have a working relationship or repo with the hospitals already built. That is also an advantage. And it is really convenient way of expressing and communicating to the apartment complex and also sometimes getting a discount for being a healthcare professional.

Okay, so there are resources that are available and the fact that you have got a green card as a registered nurse or maybe as another health care worker coming into the United States, and also that you've got a job is going to be helpful in those criteria. Yes. Me and a friend seven years ago, I arrived in New York with no credit score, right? That's what I thought to the owner of the apartment might cooperate with my company, my green card, and my hope of errantly and re let me correct and we're pleased, whenever asked for a bribe for me, Remo, I'm newly arrived. And since I live nearby, the neighborhood who Rivera I need help my memory for wolf nurses coming in and about for your, your company. Thank you, Anna, that's very helpful. So at least that can give everybody peace of mind. And having a job and having the Green Card really is the key to being able to read because if you're not like, you know, you're not an American, as Christian, explain why work, why people, landlords are looking for credit scores. And you know, you're not going to have that because you're new in the country. So those are some of the other tools that we can use.

And I see that we have a comment about credit. Who was that from? I think it was Sarah, who said good to learn about credit score, very informative, I would encourage everybody to watch one of our previous shows, we did a whole show on credit, what is credit, how to build your credit. So if you don't know anything about credit, please make sure that you watch that show. You can watch it on the Connetics USA website, on our social media channels, our YouTube page, and really important to educate yourself about credit because that's kind of one of the tools that are used in the United States. And if you don't know about that, it's very important to empower yourself with that knowledge. And I think that I see there were a lot of questions here in the chat about asking for average, what how much is an average rent for three bedroom houses in the US and how much does it cost in Orlando, Louisville, Kentucky, and you know, all of those different areas. Christian, we have a slide on the different websites that people can look at to try and figure out that information, the websites where you can get you can start looking for apartments. If you look at that list question, are there any here that you think are particularly useful or some that aren't that useful? Or some others that you might recruit and recommend? Yeah, I really like apartments verifies who puts their information in hot pads.com is a very good way to figure out your competition on the property to see how much the area and how much value that that that that apartment is Zillow Rental Network and truly are both hot pads. So all three of those kind of run together so they all work very well.

 

And then realtor.com has some apartments on it. The one I would really kind of stick away from is Craigslist to be honest, full of scams. And what they do is they reach you reach out to them, they say, Hey, I'm out of town, please fill out this application, wire me some money and then I'll give you the keys to the apartment. And when you do that, you've lost your money, you're gone and you do not have the apartment. So the biggest thing you have to worry about any of these websites is there can be scams out there. And the most important thing is to go to the property if you can meet the individual, see the property firsthand and then apply because if you just apply online, not through like a large company website, but through like a through the email and you wire that money in you have a high chance that you're going to be scammed you're going to lose out on that money. Okay, so that's a very important warning for everybody to be careful of and not get scammed where you just you don't know You know, you don't know what you don't know. And that's why it's so important to be watching onwards and upwards because you can hear this information from the experts like Christian and learn about what to do and what not to do. And Angela has a question I will be flying into Bismarck North Dakota on October the 14th Congrats Angela we are so excited for you know apartment yet it's so difficult to look and just email the apartment majority do not reply, Nurse Mia, what would you answer? What should Angela do and if she's if Angela's and applying and nobody's responding from the various landlords, I would try to ask help from friends or families to get in touch with that or her employers or her agency if she has one. They should be able to help her someone should be able to help her.

Okay, so there you go. Angelou. So, if you do have any friends in that area, obviously, that's helpful. But for a lot of nurses, they might not know anybody in that specific location. And that is where you need to work with your agency. And I think for many nurses, you get very anxious understandably, I was an immigrant myself, I came to the United States 22 years ago, and I know very well what it's like to be worried that you're not going to have a roof over your head when your temporary housing expires. But you need to work with your agency and there are a lot of things that you can't do while you're outside the country. So don't panic, just relax we you know, as this message and enter share the story. Sometimes you have to try a few things when you get there. But you know, we will we will get there together. And it's just a timing thing. And you've got to just, you know, just try be calm about it and not get too freaked out because there's only so much you can do from outside the country. And Namita can you talk a little bit about the amenities and in finding an apartment so for example, you spoke about maybe a swimming pool or gym which are great things to have when you find an apartment, but different apartments might have different things like do they have a washer and dryer do they have a garage where they take pets? And can you talk a little bit about what to look for from an immunity perspective.

