The Insider Blog

Oh, the gym –– everyone’s favorite frenemy. You want to go, but somehow the excuses not to keep piling up.

No time to drive there. Memberships are expensive with long-term commitments. The machinery is old or poorly-maintained.

Is it any wonder most people abandon their New Year’s Resolutions?

There is an alternative –– having the gym a little closer to home. Or how about, right in your apartment complex?

 

Benefits of an Apartment Gym or Fitness Center

If you don’t have apartment gyms on your list of must-haves in your apartment search, you may want to take another look and reconsider.

Proximity

Perhaps one of the biggest and most obvious perks of apartment gyms? Convenience. It’s a lot harder to say no to lacing up your sneakers when the gym is only a few steps away, as opposed to a few miles.

No Membership Fee

While traditional gyms make all of their money off of charging people a monthly fee (knowing full well that many people will barely use their memberships), apartment fitness centers don’t have a monthly charge hanging over your head. Use the gym as much or as little as you like, guilt-free.

Flexible Hours

Regular gyms normally operate on an early morning to late evening schedule, meaning if your lifestyle doesn’t quite fit within the allotted hours, you’ll miss your prime opportunities to hit the gym, effectively throwing a lot of money down the drain.

 

What to Look for in an Apartment Gym

All gyms are not created equal –– when you hunt around for a great apartment gym, there are a few key things to keep in mind to make sure you’re getting the best option.

Equipment

Whether you’re a yogi, crossfitter, runner, weightlifter, or any other kind of gym-goer, you probably have some specific equipment you’d like to have at the ready when you hit the gym. If bare bones options aren’t going to cut it, keep moving along.

Hours

When does your schedule allow you free time to work out? Are you squeezing in a morning run or prefer to lift weights in the evening?

Know your optimal workout times so that when you’re perusing the apartment gym’s hours, you can make sure you’ll actually be able to get there.

Cleanliness

This is a big one. Even if you’re not a germaphobe, gym cleanliness is important to ensuring that you stay healthy while you’re trying to… stay healthy.

Check for spray bottles, wipes, and paper towels. Inspect the machines to see if they are cared for. Look for signs reminding people to wipe down the machines. See if the people using the equipment are doing their due diligence at the end of their workouts. It might make all the difference.

Newness

Take a peek inside and check out the gym’s equipment. Does it look more than 5 years old? Are there several “Out of order” signs hanging around?

There are a lot of apartment gyms out there that are old and dingy, so take extra care to see that their equipment is up-to-date.

Class Offerings

If you like to make your workouts more of a social experience, classes may be the way to go. Some apartment gyms offer circuit training, Zumba, cardio dance, yoga, or other group fitness classes that can make working out a little more friendly.   

Other Amenities

Do you have other specific requirements you look for in a gym? Don’t forget about them. You may want towels at the ready, or maybe a spin room or post-workout sauna. If you need to podcast-and-run, having machines with Bluetooth may be on your must-have list. Be sure to include them as you scope out different apartment gym options.

Bonus Tip

To make the most out of your apartment fitness center, we recommend hiring a personal trainer. Your trainer can show you how to properly use all the equipment in your fitness center and get you set up a program to achieve your goals. You can find a list of excellent personal trainers in Houston here.        

 

Best Houston Apartment Gyms and Fitness Centers

At Houston Apartment Insiders, we know the ins and outs of apartment options in the Houston area. Based on our knowledge, we think you should take a look at these complexes, which may have the apartment gym you’ve been looking for.

Elan Heights – The Heights

The Elan Heights apartment complex has an on-site fitness center, as well as yoga and spin classes with Fitness on Demand, not to mention a pool courtyard to cool off in after your workout is complete!

The Carter – Montrose

At The Carter, you’ll find a strength and cardio fitness center with Precor equipment, as well as a Flex Fitness yoga room with Myride capabilities.

Market Square Tower – Downtown

Among Market Square Tower’s amenities is a sky gym with state-of-the-art fitness equipment, as well as spa relaxation, steam, sauna, and massage rooms. You could even play around on the indoor basketball court or virtual golf simulator while you’re at it.

Vantage Med Center – Texas Medical Center   

You can find a 3,000-square-foot fitness and workout club at Vantage Med Center, with a yoga studio, outdoor yoga terrace, and sports lawn with outdoor games to boot.

We Can Help!

If all of this seems really overwhelming, fear not –– that’s why we’re here.

Contact Houston Apartment Insiders at 713-581-1055 or fill out our contact form to get in touch with an agent who can help you find the perfect apartment (and apartment gym!) that you’re looking for today.

