There is an experience worse than a root canal, after all. For the student-budget, it is the almighty yearly battle that ensues around early February; the hunt for the house. Luckily, from the advice of my upperclassmen friends, my roommates and I embarked on this special coming-of-age journey earlier than the average freshmen (who, sadly, typically begin thinking about where they will be living the next year in the later spring). Let me safely say that this was easily the most stressful, hectic experience I have yet to experience within the valley of Boulder.

I have worked in a real estate office; I am familiar with typical agent-client protocol and the presentation of homes when one is considered a "real estate professional." However, I saw none of this behavior as my roommate, David, and I walked around drunkenly passed out men lying in the middle of a "spacious" kitchen which we were encouraged to see ourselves living in next fall. I don't care how large of a market there is for student housing and rentals in the Boulder area: it is ridiculous to show a home without contacting the homeowners first. When I take time out of my day, I not only expect the real estate agent to be on time (which, predictably, they never were), wear quasi-professional attire (hello, sweat stained Heineken t-shirt), and show the home as if their livelihood depended on it (no, "and if you look to your left, there is the master bedroom with two half-naked people still in bed").

Thank god, we finally found a small house in a great location that we immediately signed the lease for (mostly, to be honest, because we couldn't deal with working with these idiot companies any longer). Speaking with my friends, it really is a shame that there is such a large consensus on this montage of bad experiences regarding looking for housing in Boulder. Finding one's first home should be exciting, not disgusting and infuriating.