Three Twentysomethings Vie for the Public's Laughter, Sympathy and Vote in the Apartments.com Room to Move Contest

Three Twentysomethings Vie for the Public's Laughter, Sympathy and Vote in the Apartments.com Room to Move Contest

Winner will receive a grand prize valued at $15,000 including a room makeover from HGTV

CHICAGO, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Apartments.com scoured the nation for young adults desperate to break free from their family's home and found three "relative-ly"-challenged finalists from Chicago, San Jose, California, and Hartford, Connecticut. One lucky winner will break the familial chains with $15,000 in prizes and a room makeover from HGTV's Karen McAloon of Design Remix. The public is encouraged to go to Apartments.com and vote for their favorite candidate through midnight CT on May 20.

Although more than 500 entries were received nationwide, the finalists were chosen for their unique circumstances and desire to live on their own. One lucky 28-year-old finalist lives in the laundry room of his 84-year-old grandmother's house, and another 22-year-old woman shares a bunk bed -- in a very small room -- with her 15-year-old sister.

"As a young adult, being at home with your parents isn't the ideal living situation," said Mike Ricciardelli, Apartments.com spokesperson. "It's not fun being in your twenties and still having a curfew. Many of our contestants wrote about sharing bathrooms with grandmothers and subjecting their dates to their father in boxer shorts, but these are the kind of comical experiences with which we can all sympathize. Now it's up to the public to decide who should be granted their freedom."

To ensure the "pride" of the family retains his/her independence, Karen McAloon of HGTV's Design Remix will step in to refurbish the newly vacant room, giving the winner's family the workout area, office, or entertainment room they've always wanted.

With 18 million unmarried Americans aged 18 to 34 currently living with their families (Source: U.S. Census Bureau), its no surprise that contest organizers received nearly five hundred entries from "adultescents" across the country. Contest participants illustrated the humor and desperation of their living situations, entertaining judges with stories of living in the family's attic, hiding clothes from scheming siblings, and the widespread instances of family members walking around in the buff.

The winner will be announced on the contest Web site, http://www.apartments.com/roomtomove , on or around June 6. Photos from the finalists and their "declarations for independence" can be found on the site. For those interested in expediting the relocation process, Apartments.com offers access to its wide variety of apartments directly from the contest pages.

Along with millions of visual apartment listings and classifieds from more than 170 newspapers nationwide, Apartments.com offers users a "List a Rental" service for listing units for rent or sublet.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Satellite GALAXY 3, C-band, Transponder 3 Downlink Freq: 3760 MHz 1st feed: 05-05-2005 10:30-10:45 ET; 2nd feed: 05-05-2005 14:30-14:45 ET

Source: Apartments.com

CONTACT: Mark Bouffard of media imPRessions-Apartments.com, +1-312-222-9590, mbouffard@media-impressions.com

Web site: http://www.apartments.com/ http://www.apartments.com/roomtomove

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