The third quarter of a year (July, August and September) are when rents are typically at their highest. You can see in the adjacent graph that the trend continues in 2012. Not only is rent at its highest compared to other quarters in 2012, there is a 0.88% increase compared to the third quarter of 2011. You can also see that the rents have been trending upwards for the past two and a half years. The data you see in this post is gathered from our database of available apartments in the US grouped by state, metro area and cities.

When looking at specific states, we can see that there has been a reduction in rent in only twelve states. In eight states there has been an increase in rent of more than 5%, and the rents in the remaining states have increased between 0% and 5%.

Below are the five states where rent has increased the most:

And the five states where rent has decreased the most:

When we looked at metropolitan areas, we found that Washington D.C had the highest increase in rent. The New York metropolitan area had the biggest fall in rent even though the overall rent in the state of New York increased. This goes to show that there are contradicting trends between areas within states and that it is good to understand what the rent in the local area is doing.

Below are the five metropolitan areas where rent has increased the most:

And the metropolitan areas where rent has decreased the most:

As mentioned before, we use our inventory of only available apartments for each city and state’s data, so this would be for apartments you could actually rent. So far, it seems that the months of July, August and September are not the ideal months to sign a lease. Now might be the right time to sign the lease given we have seen that rents typically fall in Q4. Do let us know if you would like to know more about the rental trends where you live and we’ll be happy to dig up the data for you.

Moving to a new city and worried about how to find an apartment to rent? Well, there is enough cause to be worried as there are many items to consider when you hunt for apartments in a place you don’t know much about.

We surveyed our users and asked them what aspect they thought were most important to consider. Our users rated distance from work/college to be most important with a rating of 4.6 on 5. This was followed by crime in the area at 4.1. Both neighborhood and proximity to public transit came in at at 4. It does seem obvious that these factors are important. However, finding the information that would enable you to make a decision may not be as straightforward. Below are some suggestions on how you can find the necessary information.

1. Finding apartments near points of interest
It’s always nice to stay close to places you visit often, be it your workplace or homes of friends and family. For example, reducing your commute to work by just 10 minutes a day would result in you gaining 35 hours per year. 35 hours is almost 1 work week. Imagining the amount of work you get done per week should put that time saved in perspective. You can easily find apartments close to these points of interest on Place of Mine. Just click on the marker icon next to ‘My Places’ and click on a point on the map. Once you do this you can search for apartments within .5, 1, 2 and 5 miles of the location you marked. You can even modify the search filters to find the apartment with the exact features (beds, baths etc.) you require

2. Crime
It is a basic human need to feel safe at home. Place of Mine has heat-maps of crime occurrences for major cities across the US such as Los Angeles, Seattle, Philadelphia, Chicago etc. (where crime information is available in a format that can be overlaid on a map). You can see this by clicking on the heat-maps button and choosing the crime overlay. We also provide ratings per apartment based on this information. You could also find more information at the local police department’s website as well. In addition to the resources above, you could also check out http://www.crimemapping.com. They have partnered with many police departments to put all the crime occurrences on a map which you can filter by crime types and dates.

3. Neighborhoods
Neighborhoods have distinct characters and picking the one that matches yours would be ideal. One way is to ask for advice from friends who know you and the city. But if that is not available, you could take a look at http://www.nabewise.com which has neighborhood reviews in about 23 cities and http://www.streetadvisor.com which has reviews for 16 cities. Both sites have opinions posted by locals about the good and not so good attributes about the neighborhood and also information about the type of people who live there. Once you pick your neighborhood or neighborhoods, you can use the neighborhoods filter in Place of Mine to see apartments within your choices.

4. Transit
While using public transit may not make things less expensive, saving the environment and not having to find parking are worthy causes to pursue. If transit is going to be you main mode of travelling, it might be prudent to find an apartment near a public transit hub. You can easily do this on Place of Mine by clicking on the transit option and overlaying the transit routes on the map. You can then click on routes to see stops which you can again click on to find apartments within your preferred radii of the stops.

