This is an extremely cogent expansion of greyling's comment above, and just about what I wanted to say too.
In my own case, moving to Davis in Sept 2009 as a (newly-)single 38-year-old, I had a strong preference for 2BR over 1BR, for purposes of an office/guest room. The place I got (and love), closer to Ball Sq than Davis, is $1k including heat -- but they had discounted it from $1200 when it was still vacant after the Sept 1 rush. Definitely consult a realtor for input on what the local market will bear.
My place has not only 2BR *and* a smallish living room but *also* an eat-in kitchen. However, the kitchen is down a narrow hallway from the LR, which means large-group gatherings usually end up mushing into either one or the other but not both. Based on the experiences of the ensuing year-plus, I think that if given the choice to design from scratch, I'd actually rather have a galley-style kitchen space off a larger open-plan living/dining space, for more flexibility. Then you can expand the table for holiday dinners, etc. etc.
As for on-site laundry: I am in the "have never had it and cope just fine" minority. I think it becomes much more important to you once you *have* had it and gotten used to it. (I've never had an apt with a dishwasher either!) So I would personally be much more likely to reject an apartment that had a shower stall with no bathtub, for instance, than no laundry.
no subject
In my own case, moving to Davis in Sept 2009 as a (newly-)single 38-year-old, I had a strong preference for 2BR over 1BR, for purposes of an office/guest room. The place I got (and love), closer to Ball Sq than Davis, is $1k including heat -- but they had discounted it from $1200 when it was still vacant after the Sept 1 rush. Definitely consult a realtor for input on what the local market will bear.
My place has not only 2BR *and* a smallish living room but *also* an eat-in kitchen. However, the kitchen is down a narrow hallway from the LR, which means large-group gatherings usually end up mushing into either one or the other but not both. Based on the experiences of the ensuing year-plus, I think that if given the choice to design from scratch, I'd actually rather have a galley-style kitchen space off a larger open-plan living/dining space, for more flexibility. Then you can expand the table for holiday dinners, etc. etc.
As for on-site laundry: I am in the "have never had it and cope just fine" minority. I think it becomes much more important to you once you *have* had it and gotten used to it. (I've never had an apt with a dishwasher either!) So I would personally be much more likely to reject an apartment that had a shower stall with no bathtub, for instance, than no laundry.