One of the toughest times to find creative ways to go green is while you are renting an apartment or house. It's the period of life where you don't stay in one place for very long and live with several different people. A place that's not really yours to put up a rain-catching system, to put new and improved insulation in the walls, or even hang plants outside the balcony without permission from the landlord. Renting involves compromising with your roommates to make sure everyone gets along and you don't end up hating each other. But there are actions that you can take to set yourself up to be a green renter.

Who Should I Live With?

The most interesting, and sometimes most nerve wrecking experience of renting a new place is finding the people you will be living with for the next year. It could be a long time friend that coincidentally needs a place. Or it could be a person you had never met before you answered an ad on craigslist. When you are trying to go green, find roommates that want to make the change too. Make clear going green is a priority for you, not only for the warm-feeling you get inside while keeping your carbon-footprint low, but also to keep your bills low and cash in your pocket. Good roommates have a lot in common, so try to make going green something your roommates want to do together. Sometimes luck just isn't there and you can't find that perfect roommate. There are unique opportunities for people looking to find a place on their own. And to give you an idea of the possible problems, I give you this video from aimgreenomaha.com: 

Where Should I Live?

Renting an individual room or guest house that a home owner has put up for rent is a good option for some. Using a room that would not be used otherwise is a good way to make use of available space, and maybe stop the suburban sprawl of apartment buildings all over the country. It has the added benefit of having a little more leeway to talk to the landlord about putting in green technology. The owner of the house will probably be happy to hear about ways to keep bills low like low-water toilets, weather-sealed windows and green shower head. If one of your priorities is to go green and teach others how to go green, moving into a room for rent can be a good way to do that and save money in the process.

But if you want to live with roommates looking into newly built apartment buildings could be the way to go. Starting with college dorms, development companies have begun investing in green apartment complexes across the country. From 2003 onwards, investment companies like Goldman Sachs have put money into green developing. Amenities like rooftop gardens and rainwater collection are becoming part of industry design. Look for LEED Certification to check if the apartment building you are interested in is green. The drawback to newly developed green apartments is the cost, which is why finding many roommates is important when thinking about moving to a green apartment.

Figuring out who you will be living with and where you will be living are often the things that take the longest when finding a place to rent. But after you have found your new green living situation, the next step will be furnishing the place up to your green standards.

This is part 1 of a continuing series.