Well, those are a few thoughts among the many which you should consider when you are moving to a new city. Do you have other factors that you consider important? Let us know by leaving comments…

family fun by More Good Foundation via Flickr

I am getting to the stage in my life where more and more of my friends are getting married and having babies. You can’t help but start to think about your own family and what that will look like down the road. It got me thinking about what the perfect, family-friendly apartment would look like.

Is the Neighborhood Family Friendly? There are several things to consider when you determine whether or not a neighborhood is family friendly. First figure out how far away from work you want to live, and take that into consideration when you are looking for an apartment to rent. Also make sure that you are close to at least one grocery store for all those “I can’t believe I forgot to buy the milk” times. I would also check the neighborhoods for parks, nearby museums, pools, and anything else kid friendly nearby. A great way to do this is by using PlaceofMine.com’s heat-maps. They aren’t just for checking out crime in the area anymore! Heat-maps range from showing you where all the groceries are, sports and recreation hot spots, to art and theatres. If you want to learn more about PlaceofMine.com’s heat-maps, check out last week’s blog. One last thing to take note of is whether or not the apartment you’re looking at has enough room for kids to run and play both inside and outside. If there is a courtyard or playground at the apartment, check to see how well it is fenced in and the distance away from the road.

Your Family’s Renting Rights Did you know that your landlord cannot have any rule that singles out children under 18 according to the Fair Housing Act? This means that any rule that singles out children when it could apply to everyone and isn’t specifically aimed at protecting children is illegal. Your landlord may have a rule that states that children under 13 are not allowed in the pool without adult supervision. This rule is fine. However, if it read that children under 13 are not allowed in the pool between the hours of 9 and 12; this would not be okay, as it is setting a time for adults to use the pool child-free, not protecting kids.

Boy in Pool by Travis S via Flickr

The Inside Scoop Now that you’re actually taking tours inside potential apartments, it is time to start deeming whether or not the apartment is kid friendly or not. Of course kid friendly to one family may mean something totally different depending on how many children and how old they are, but here are a few guidelines for what to look for in an apartment. Is there more than one bathroom? The larger your family grows, the larger the demand is for your bathroom, and if you only have one, it can be a cause for drama in the morning. How close is the laundry? My friends with young kids mention to me that they do laundry at least once per day and oftentimes two or three times per day. Having a laundry hookup in the apartment versus having to go to the laundromat can become a deal-breaker that may not have been so before kids. What’s the storage like? A family with kids needs more storage than a single person or even a couple. Look for an apartment that has enough room to hold not only clothes, but decorations, cleaning items, toys, and more. If you lack in storage, your new apartment will become cluttered quickly. Apartment complexes that offer special kid playrooms and playgrounds also become a plus when looking for that perfect family friendly apartment.

Will Noise Be an Issue? Is your prospective apartment located on a busy street downtown? Chances are it is going to be quite noisy into the night. If you have children, this may become an issue when you are trying to get them to bed. On the other hand, will your kids bother your neighbors if they get loud playing? When you look at apartments, pay special attention to how loud the outside world sounds while you’re inside, and try to schedule a viewing when it is more likely to have the neighbors at home. Another thing to note while you’re looking is to check how well insulated the doors and windows are, and to ask whether or not there are concrete walls and floors or soundproofing insulation used in the apartment.

How Safe is the Apartment? For any family, safety is an issue, both in the neighborhood and the apartment itself. When you are looking for an apartment to rent, keep safety in mind! The first thing that comes to mind with a safe apartment is a safe neighborhood. PlaceofMine.com’s heat-maps will help out with that. In select cities, you can easily see whether or not there has been any and what type of crime has occurred in the area. So after you’ve pinned down your safe neighborhood, it is now time to look at how safe the apartment building is for kids. A pool may be a great addition to an apartment complex, but how easily can the pool be accessed? Parents with toddlers may not want an easily accessible pool where they live. What about stairs and balconies? Check how open the railings are for them and whether or not a small child could fit through them and fall. There are tons of other things that I could list off, but you get the idea.