So some of the basic amenities are included in the apartments. So like a refrigerator or cooks, these are things that the apartment already has for you. However, having a swimming pool if it is important to you, not all apartment complex will have a swimming but most of the apartment complexes have some kind of a gym if exercising is important for you. Dog parks, some of them some of the apartment complexes have dog parks, parks, there are you do have to pay extra if you have pets and if you're bringing pets with you. It is an extra deposit an extra per month that you have to pay for pets that is something else that you have to consider budgeting for. Other than that some apartment complex have an apartment washer dryers. However some have a laundry room laundromat on the property itself. If the apartments do not have that, then there might be laundromats there you will have to do laundry and get your laundry done. So for me it is very important to have a laundry in my unit. However when you are comparing costs, more the number of amenities the higher your rent is going to be.

So again budgeting is important and make sure make a list of amenities that are important to you and look for apartments where which have those amenities included. Okay, so that gives us a great overview Namita of the different things that are available but bear in mind the more amenities you have probably the higher your rent is going to be. And we are nodding and in the past apartment what were the amenities that you had? Well, I moved quite first time I rent apartment while I was in fourth floor no elevator very clean but we're nearing the same long we're in a basement. So I remember one time I came from more I will hope crime and you have a warrior longboarding in a basement and you're leaving fourth floor and you have no elevator I click my laundry bath and I looked so I was like I'm gonna look for apartments with my own laundry for I moved an hour away from playing for I found an apartment with my own laundry is cheaper.

But me and a friend as long were you very important on it's definitely in a wing part you don't want to share with our people for when you're fighting in the US might meet will be prioritizing what you're going to mean when implementing are really important in my opinion. bream is not really important you can go out in a car and run meet for the hugger Oh long green and when you have a child my daughter was five year old when we have a playground quite helpful why for why for me won't really use it you know we're Filipino you will write me yeah important from a manual this is what I love the most having your own laundry and equally report floor elevator infamous for who's going to pry so there we go. So we know what n is priorities are. It was you know the laundry that some people had a child to go play. So those were the sounds like the most important things that were your priorities in terms of immunities the same as Anna's or were they different in your is different. So I actually live in a luxury apartment is what they call it. So we have swimming pools. We have a gym we have a private theater if you want it to be on a basketball court. Yeah, game rooms, billiards foosball.

I think everything you can think I have my own laundry inside my apartment. We have another vapor I lived in a fourth floor. So that's probably why I never left this place. Like you have everything there. I don't know why you're leaving nurse Mia. Because my contract is done here in Virginia. Okay, okay, but it sounds like you had a good time while you were there. And interesting. We have two questions in the chat that I want to ask you about. It is asking is it easier to rent an apartment compared to renting houses for startups? Yes, and no. So houses here in San Diego, for example, are we have a kind of a housing crisis. So demand on the houses is very high because the apartment cost has gone up so much that people are trying to do a roommate situation and families are trying to move etc. So houses are a little bit hard to find. You can find them though, but apartments will be your easier bet.

Okay. All right. Sounds good. And then Christian, there was one more that I wanted to ask you. And oh, Christelle had a question here cannot ask a friend in the US from a different state to secure an apartment for us, since they already have established a good credit score, is that something that's possible, they can cosign, but they won't be able to establish the property for that individual. They can come out and take a look at it and help the process but it will be very difficult for them to actually get the apartment for the other family. But they can't cosign. Correct? Yeah. cosign is a definite help. Yes. Okay. All right. And JP is saying thing is for Sanford Bismarck. We don't have housing when we get there. So we really have to scout for one since while still in the Philippines. So JP and I'm not sure specifically you're going through Sanford Bismarck through but I know with all Connetics employers, that there are different ways that they have temporary housing. For example, some might have one specific location that they send you to some for some organ, and some hospitals will have, and they'll send you to maybe like an extended stay or candle suites in the beginning. So there will be some temporary housing, it just might be done in a different way, depending on the facility, and then you enough time to be able to find your permanent housing. And okay, so, Sheila has, so let's move on to reserving the apartment.

