When I moved from Nevada to North Dakota ten years or so ago, I had to find an apartment to live in during the time I spent looking for a house and waiting for the sale to go through. While like anyone, I looked for things like convenience, cleanliness, and other features, as a Crohn’s patient, I had a few other things to look for.
The first thing I wanted was an apartment on the first floor. I didn’t want to have to wait for an elevator or climb stairs to reach my apartment, in case I was in the midst of a Crohn’s flare and in a rush. I also wanted outside access to my apartment, because security is not a major issue in this safest state in the country.
Next, I wanted parking right in front of my apartment if possible, or at the very least, close to my apartment. I was really looking for covered parking next to my apartment or in front of it, because it was almost winter in North Dakota, and that means snow and cold. I wanted proximity and an outlet in case I needed an engine block heater, and I didn’t want to be scraping my windshield while simultaneously coping with a Crohn’s flare. There should be availability of the right flat for the students. The Penrose showflat will satisfy the requirements and need to get the best location to live in. The selection of the correct location should be done to meet with the requirements. The surface of the apartment should be flat within the budget.
As a Crohn’s patient, I needed a location that was as close as possible to my doctor’s office and a pharmacy. Since I live alone, I can’t count on having someone pick up prescriptions for me, and I never know when I may need a fast trip to the doctor. I know had I been in the European nation, I could have ordered medicine online from a reputed online UK pharmacy, but I am not very sure if that option is available here. Anyway, I also wanted a place near a grocery store, for much the same reasons I wanted it near a doctor’s office and pharmacy.
I really wanted a fairly new apartment, where I could be sure that I wouldn’t have to be calling the super or manager to come fix the plumbing a couple of times a week. After all, as a Crohn’s patient, I knew I’d be using the bathroom, specifically the toilet, more often than most tenants. I really wanted a place where I could have my dog (I only had one at the time, but she was big and shed a lot), too, although I knew that might be difficult.
Of course my Crohn’s-inspired dream apartment didn’t quite exist, although it came pretty close. I was able to find a ground-floor walk-in with a car port right outside my front door. It was a fairly new building, and the toilets had all been replaced with new low-flow toilets the previous year. It was furnished (a one-bedroom, it wouldn’t have held all my stuff; I had to put that into storage), so all I needed to add was a plastic sheet for the bed, just in case.
The move had caused some major stress for me, so both my Crohn’s disease and my depression were flaring. I was able to be fairly near the doctor’s office, but not a pharmacy that accepted my drug plan, or a grocery store. That created difficulties, but I found a pharmacy that would accept my plan and also delivered, so at least that part was resolved.
Thanks to my psychologist, I was able to have my dog; she wrote a letter stating that the dog was therapeutic and necessary for my mental health. It did mean a larger security deposit, but I got that back. I think this is a requirement for landlords under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
That left groceries and an outlet for an engine block heater. I had to settle for a grocery store about a mile away (I can hear the laughter of those who live in big cities as I write that), and hope for a mild winter. It turned out that there were only a couple of days when my frozen car wouldn’t start, and none of them were days when I needed groceries.
I would have liked a brand new apartment and better security than parking lot lights and a guard who drove around the area during the nighttime hours, but I never had any problems, and the building was only about 10 years old. I appreciated the fact that it didn’t have new paint, because the chemicals given off by most paints used in buildings like that cause me to have both Crohn’s flares and headaches. It was certainly good enough, and having my dog with me instead of a kennel made up for anything else.
I suspect it may not be as easy for everyone to find what I did, but there were more apartments than renters at the time I was looking, which was a big help. If you can’t have everything, I think that the most important things are a first, or at least a second, floor location (even though I hate hearing people walking around above me!), and proximity to your doctor. Since no two Crohn’s patients are alike, these are just suggestions, and your needs may be quite different than mine; still, I can’t help thinking that the ability to get inside and to your bathroom quickly are probably important to all of us at least some of the time.