English, baby!

Apartment Hunting

Date: Jun 23 2006

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Do you prefer the heart of the city to the fenced lawns of suburbia? Would you be happy in a cramped downtown apartment, or do you need something more spacious and quiet? How much can you afford? Do you have pets? A car?

Finding an apartment that suits your tastes and meets your budget can be a hassle. Listen in as Dave talks with a building manager about an available apartment.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Dave

Apartment Manager: Morrison Park, Roslyn.

Dave: Hi, Roslyn. I wanted to get some information about apartments.

Apartment Manager: Sure. You’re interested in a studio just for yourself alone?

Dave: Yes.

Apartment Manager: When were you wanting to move?

Dave: Um, maybe July.

Apartment Manager: Okay. I have one apartment coming available for that time period.

Dave: What does the apartment rent for?

Apartment Manager: $450 a month.

Dave: And, what size is it?

Apartment Manager: It’s about 300 square feet.

Dave: Okay. Um, and does that include utilities?

Apartment Manager: It includes, um, gas, hot water, um. It includes hot and cold water, garbage and sewer. You pay electric – your heat, your cooking and your lights are electric.

Dave: Okay.

Apartment Manager: Pretty minimal. But let me ask you a few questions more to make sure that this building will work for you. We’re a totally non-smoking building.

Dave: Okay.

Apartment Manager: No smoking allowed anywhere. That work?

Dave: That’s fine.

Apartment Manager: And no pets allowed.

Dave: Okay.

Apartment Manager: Do you have a car?

Dave: No.

Apartment Manager: Good, because we don’t have parking.

Dave: Okay.

Apartment Manager: Well, um, we’re right in the heart of downtown. It’s a great location, it’s a wonderful building.

Dave: Okay. Now, the neighborhood. Does that get pretty loud at night?

Apartment Manager: It depends on your tolerance level. I don’t think it’s bad for downtown at all.

Dave: Okay.

Apartment Manager: But you do have the garbage trucks and the recycling trucks.

Dave: Okay.

Apartment Manager: And they do come, like, you know, I think five, six in the morning. Something like that.

Dave: Sure. And I expect a little noise downtown.

Quizzes

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Discussion

One of the first things you have to do when moving to a new city is find a place to live, which can be cumbersome if you are not familiar with the rental process.

Most apartment buildings in the U.S. require you to pay first and last month’s rent and a security deposit on the day you move in. The security deposit is fully refundable when you move out, so long as you have not damaged the apartment in any way.

Also, in the U.S. you cannot be denied an apartment because of race, gender, nationality, religion or any other personal characteristic.

To see apartments available in cities around the U.S., check out the following sites:

Rent.net
Apartments.com
Craigslist