I hope that with these tips and guidelines that you and your family will be able to find a great place. If you have any questions about finding a place to rent, let us know!

So what does one do when you are bored in your free time and work at PlaceofMine.com? You plan for your next apartment search, of course. Even though my lease isn’t up for some time, I figured that it wouldn’t hurt to start looking. I also want to keep my options open in case I want to move, so I’m going to search around in several cities for just the right place.

I love where I live now. It is close to downtown, restaurants, and the grocery store. Why do I want a new place, you ask? I have a one bedroom apartment and one bedroom apartments are small; especially when you have a husband and a (very cute) cat. Wherever I want my new, bigger apartment, I want it to fit as many of my old criterion as possible. Some of you may despair because on most maps, you can’t tell what is what and where things are at a glance, but I don’t despair! I apartment search with flair! Behold the awesome power of the PlaceofMine.com’s Heat Maps!

I like living one minute away from food, so I thought that I would start my search with finding a place close to some grocery stores and restaurants. Right now I live right on the edge of the blue in this dark grey section on the restaurant heat map, which means there is a respectable number of places to eat close to me, but not too close. Based on that, I found some prospective places.

There are lots of restaurants near downtown St. Louis and the Arch! Looks like I have several nice apartment options!

San Antonio’s restaurants are centered around the River Walk. I wouldn’t mind a place close to there!

Chicago doesn’t seem to be lacking in restaurants, either, and this isn’t even the Loop!

If I decide to live in Chicago, I want to be a little further away from downtown, but not live out in the boonies.  Lincoln Park seems like a great place to do just that.

Now to take a look at the grocery situation for each prospective city.

There’s not a high concentration of grocery stores around St. Louis.

That’s okay, though. I only need one and I already live in a dark grey area on the heatmap, so I’m not worried. There is at least one grocery store close to me.

Looks like Manhattan and Brooklyn don’t lack in grocery stores.   I should have no trouble finding somewhere to shop for food in New York.

Chicago seems to be providing me with an abundance of grocery stores as well.

Looks like Lincoln Park is shaping up to be a great place to find a place close to the grocery.

After I narrowed down some prime restaurant neighborhoods in my select cities, I chose to look at how close the places were to downtown, so I looked at the nightlife heat maps for each city. Again, my current place was in a dark grey area, which is a moderate nightlife score, so I’ll be looking for something around that color.

Looks like I need to be right in downtown to have nightlife close to me in St. Louis. That’s ok though, as that is how it is for me in my current apartment.

San Antonio’s River Walk once again proves to be a hot spot, but for nightlife this time!

Looks like I may want something a little further south in Manhattan if I want to be close but not too close to New York nightlife.

After I narrowed down my prime area in each city, I did some clicking around and came up with some nice choices for future apartments. Alas that many are out of my budget, but a girl can dream, can’t she?

dog by dnaomileibowits via Flickr

Dogs are man’s best friends. Your dog is a loyal, loving member of the family, and you couldn’t imagine your life without Fido. However, your loving companion can also be a tornado of destruction, preventing you from ever seeing your security deposit again. And with 36%* of apartments allowing dogs in the US, there is a good chance this applies to you! For all of you cat owners, check out last week’s blog. With some loving instruction and patience, you can change your dog’s behavior for the better. If your dog starts displaying any of the following behaviors addressed in this blog suddenly, or has high anxiety, I recommend talking to your vet to make sure there is no underlying health condition. Your vet can give you more personalized advice than you could find on the internet.

Anxiety can be the root cause to many behavioral problems in dogs. Dogs are social creatures and it is not natural for them to be left alone for long periods of time. An anxious dog can display any of the destructive behaviors described below, and will become very edgy and agitated when you are about to leave them. One way to help your dog overcome anxiety is to provide your dog with a fun toy or activity, like a treat stuffed toy, before you leave the house. When you come back home, remove the toy so the only time he plays with it is when you are gone. Your dog will eventually associate your leaving with a fun toy, and become less anxious when you leave.