And Sheila has a question in terms of does the rent increase each year, and Namita? Do you know if that happens is rent increase each year for every apartment. So COVID has made a lot of things difficult, and the apartment rents have gone up because of that. Also, there is steep demand, and the inventory is very low. So that has kind of made things very difficult in the apartment, finding an apartment, but like proper research, of course, you can find an apartment, the rents do go up. But if you sign a lease for a year, so you are logged in with that rent for a year. And so there is a chance, so read your lease agreement before signing it. Because some of these agreements will specify that your rent is going to go up a fixed dollar amount, or percentage of your rent. So make sure you read your lease thoroughly before signing it and having that discussion before the landlord. Okay, thank you. Namida. And Edie has a question Christian for a family of five? Would they allow it if you want to rent just two rooms rather than three rooms? Are there any regulations that families need to know before they come to the United States? Yeah, so fire code allows two people per bedroom and one in the living room. So five people living in a two bedroom would suffice for fire code. Now, some people don't follow that. But I don't recommend that because it's there for a reason. It's a safety hazard.

Okay, thank you for answering that question for Eddie. And okay, so let's talk about reserving an apartment. I know we've had some conversation about the deposit nurse via Can you talk a little bit about what is the deposit, and what does a note what should a nurse expect in terms of putting down a deposit? So depending on your, on your apartment, so my apartment, it was $1,200 per month, and they asked for a deposit of the same amount, like a monthly fee. So it was 2400 to reserve the apartment. And aside from that they had an application fee and a background check. $200 And that's how I secured my apartment just kept pumping in here, no was your experience different in terms of deposit are the same as nurse via Oh, no, almost no cream? And are they making you're in apartment? No wanna make sure you have apartment insurance. Even if you pay me, even you pay for an at home, even pay for bad work. If you have no apartment in Haoran workflow and let them know that you rent an apartment. Cool. It's a big money when you're fighting you're renting an apartment you knew is very regulated. Okay, so and similar kind of experience. And I have a question here. That would seem to be from Maria. And Christian, is it common to negotiate a price on apartments? Right now you're not going to have much luck. So the demand is so high right now. And there's a there's a housing shortage. So the ability to negotiate is not going to help you.

You're probably what we're running to here in San Diego, for example, and I have 400 properties that I manage. We run into people offering more money to get the apartments. That's their negotiation to secure it because of how important is secure housing right now. And with the low supply and the high demand. So negotiations probably in this type of market are going to be hard to come by. Yeah, so no, no real Brompton negotiating today, maybe 10 years ago, but not today. And Mary has a question the meter is it hard to find an apartment that allows dogs also is it better to look for an apartment while still in the Philippines? hoping to revive the first and then look what was what your advice be on that. So like I said, not all apartments allow pets, and the ones that do allow pets charge you extra. So that is why it's very important when you're bringing your pets budget. Have that in your budget that you will be paying extra every month for your pets, as well as the deposit is higher if you have number two answer answering that question. My recommendation is, since I know most of the employers, they provide some kind of temporary housing, whether it is a month of extended stay or a couple of months, that gives you a very good, like a window where you can come over here personally go through and do a tour of the apartments. And then look for the apartments yourself. But like I had said you can online start researching and narrowing down where you want to be and how much you want to spend before you arrive. So make it two step process, making a list and narrowing down your choices. And after you arrive over here, make a final decision. Okay, so you're not going to be able to do it all from your home country. Most of it is probably going to be done when you arrive in the United States because they just things you can't know until you get here. So you can start that research but it's really going to only be able to be done properly when you arrive in the United States.