 

Whether we’re moving within Houston, from across the country, or from across the ocean, packing and unpacking everything we own tends to throw us for a loop. The goal of all unpacking tips, then, should be to make your new Houston apartment feel like home as soon as possible. Here are more moving tips collected from our blog and around the internet with the focus on making your Houston apartment a true home:

Make it Your Own

Although most landlords don’t allow many (if any) permanent changes in their apartments, there are quite a few temporary ways to bring your own style to walls, floors, and fixtures. Most such projects are easiest to do before you unpack. If your landlord allows you to paint the walls, a few accent walls can make a big difference. We also have a post on temporary floor treatments that go way beyond area rugs. Also look for small details you can make your own. It’s fairly simple to install your own shower head, toilet seat, towel rack, light switch plates, light fixture covers, drawer knobs, and cabinet handles. Save the originals to put back when you’re ready to move on.

Bring life in — literally!

Healthy plant life makes any home more colorful, adds beautiful fragrances, and can even help purify the air. You can easily pick up a few bunches of fresh flowers from your local grocery store or florist, and set them in water in whatever container is easiest to unpack. For a longer-lasting spark of life, add potted plants. If you’d like to use plants brighten up a room that doesn’t get much sunlight, this slideshow from Martha Stewart will teach you how to analyze the light level in any room, then choose the plants that will thrive in that spot.

Unpack in an order that will give you homey spaces from the start.

Lists of unpacking tips all over the Internet begin with, “Unpack as fast as you can!” This is great advice, but it’s not always possible to unpack everything in the first day or even the first week. Prioritizing is the key to making your Houston apartment feel like home faster. Focus on unpacking the spaces you’ll need most to feel comfortable in your new home. Apartment Therapy suggests unpacking room by room, in this order: bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room, then dining room.
Apartment Guide’s post, “How to Feel at Home in Your New Apartment Quickly,” suggests a finer-tuned, more emotion-focused order: Set up your bed first, and make it up with sheets and blankets and pillows, all ready for a good night’s sleep. Add anything else you need around the bed for a comfortable bedtime routine — maybe a nightstand, a reading lamp, books, or photos. Once that’s ready, before you finish unpacking the bedroom, set up everything in the bathroom and kitchen that you need to do the things that make you feel like yourself. For example, get everything out for bedtime brushing and flossing, a morning shower, coffee, and breakfast. The next step is to clear paths through the still-packed boxes, so you can move from room to room without frustration.

Of course, feeling at home in your new Houston apartment is all about making the place your own, so your apartment unpacking process will be unique to you. Think about what matters most to you: What details really make you feel like you’re finally home? What smells like home? What brings you the most comfort? First unpack the things you love most, so they can start bringing you joy again right away.

You’ve decided it’s time for you to upgrade your Houston apartment. Now you’re looking for more than just a basic home. You’re ready to move up to a luxury apartment with all the extras: finer details inside the apartment, extra perks in the building, and a great neighborhood with easy access to even more amenities. There’s still a lot to consider, though, to choose the luxury apartment that’s just right for you. You’ll want to strike a balance between getting the special details that matter to you, not paying extra for things that don’t, and keeping it in line with your budget and your lifestyle. For the first-time luxury apartment hunter, here are a few things to keep in mind:

What is your budget?

Even if you’re ready for a luxury apartment, chances are that your budget isn’t unlimited. Take an honest look at your finances and decide how much you can comfortably spend on rent each month.

How much square footage do you actually want?

Apartment hunters on tighter budgets often rent “as much apartment as they can afford,” and end up in less space than they’d like to live in. Now that you can afford to splurge a bit, it can be tempting to assume bigger is always better, but that may not be so for you. Choosing just as much space as you really care to use, and no more, frees up your budget to splurge on more extras or a fantastic location.

What does “luxury” mean to you?

Make a list of extras you really care about. Do you feel pampered by a steam shower or whirlpool bath, but care not a whit about granite countertops? Would you love to have an in-building fitness center, party room, or business space, or would you never use those perks? Think about luxury amenities both inside your apartment and in the apartment complex, and think about location, neighborhood, and proximity to conveniences like shopping, nightlife, health clubs, and more. Once you know what you’re looking for, prioritize. Make a list of amenities that starts with “absolutely must have” and goes down the page to “nice, but no big deal.”

How will you track and compare apartments you’ve seen?

Once you have your prioritized list, the Lovely blog’s luxury apartment-hunting tips suggest printing it up in checklist form. Fill out the checklist for each apartment you look at, so you can easily remember which apartment had what, even if you’ve looked at many luxury apartments over the course of several days.

Is an apartment-finding service right for your search?

Now that you know just what you’re looking for, Houston Apartment Insiders can help you find it, at no cost to you. Share your budget and checklist with us, and we’ll find the best Houston luxury apartments for you to consider. If you like, we’ll even set up appointments for you to view them. We’re here to help!