Barking may not be destructive to your furniture, but it can be to your relationship with your neighbors. A loud, barking dog can create animosity in a heartbeat between neighbors. Dogs sometimes bark when they are confined to a particular area, say his crate or your apartment. Fortunately, there is a way to train your dog to be quieter. If he is barking while you are at home, ignore him. Any time you acknowledge his barking only reinforces his behavior. When he is barking, don’t touch, look, or talk to him. Once he quiets down, give him a treat. You have to be consistent with this and under no circumstances can you yell at him. Eventually your dog will catch on that if he is quiet, he gets a treat. You can even make a game out of it, lengthening the time between treats.

dog chewing by TheGiantVermin via Flickr

Chewing So you come home after a hard day’s work and are met with a pile of stuffing that used to be your couch. Fido is sitting in the middle of the room looking rather proud of himself. Is there any way you could have prevented this? Dogs chew for many reasons, including boredom, attention, or they are puppies and teething. Start by dog proofing your apartment. Put your vintage dog toy collection out of Fido’s reach if you don’t want him chewing on it. Then provide him with his own chew toys and make sure that he gets plenty of exercise outside of the apartment. If he still has a taste for anything but his toys, invest in some bitter tasting spray and spray it on whatever you don’t want him chewing on. If you have a puppy that is chewing on everything check out these tips for puppies.

Cleanliness Dogs can shed just as bad as cats, as you can read in our previous blog. Make sure that you brush and bathe your pooch regularly to cut down on excess pet fur around the apartment. Depending on the breed of dog you have, it would be a good idea to invest in a de-matting comb and a brush that is designed to remove the undercoat fur.

Unlike cats who use their litter boxes, Fido needs to go out for his bathroom breaks and daily walks, which can lead to a dirty dog if it isn’t dry and sunny. If Fido isn’t potty trained, you may want to consider crate training him, which will cut down on accidents. Make sure that you have a little station set up next to your door that includes towels and paw wipes to clean him off after his outdoor excursions. This will cut down on muddy paw prints on the carpet and that lovely “wet dog” smell. There is also the option of dog boots and doggy rain coats if you are the type to want to dress your dog up in outerwear.

You also need to keep an eye on your dog’s nails. Even though dogs don’t use scratching posts, they can still scratch up and ruin doors and wood flooring with their long nails. Since dogs are generally larger than cats, they can also poke holes in your furniture with their claws. I would recommend keeping your dog’s nails trimmed with a pair of clippers. Here is a great tutorial on how to properly trim Fido’s nails.

I hope this has given you some insight in how to overcome a few common dog problems. For more online resources on how to handle behavior problems, take a look at the ASPCA and the Humane Society websites. You can also read this informative article about how negotiate with a landlord to let you rent with your pet (if you are looking for a pet-friendly place, try using our cat and dog friendly apartment filters). Do you have any pet tips or stories? We’d love to hear them!

*according to the data from our PlaceofMine search engine

netzanette via Flickr

Congratulations on your little bundle of joy! I’m not talking about a human baby, but your meowing, furry kitty.  Your cat makes a wonderful pet and is a great companion, but he can also be an evil genius when it comes to knowing how to destroy your apartment.  And since almost 38%* of the apartments in the US allow cats, there are lots of you out there that should read on!

Scratching I personally think that scratching is the most destructive thing that a cat can do, and some cats are very picky about what they want to scratch. I am also firmly against declawing your cat, for which you can read the reasons here. My cat, Calvin, who just turned one year old, prefers upholstered furniture, but does not particularly care for carpeted cat scratchers. So to save the sofa, I provide him with a cardboard scratching board and he loves to scratch that. I also have nail trimmers for him that I use to regularly trim his nails. I have been doing this since he was a kitten, so he tolerates it. One way that you can deter scratching in certain places is to purchase sticky strips and put them where you don’t want your cat to scratch. Cats don’t like their paws touching sticky things.