I have a coupon arrangement. I normally when you're looking for an apartment but you're only building me are very hard, who allow a dog but maybe more quiet apartment or your name are remind me of my rug. And you only have one walnut cream, you're gonna have a number one, you're gonna have eight or eight my experience Korean New Year, as a record in the Philippines, the horror is a big record to help you out. Some members are hoping that may have a spare bedroom or air apartment for rent is or like me. You month ago, whether I'm in New York, I help her you know, look for an apartment I was calling older apartment on my mail for quite a while before and before bar or post whatever you need, in form from looking for an apartment. Thank you, Anna, and thank you for everything that you do. So for those of you who don't know, the Forum is a Facebook group of nurses coming to the United States who originally from the Philippines. And then for our admin team and Anna is one of them do the most incredible job really, it's just can touch your heart of Anna's meaning her whole day looking forward.

Fellow Filipinos just coming to the United States. And they are many such groups, so for other nationalities as well, where nurses help nurses, so shout out to the Lefora group and to many other groups just like before, where nurses can go and find other resources and help in trying to find an apartment. And so um, I had a question that I wanted to ask now I've kind of like lost it in the chat. There's a lot of good questions coming, which is great. Oh, here we got. And Jen. Sal has a question. Christian. Is it really required to get an apartment insurance? And I think what you're referring to the general is renter's insurance and how much does it usually cost? Yeah, I rec I require renter's insurance. And I recommend it actually, for all renters. There is a if you have a flooding your property, the insurance and the property doesn't cover the damage to your stuff, or your or your moving costs into a hotel are such until all the repairs are done. So it's really imperative you have that because it will it will save you from a lot of expense. And it's really not that expensive. It could be as low as 12 to $15 a month.

Okay, so really, really important. I'll never forget one of my we've been bringing international nurses to the United States. I think it's more than 15 years now. And I'll never forget that when we first when I first want to doing this. There was a nurse she was actually from Thailand. And we told her about renter's experience at renter's insurance. She didn't take renter's insurance, and there was a fire in her apartment building and she lost everything. It was just the most heartbreaking thing. So as Kristen said, it's really a good idea. It's not expensive. I know you All new immigrants are watching the dollars very closely. But really a good idea. Because you just never know when you might there might be an accident or something goes wrong. And you, you don't want to be without renter's insurance when you move into a new apartment. And so that was a really good question. I see Jen cell and Krystal both asked that question. And so I see, there's a question here from Ben, who said he was thinking he might be staying in the park there, nobody's gonna want us to stay in the park. Healthcare organizations in the United States in housing, so just to clarify this, different organizations will have the housing offered in different ways. So sometimes facilities will give a specific apartment and they will allocate that department that apartment, sometimes they will have like an extended stay, which is like a long term tell, which is when you can still cook and you can still you don't have a washer, dryer, those kinds of things. But it's a hotel. And in extended stay hotel, sometimes they will allocate a certain amount for you. And then your agency, whether it's Connetics, or any other partner who are helping you with that transition, we'll find the housing for you. So the way that facilities offer temporary housing is different, they might end up again for direct hire, you are they important you are the employee of that organization. So they exert their discretion how they want to offer it, but they will be some form of temporary housing. So please don't you're not going to be staying in the park. No one's going to be staying in the park.

And so you can be rest assured of that. Mary's happy by the way to ask about the question about the three dogs. So Mary, I think is feeling relieved there, knowing that there are facilities for three dogs again, as we speak, and trying to make sure that we have as many questions as possible. Okay, so let's talk about signing the apartment lease I see that the time is racing, this is such a funny and  Siraj saying I'm enjoying every second Sarah we enjoying every second too we want to get through as many questions as possible. So signing the apartment lease nurse Mia. And when you signed the apartment lease, I'm sure that was a very scary moment. When you look at pages of documents. What would that what was that like for you? Oh, I wasn't that scared. They had my twin sister who's a US citizen. So she helped me through the process. She was right here with me when I had to deal with my knee pain when it came to like assigning like a whole book, when you sign an apartment lease and Christian I think you might want to rent Why are you getting payments? And you have all of it? It's quite it can feel intimidating. If you're not like Nazmer we had a sister there to help.

