Personas
Posted on 27 Sep, 2011
Look-Ahead Larry
Larry is a 20 year old intern at a web startup in San Francisco. He's looking an apartment for himself and his friends, who also have internships in the city. They wants to be in a cool area with bars and nightlife, and would prefer being near public transportation, but he also has a car that he plans to use for trips outside the city. He also wants an apartment with an open space so he can throw parties, and since his internship pays well, he's willing to spend more to get the place he wants.
He's willing to put in the time and effort to search for a good apartment, but is frustrated with the current search options available to him. He checks Craigslist multiple times a day, but it's rare that an apartment matches his criteria and specific internship dates. He's frustrated because even when he does find one, his e-mails often go unanswered. He's not worried because he has plenty of time until his internship starts, but he really just wants to get the process wrapped up.
Back-Burner Bill
Bill is a 19 year old summer office worker in Boston. He wants to live in the city so he can get the "urban experience", but living at home is also an option, although it would have a significantly longer commute. He has friends who are also searching for a place, and he's tentatively planned to live with them. His friends are doing most of the searching, but they're more picky than he is he's not worried about the apartment they find. He plans on using public transportation to get around, so he's not concerned about the location as long as it's in the city. He has an entry-level job so he'd prefer not to pay too much, but he's also willing to go with whatever the group wants.
Originally he was searching himself, but got overwhelmed by the number of listings on Craigslist every day, so he gave up. If his friends don't find something he'll probably just live at home, unless he hears about something else. He's not worried either way.
Stressed-Out Stan
Stan is a 21 year old college student who just finished his junior year. He just got a job in San Fransisco at a management firm and has one week before his internship begins. Stan lives in central Texas and has no experience with San Fransisco. He's mainly looking for a one bedroom apartment with no roommates within walking distance of his office. He plans on buying a bike once he arrives, and he knows bike theft is a problem so would like a safe place to store it. These factors are important, but at this point he really just wants to have a place. The tight deadlines and his lack of experience are making Stan very stressed out. He has never searched for an apartment before and has no clue where to start. He's completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of posts on Craigslist, and most of the places seem to be outside of his price range. Many of the places look to good to be true, but he has no way of confirming that since he doesn't know anyone in the city. San Francisco is very diverse, and he can't tell from the listings what would be a good location.
Particular Phoebe
Phoebe is a 24 year old college grad. She's originally from Connecticut and met her boyfriend there when she was home during the summer. She's going to grad school at BU in the fall, and is looking to live with her boyfriend in Boston over the summer. She doesn't have a job lined up, but her boyfriend has an internship downtown. She is very set on the kind of place she wants, and is primarily looking for a single bedroom apartment which a large kitchen and living room. She does not have a job lined up yet, and plans to spend a lot of time in the apartment while she looks. She is very concerned with the location and would like it to be in a neighborhood where she can go out during most hours of the day and feel safe. She also is looking into getting a job at Whole Food or Trader Joe's, both of which would be in nicer neighborhoods. She also plans on using public transportation, and wants to be near a T stop. Since she has a lot of free time she started looking for places about a month in advance. She is is currently living in Connecticut and does not have a car, she sends her boyfriend out to do most of the looking while she takes handles the e-mails. She primarily uses Craigslist, and attempted to uses various apartment searching services as wel. Due to her lack of initial success she considered contacting a real estate agent, but reconsidered when a friend mentioned a bad experience with one.