Chewing Something else Calvin loves to do is to chew on electric cords and cables. He also loves to chew on the Christmas tree when it is up, the blinds, and the list goes on. I don’t have any plants in my apartment; but if I did, I’m sure that he’d be chewing on those, too. (Please make sure you don’t have any poisonous plants in your home! Check out these poison control tips from the ASPCA). His chewing is very frustrating for me and dangerous for him. Seeing as I don’t want him to end up like Aunt Bethany’s cat on Christmas Vacation, I investigated ways to prevent this behavior.

by darthdowney via Flickr

Cats do not like bitter tasting things and cats do not like citrus. What I did was purchase a bottle of bitter spray at the pet store and sprayed everything Calvin chewed on with this stuff. Let me tell you, the stuff tastes terrible (I accidentally got some on my hands). It also helped a lot; he does not chew on cords anymore. I have also been successful with preventing this by providing toys he can chew on instead. One thing that can also help is to grow some pet grass from oats or wheat for your kitty to chew on.

Potty Breaks Sometimes cats don’t use their litter boxes as they should. I am thankful enough to not have this problem with my cat. However some male cats spray, and other cats sometimes go where they please. The easiest way to prevent spraying is to get your male cat neutered. While you’re at it, get your female cats spayed. There is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t, and you can read more about spaying and neutering your pets here. Make sure that you regularly clean out your cat’s litter box as well and use unscented litter. If you have multiple cats, you’re probably going to have to get multiple litter boxes as they are territorial creatures and won’t enjoy sharing their private space. If you find that there is no obvious reason as to why your cat isn’t using the litter box properly, or just starts this behavior, I recommend taking your cat to the vet to rule out any sort of health issue.

Shedding I cannot emphasize this enough: brush your cat. Brush him until you think that you can brush no more. He will love it and you’ll be getting excess fur off of him. There are tons of nice brushes out there, and I have found that wire bristles work the best for me. Regular brushing also helps prevent hairballs, which is also a plus. Calvin has long fur and brushing prevents mats. If you do find that your cat’s fur is matted, be very careful if you choose to cut the mat out, as cat’s skin is very delicate and is easy to cut. There are also mat-removing combs available to use, which is safer than cutting.

Meet Calvin!

Boredom A bored kitty is a destructive kitty. Provide your cat with fun toys to play with. I have found that toys that dangle and small catnip mice are favorites for Calvin. This is one of Calvin’s favorite toys ever, and it is under $3. Also make sure that you cat can look out the window. If you have high windowsills, consider buying a cat perch for windows so they have a place to sit and look out. For extreme fun, take your cat outside. I don’t recommend letting your cat out to run free if you live in town or on a busy street. I do recommend using a cat leash, and yes I know you don’t want to be “that person” who walks their cat, but it provides them with exercise and you don’t have to go farther than your yard.

I hope that these tips help you and make your kitty less destructive in your apartment! Let me know if you have any other suggestions or if any of these tips worked for you!

*according to the data from our PlaceofMine search engine

So you have a problem. You have a less-than spacious room that is in desperate need of something, but you can’t figure out what that magic bullet would be to fix it. “If only this room was bigger,” you think. Well, stop wishing and try these tips to trick your eyes and make your room appear larger than it really is. I’ll start with the cheapest fixes and end with the most expensive and drastic changes.

Purge – The first thing you want to do is to make any room look larger is to remove all excess clutter. This includes removing excess from the floor, tables, bookshelves, and anywhere else where you see it accumulating. Check out our spring cleaning blogs for more detailed information on purging and storing items. Spring Cleaning: Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom, Living Room, Closet.

Lighting – Be bright when it comes to light! Start by letting as much natural light come into your room as possible. Draw back your curtains if they are heavy or consider investing in more sheer curtains if you prefer to leave them closed. If you have limited natural light available, take advantage of lamps. These can include table lamps, floor lamps, and even track lighting if you are able to install it easily.

