Finding a new apartment is not easy. Andrea decides to look online. Here are some of the advertisements she sees:
Andrea works twenty hours a week at a clothing store and can only pay about $500 per month in rent. None of the apartments she sees are less than $800 per month. The apartment she’s living in now is $1,500 a month, but she splits that with two other girls. She never thought how difficult it would be to afford her own apartment.
How is she going to be able to move out of the place she’s living in? Which apartment should she choose? Maybe she will have to stay where she is. It’s not ideal, but at least she can afford it.
She decides she’s going to have to talk to Janelle about it. Janelle always knows what to do.
“Finding a new apartment is so difficult!” Andrea tells Janelle the next day in class.
“How many places have you seen?” Janelle asks.
“None – they’re all too expensive to even consider.” Andrea explains.
“Well, how much can you spend?” Janelle asks.
“I’m paying $500 a month now and I can’t really afford to pay any more than that.” Andrea says. “Every one-bedroom and studio apartment I’ve seen costs at least $800 a month.”
“Oh, no.” Janelle says. “Yeah, you can’t swing that.”
“I have no idea what to do,” Andrea says desperately. “I’ve got to get out of my place. These girls are going to kill my GPA.”
“I know what we can do,” Janelle’s eyes light up. “I don’t want to live with my parents anymore, and you can’t afford a one-bedroom. What if we move in together?”
Andrea thinks for a minute. She and Janelle were Chemistry Lab partners last year and Janelle always kept the lab space super clean. She is organized and polite, and she and Andrea always come to campus to study together in the library. If they lived together, they could just study at home. They’re great friends and always respect each other’s needs.
“You’re amazing!” Andrea screams, “I knew I could count on you!”
“We’re going to have so much fun!” Janelle says. “We’ll look for some two-bedrooms tonight and start doing showings this weekend.”
“Oh, I can’t wait,” Andrea sighs, relieved and happy to know she’ll be living in peace soon.