Like many others in State

College this weekend, I moved into a new house for the upcoming school year. Unlike many others, it'll be the first time in three years I share a place with people I actually know.

As a result of chronic procrastination and underdeveloped social skills, I often lacked the impetus to find a more ideal living situation. But when I was declined on-campus housing in 2005, my hand was forced. I ended up living as a boarder in Sigma Nu, meaning I was a resident but not a brother, a man without a country.

The next year, instead of learning from my ways, I waited and waited and waited, irrationally hoping something would fall into my lap. Instead, I spent the weekend before classes homeless and signed a lease the day before it started.

This was, to say the least, a tactical error, one that manifested itself numerous times over the past year. But last week was the breaking point.

I got home late Thursday night to find my bedroom door locked and my stuff in the hallway. I heard a TV on, and I found a note outside indicating that the man inside was a friend of my roommate's who would be taking my place in the apartment next week. Stuck without a bed to sleep in and sick of my roommate's passive aggressive immaturity over the year, I called the cops and had the situation resolved.

Next year, I won't have this issue, because I'll have my own bedroom in a sweet house with four of my friends.

But there's a lesson to be learned here: Even though it's only August and people are just moving in, it's never too early to look for a place to live. Even the commitment-phobes among us should remember that it's better to live with the devil you know than the devil you don't.

As great as my new living arrangement is, we still got ridiculously lucky. We essentially backed into this place after starting our search in October and getting the runaround from realtors for two months. Our saving grace was a classified ad we stumbled upon by chance (Advertise with The Collegian!).

With that in mind, I've got a few tips for keeping yourself out of the apartment from hell.

Look early and often.

This one's obvious. Don't waste a day. Already moved in for the fall semester? Great, start figuring out what you're doing next year. Find someone who's at least tolerable to be around for five minutes and start talking about where you want to live. Don't get stuck with someone who may or may not let a stranger commandeer your bedroom.

Screw apartments.

Find a house. Depending on the realtor and location, it might be slightly more expensive. But when people are paying 500 bucks a month to share a bedroom in a downtown apartment, you might as well be spending just as much on your own bedroom in one of the more arboreal parts of State College. Plus: house parties. Duh.

Think outside the canyon.

Although this isn't the case with me, I have several very satisfied friends living a couple miles off campus. Like anywhere, there are pros and cons, but if you like having a backyard, nearby pools and insanely cheap rent for a spacious place, taking a CATA bus to campus every day isn't such a chore.

Or, you know you could be like me. You could wait until the last minute and spend your next year feeling like a stranger in your own home, generally avoiding your own apartment and hosting parties at friends' places.

And if you're lucky, maybe you'll get through the year without strangers squatting in your place.

Kevin Doran is a former Daily Collegian editor and reporter and is the Monday columnist. His e-mail is kevin.a.doran@gmail.com.