The Walls – What you do or don’t have on your walls can make or break the overall feel and appearance of your room. When it comes to your walls, you don’t want it to appear busy. A busy wall can take on many forms. It can be a wall with many small pictures, large scale abstract art with lots of lines and colors, shelves that include too many knick-knacks, etc. To prevent this, choose fewer, larger pictures to hang up and make sure that the pictures don’t have a lot going on in them. It is fine to include some smaller pictures, but the key is to not go overboard with too many. Also consider hanging up a large, decorative mirror where it can catch light or reflect the outdoors. Mirrors help create the illusion of depth in a room.

Color – The color you choose for your walls can either make or break how large and open your room feels. For those of you who are able to paint your walls, choose bright colors and neutral colors to paint with. These bright colors are able to reflect light better and create the appearance of depth. If you have wall moldings and trim, paint it in a lighter color than your walls to add even more depth. For those of you who happen to have wall paper, stay away from small prints! These will make your room look smaller than it is. For more information on how colors portray different moods, check out my earlier blog.

Furniture – Strategy and an overall vision is key when you are either figuring out what furniture you want to purchase or when rearranging your existing furniture. Start by removing excess furniture from the room, as this will automatically make the room look larger. Then be smart when choosing the right sized furniture for the space available; a sectional sofa will look gigantic in a small room whereas a loveseat will not. With your larger pieces of furniture, make sure that they are not blocking pathways in the room and that they are up against the wall or set at a slight diagonal to maximize floor space. Try to pick multipurpose furniture as well. This could be finding a coffee table that has storage drawers in it, using a table that can be extended by adding leaves to it, or using end tables that have a small cabinet or drawers in them. One last thing to consider is to choose furniture that has legs, rather than sitting flush to the floor. This allows light to shine under the furniture and gives it an airy feel.

There you have it; a more spacious looking room! Stay tuned for more tips and tricks from us to make your place more awesome!

With spring now in full force and March now past, the first quarter of 2012 is now over. To keep an eye on rental trends, as with 3rd and 4th quarter 2011, we have studied rent prices from all over the country on a state and city basis. On a national level, there was a 2.20% increase in rent prices during Quarter 1 (Q1) of 2012 in comparison to Q1 of 2011. To eliminate seasonality in the prices, we use the same quarter from different years, rather than comparing to last quarter. In other words, we’re comparing 2012’s Q1 with 2011’s Q1, rather than last quarter, 2011 Q4 when we analyze city and state rental trends. Since starting our quarterly reporting in Q3 of 2011, we have seen 3 straight quarters of increases in rent. Q3 2011 had a 2.47% increase, Q4 2011 a 1.25% increase, and now a 2.20% increase in Q1 of 2012. This has shown a very steady and consistent increase in rent on a national basis.

Using our database of available apartments from all over the United States, we are able to determine rental trends. What this means is we crawl and gather data from thousands of websites and put available apartment listings on our site. So the rental prices we use for our data are only for apartments you could have actually gone out and rented during that month.

When looking at the nation as a whole, a majority of states had an increase in rent this quarter. In fact, only 12 states had decreases in rent over the first quarter. For you math majors out there, that leaves 38 states that had increases in rent since the start of the year. The map below shows what states had increases and which had decreases. Red means an increase of over 5%, orange means an increase of less than 5%, and green means a decrease in rent.

As stated above, we also looked at each state individually. From those statistics we looked to see which states had the largest increases and decreases in rent prices over the last quarter.

States with the largest decreases:

States with the largest increases:

We also wanted to look at rents on a city basis, and just as with last quarter the top 10 populated cities in the US all had increases in rent in comparison to last year’s Q1. San Antonio, TX and Chicago, IL both had increases of over 10%, while Philadelphia had the lowest increase at 1.17%. The rest of the cities are in the chart below.

We report rental trends every quarter, so as users you can see what the trends are like in your city. Since we only use available apartments, we are monitoring the average rent for apartments you could have gone out and rented in that given month or quarter. With this information you can see when rents are on the rise or decline in your city so you know whether you should rent now before prices go up more or if prices are dropping and waiting could get you a better deal. As always, if you have any questions about rental trends in your city or state let us know!