It can feel very intimidating. Christian what kind of are there any specific items when you when you get your lease agreement, or there's any specific items that you would highlight for an immigrant nurse to be aware of, and to look far for it pay attention to when you're signing a lease? Yeah, I think the major parts of it are the there's usually a five or seven page document, it's actually your lease, the pages that actually go through your rent your deposit your pet, deposit your rules and regulations, there's a lot of safety addendums that get added to it here in California, for example, that are there to protect the tenant, not really protect the landlord. So some of the lease is actually really good for the tenant itself. Now, there's a lot of interesting addendums that can be added to the lease. And those are very, very important to read. If you do not read those hear. Those are basically rules, covenants and restrictions on your apartment and what you're allowed and not allowed to do. And basically those are very, very important to read your pet. Your pet agreement is also very important to read.

Making sure that you fill out your moving move out form. If you don't fill that out and submit that in the required time. You could you could relinquish your deposit at your move out stage. So it's very important to make sure you fill out your what's called your memo move in move out statement. Okay, so very important tips there. And Namita and I know we have a graphic of the documentation that you need to prepare the paperwork that you need to prepare before you I'm going to sign the apartment lease, we I'm just looking at the clock, we the time is ticking, and I want to still talk about moving in, can you maybe just highlight for, for immigrant nurses, some of these things that you need to prepare for your paperwork before signing an apartment lease. So definitely, they will need an employment letter. And definitely, they need some kind of ID. So passport information is very important. If you do not have your SSN, that time or a driver's license, you will not If you do not have a credit score, then so this is some of the less that is on here, have your Emergency Contacts ready, because that's, that's very important. Some of the employers will let you put themselves as the emergency contact, but have some emergency contacts, like your friends and relatives in the area or the country ready. So an ID is very important. An offer letter is very important. If you have a bank already established, have a bank account, have a bank statement ready?

Okay, thank you Namita. So that gives you a great list. And we'll post that list into the chat as well. And so that you can be prepared some of those things you might not have like a credit history. But that is just a comprehensive list to give people an idea of what you need to expect. Let's talk about moving in that fun time when you move into your new apartment. And you are going to be starting your new life. So and No, when you approved to rent an apartment, what was the moving process like for you, you think of your first apartment. So I'm a group instead, I move in move out form and the owner in the apartment or come out. And when I pulled by time we won't have any car yet. So I look for from one around the area that can help us I hire or mover and learn anything for our when you really have to have money for guns and car, no crime, another payment for my period removing out entry when moving in is a lot of work to do, you have to really have a plan for that. Okay, so a plan and be part of your budget on the actual moving. Because you might you know, some people come with just you know, the suitcases and there's not a whole lot to move. But some people have a lot more stuff, especially if you have and there's more information, a lot more stuff that you're going to have to move and nurse Mia and what can I miss expect generally during the moving process? Because usually you will have like a walkthrough can you explain what a walkthrough is?

And what people might expect from that? What do you mean with walkthrough Is that like the first time we go inside our apartment, the first time you go inside the apartment making sure that it's clean, you know, those kinds of things? What kind of things should the nurse expect? Yeah, so before we even signed the lease, they showed us the unit. And it was it was great. Everything was freshly painted, and it was very clean. So and it was very spacious considering that I'm only going to be living alone. So it was a good experience and it was empty. So most of the first few weeks was just spent on shopping for furniture and stuff at the house because I didn't have anything except for my clothes. Okay, so it can feel very empty when you move when you move in. And we actually got a show coming up we were going to talk about how to furnish your first apartment on a budget. So keep watching for one of our next onwards and upwards shows where we've got a lot of pointers and tips for you of how to make it feel like home, but not spend that much money and Christian and what happens when you move into apartment if something breaks? Or what if are you allowed to like change things in a rented apartment? Are you allowed to change the paint color? Are you allowed to paint on the wall? Those kinds of things give us some pain. I hate to go yellow.

