Be a good neighbor by cleaning up after yourself at shared spaces, like fitness centers.
Whether this is your first semester at the University of South Florida or you're a super senior, ensuring that you're the best neighbor you can be is extremely important. The way you treat your neighbors and the way they treat you could really make or break your experience at your apartment near USF. While you don't need to be best friends with your neighbor, ensuring you can live in peace and harmony is the goal.
Introduce Yourself
When moving into your apartment near USF, take a couple of minutes to introduce yourself to your neighbors. This way you know who is living around you and if you ever need help, you know who you can reach out too. You could even give them a way to contact you or your roommates, like a phone number, so they could reach you if there's ever a problem at your apartment. If you're feeling extra nice, you could even bring them some freshly baked cookies or some nice flowers. Hopefully by showing kindness to them, they will help you show kindness to you.
Quiet Down
Although your USF apartment is your own personal space, remember that you are sharing walls with other people. Try to remember that not everyone is on the same sleep schedule as you. Keeping your noise in check is one of the most important ways to ensure you are the best neighbor you can be. Try not to do any loud activities, like hammering nails or blasting music, too early in the day or too late at night. If it's dark outside, try to stay away from making any loud noise.
Respect Everyone's Property
Although you may not be sharing space in your apartment with your neighbors, they still may have some personal property on the outside of their apartment, like a mat outside their door or any items on a patio or balcony. Make sure to respect their property just like you would respect your own. If you accidentally ruin any of their property, let them know as soon as you can. Offer to replace it or pay for it to make up for it. Being a good neighbor means making sure that you respect their property as if it was your own.
Keep Your Space Clean
You could be the messiest person the world has ever seen but being a good neighbor means making sure any shared or outdoor space stays clean. If you see trash laying around in the hallways, make sure to pick it up. Don't leave items laying around outside your apartment and ensure your cleaning up properly after any pets. Ensuring your apartment area stays clean is a start but you want to make sure you clean up after yourself in any shared spaces or amenities. Make sure your wipe down your machines after you use the fitness center. Clean up any papers you bring to the study room. Keeping all shared spaces clean is key to being the best neighbor at your apartment near USF.