Damage from the Pratt City, AL tornado April 27, 2011

Have you been enjoying the ridiculously warm spring weather? I certainly have. However, all that sun and warmth comes at a price. As you can see by this graph from the National Climatic Data Center, the majority of tornadoes occur between April, May, and June, just in time to ruin your spring. However, tornadoes aren’t the only disaster that can damage your apartment, other natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes also cause millions of dollars in damage every year. Even though natural disasters cause huge property losses, nothing can price the loss of life. For that reason, we want to give you an overview as to what you should do in case you wind up in a hurricane, earthquake, or tornado.

Tornadoes and Hurricanes

Preparing for tornadoes and hurricanes is very similar, but hurricanes give you more warning before affecting your neighborhood. As for tornados, and other disasters that happen suddenly, the National Weather Service will issue a “watch,” which means conditions are favorable for the event happening in your area. However, if they issue a “warning,” this means the tornado or hurricane has been spotted or is currently taking place, so take cover immediately.

The first thing you need to do is designate an area to be your safe place. If you are in a high-rise apartment, designate a windowless room on the lowest floor possible. Basements and underground parking garages are good choices. Also designate a second spot within your own apartment in case you don’t have time to get to a lower level. When picking your safe spot make sure it is as centrally located as possible and has the least amount of windows possible. Interior hallways, closets, and bathrooms are excellent choices.

One other thing that I would highly recommend is purchasing a weather radio. Many storm fatalities occur at night when people are sleeping and do not hear the storm. I have personally been in a tornado where my family was awakened at night by the weather radio and we were able to make it to our basement before the tornado damaged our house.

Now that you have designated a spot to take shelter in, you should prepare a disaster kit to use during the storm.

Your kit should include:
- Battery powered radio with extra batteries
- Flashlight with extra batteries
- Nonperishable food
- Bottled water
- First aid kit
- Extra cash or a credit card
- ID
- Extra keys to car, home, etc.
- List of phone numbers and places you could go after the storm
- Other possible needs depending on your situation that include baby supplies (formula, diapers, etc.), prescription medication, glasses, walking aids, etc
- Food and supplies for any pets you have

After the storm has passed, do not forget to check for fallen power lines or other objects such as tree limbs and debris that could fall and harm you. Sometimes the storm being over doesn’t necessarily mean that harm is out of the way.

There is a lot of controversy about what to do if you are caught in a car during a tornado. Some will tell you to try and get out of the way of the tornado, and others will tell you to get to a low lying ditch and find cover there. The one myth I would like to bust is DO NOT get under an overpass. Many people die trying to get under the overpass and are either sucked away through the wind tunnel or the overpass can collapse.

On whether or not you should get out of the way of the tornado or get in a ditch, Weather.com has a great article that discusses the positives and negatives of each option here.

Earthquakes

Unlike a tornado or hurricane, earthquakes come without warning, which makes designating a safe spot wishful thinking. Do not try and escape the building when an earthquake starts, as this could just result in you getting injured by falling objects. What you need to do is know what type of place to look for when the earthquake begins. Try and immediately find a sturdy piece of furniture that you can take cover under and hold on to the furniture, bracing yourself. If you are not near any sturdy furniture, try and make your way to an inside corner of the building and cover your face and head with your arms.

Just because an earthquake occurs without warning doesn’t mean there is nothing you can do to prepare yourself beforehand. Just as with a tornado or hurricane, a disaster kit can help make your situation after the disaster a lot easier. Your hurricane and/or tornado disaster kit that you have can easily double as your disaster kit for earthquakes. Make sure you know where your disaster kit is located so after the earthquake you can retrieve it and use any items that are needed, and that you periodically check expiration dates for items within it. Don’t try and make a run for your disaster kit during the earthquake, but wait until the shaking has stopped and then you can leave where you have taken cover.

Natural disasters are something that we are all at risk for. Having a plan, a disaster kit, and safe spot(s) can not only help save you some stress but also save your life.