I think communication is really key with your landlord. If you want to do changes, something breaks communication is very important to notify your landlord and request that you need to have this fix or hey, I'd like to paint this wall. I know for a fact like what we do people want to paint the walls we just if we basically tell them that if we don't like it when we move in we may have to put it back to the colors just so they know that ahead of time. But it's really imperative to have really good communication with your landlord and do not be afraid to reach out to them to ask questions and to notify them that there is this thing is fixed. Like, I want to know if there's something broken in my apartments, because if I don't, I can't get it fixed, and it's going to cause future damage. So don't be afraid to reach out. We're here to help. No, that's great advice question. Many international nurses are taught to be humble, to be shy, not to ask questions and is not.

So good. So I think that's really learning the American way is to speak up. Because you don't want to have a problem where maybe you don't know, didn't like the color of the wall and you painted the wall and you didn't speak to your landlord. And then all of a sudden, you've got a problem when you're moving out, because now, you know, there's a dispute on who's going to repaint the wall. And that's going to be an additional cost. Communication is very important. Communication is key. Yeah, thank you, Christian. And okay, so I'm looking at the clock.

Last question for now. And what are some of the moving costs that a nurse needs to budget for becoming to the United States because they things like utilities, Wi Fi, moving costs, buying furniture, what else? What else are some of the other topics or some of the other things that a nurse needs to budget for it for a move in? Yes, so that there is initial moving costs. And then since you get a temporary housing, so my recommendation is do not buy a lot of furniture, while you are in your temporary accommodation, then you have more staff, and more, you will pay more for the moving. So as you move into your empty apartment, then you start slowly furnishing it room by room, like see, and don't furnish the entire apartment at once. Just buy the necessary things, you will buy kitchen gadgets, that's very important if you'd like to cook, and you will need a bed to sleep on. So these are some of the important things. However, there will be transportation costs. So if your children in school and you're not in the school district, there isn't school buses everywhere in every city. So you have that additional transportation, either to work or for your children. So these are some of the additional costs that you have to budget for. And especially the renter's insurance is some of the apartment complexes will not allow you to move in without renter's insurance.

So these are some of the additional costs that you have to bear in mind. Good. Well, thank you Namita. This has been such a fun show. We've got lots of questions coming in being sent to me. And lots of questions. Unfortunately, we're not able to get to in the chat. And so I want to thank the guests today and for sharing their expertise, their thoughts and insights, their feedback. This was so informative, such a fun topic such a fun information. And the panel have also agreed that they will go into the chat and see if there were any questions that we were not able to get to. They can out answer and make sure that you feel comfortable and excited about renting your new your new apartment we have some picture more pictures of nurses who have rented their apartment. So there we have it. Pictures of the playground nearby I think we have some bull actually also coming up I've just some people have furnished their apartments Did somebody say something?

To me my apartment, relaxing and enjoying living the American dream. This is what we want for everybody who watches the show. Before you leave, please stay on for a few minutes. And then we'll tell you about some upcoming shows as well as the winner of the NCLEX scholarship. So every Friday we have onwards and upwards. And next Friday we have a client showcase one of our premier employers advent health. So please watch that show on September 30 October 7 Next Generation NCLEX exam the NCLEX exam is changing everybody. If you have not passed your NCLEX you need to watch that October 7 show on the 14th. We have our regular segment immigration Q&A with our legal panel on the 18th of October that are for a talk show once a month. We have topics in love for great topic in October about the Philippine Nurses Association and all that they do to help Filipinos coming to the United States. And then I know we had a question about this in the chat today about our state science segment. So North Carolina is coming up great information on that on the 28th how to support your spouse and then Connetics college every Monday 5am Pacific Time check the time in your location and lots of topics from amazing as Niners Swoosh Aspire, and IPASS on NCLEX and IELTS and OET and PTE II topics. And then the winner drumroll of the NCLEX scholarship exam cost. P is zero the winner is gratulations Librando Connetics USA is covering the cost of your NCLEX exam. So thank you, everybody for joining us. Thank you to nurse Mia to enter the media and Christian. We really appreciate your input and your insight. Thank you to everybody who's joined us from all around the world, and we'll see you next week. Onwards and Upwards.