Believe Creative via Flickr

Does your state have a Springfield? Mine does and it happens to be the capitol. There is also a Springfield, Missouri; Springfield, Massachusetts; and there’s at least five Springfields in Wisconsin alone. I found the thought of there being so many Springfields so amusing, that I decided to delve into the deeps of the web to discover the most interesting tidbits about select Springfields. So head down to the Kwik-E-Mart, grab a Squishee, and get ready to put the Spring in Springfield!

I’m going to start our tour of Springfields in good old Springfield, Illinois. Springfield is the capitol of Illinois and has tons of fun things to do around town if you like Abraham Lincoln. And who doesn’t like Abraham Lincoln? Springfield is actually the third Illinois State Capitol, being preceded by Kaskaskia and Vandalia, and I am lucky enough to have visited all three. Springfield is home to about 113,000 people, 15 museums, and Abraham Lincoln. If you didn’t know, Abraham Lincoln is kind of a big deal in Springfield. You can tour two museums devoted to Him, you can tour his home, see his tomb, and wear around top hats and beards. If you decide to visit you’re going to get hungry. I would suggest hitting up Cozy Dogs for lunch and trying a place that serves up horseshoes for dinner. If you haven’t heard of horseshoes, they are a type of open faced sandwich that originated in Springfield. Think cheese sauce on top of fries on top of a burger. If you then decide you love Springfield so much that you want to live there, you are in luck! Average rent for one, two, and three bedroom apartments are all under $1,000. However, you won’t be able to live on Evergreen Terrace next to Homer, as this street doesn’t exist in Springfield, IL.

Marshall Astor via Flickr

Show me Springfield, Missouri! This Springfield happens to be the most populous Springfield in the United States with approximately 160,000 happy Springfielders residing within its borders. If you want to visit them, be ready for some sweet outdoor action. You won’t be able to jump the Springfield Gorge or anything, but there are tons of other cool outdoor things to do. If bike riding is your thing, you can check out the Ozark Greenway, a network of bike trails. There are also wineries and distilleries to visit, you can watch the Springfield Cardinals play some ball, and my personal favorite, shop your brains out at the huge Bass Pro Shops headquarters. If you are remotely interested in any outdoor activity, you will have a blast just walking through this place. My personal favorite is looking through all the campers and dreaming about vacation. So what do you do if Springfield, Missouri is calling your name? Well, rent isn’t bad there. One bedrooms average around $450 a month and three bedrooms averages just under $800. Not bad at all!

acme401 via Flickr

Our last Springfield on the tour of Springfields is Springfield, Massachusetts, population 153,000! Since I have never visited this Springfield, I had to do a little extra digging around on this Springfield. So I got a little help from my good friends, The Simpsons. I disappointedly found out that Jebediah Springfield didn’t found Springfield, MA, but I did discover that it was the first Springfield of the New World, which was pretty cool. Being the oldest Springfield in the States has its advantages, sight-seeing wise. There is plenty to see if you are at all interested in anything history. There is the Springfield Armory, which was first authorized for use by George Washington and is also where Shay’s Rebellion took place. If guns and founding fathers don’t suit your fancy history-wise, maybe you’ll prefer the Titanic museum. Now is also the perfect time go, as 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking. And if by some remote chance you’re not into 18th century US history or massive ship wrecks, there is also basketball. Springfield, MA happens to be the birthplace of basketball. This means that you can visit the basketball hall of fame and bask in all of the dribbling, shooting, and passing goodness. So before you pack up your bags and head east, you may want to know that out of the Springfields surveyed, this Springfield had the highest average rent prices, which range from $800 to $1,250 on average.

Springfield Rent Comparisons

Sadly, I was not able to discover every single fun thing to do in every Springfield in the US, but I hope that I gave you enough of a taste of some Springfields to whet your appetite to give them a visit. If I didn’t, don’t have a cow, man! If you want more Springfields, I can give you more Springfields. Let me know what you want to read or if you have any questions or comments and I can see what I can do!