New Resident Starter Kit
Moving is part planning, part improvisation. This is the planning part — what to handle before you arrive, what to set up in week one, and which Tempe spots help the city start feeling like yours rather than just somewhere you’re temporarily living. Follow this and you’ll be settled faster than you’d figure it out alone.
Before Move-In Week: The Three Things That Actually Matter
Handle these a few days early. Small effort now means zero scrambling on move-in day.
Confirm your move-in logistics
Contact the VERVE leasing team to lock in your arrival window, key or fob pickup, and any
guidance on parking or loading access. Getting this confirmed ahead of time takes 5 minutes
and prevents a significant amount of day-of chaos.
Sort your rent and billing flow
Get your resident payment setup confirmed before you arrive so you’re not chasing down
charges during an already hectic first week. VERVE Tempe makes this simpler than most — see
the utilities section below.
Pack a first-night box — and keep it with you
Not in the truck. With you. Sheets, towel, shower curtain and rings, toiletries, phone charger,
medications, paper towels, trash bags, and one change of clothes. Pack it last, access it first.
Everything else can wait until morning.
Pro tip: Download your VERVE floor plan before move-in day and measure your big furniture against it.
Discovering that your couch doesn’t fit through the doorway in 110-degree Tempe heat is an avoidable
situation.
Utilities: Simpler Than You’d Expect
VERVE Tempe handles a significant portion of the utility setup for you, which makes this
process faster than at most off-campus housing.
Included with your lease
Water, sewer, internet, and trash are all covered by VERVE — you don’t need to activate or manage these separately.
Electricity via Conservice
Electricity is split evenly among roommates and billed through Conservice, paid together with rent in a single monthly payment. One bill, no coordination headache.
Pro tip: Even though Conservice handles the billing, it’s worth having a roommate conversation about A/C usage early. In a Tempe summer, electricity is not a line item to ignore — and setting shared
expectations in week one is easier than having that conversation in August when the bill arrives.
Week One Essentials: Get These Early
These feel optional until you’re standing in your apartment at 10 p.m. wishing you had them.
First grocery run is the right time.
Power management
A surge protector for your desk and a power strip for the living area. You will run out of outlets
faster than seems possible, and the surge protector protects the equipment you can’t afford to
replace.
Basic cleaning kit
Multi-surface spray, sponge, dish soap, and paper towels. Your apartment needs a wipe-down
before you move in, and having this ready makes week one feel functional rather than
provisional.
Consumables baseline
Trash bags, laundry detergent, and a spare roll of paper towels somewhere logical. The three
things that disappear fastest and are most annoying to run out of.
Kitchen minimum
One pan, one pot, one good knife, one cutting board. That covers the majority of what you’ll
cook in year one without overcomplicating the setup.
Small toolkit
Screwdriver set, tape measure, scissors. Command hooks handle most wall mounting for
renters — get a variety pack and keep your deposit intact.
Parking and Getting Around Tempe
VERVE Tempe’s location makes a car-optional lifestyle genuinely realistic — not just
theoretically, but in the way your actual daily schedule plays out.
Walking
More of your daily life is walkable from VERVE Tempe than from most student housing in the
Valley. Campus, Mill Avenue, groceries, dining, and coffee are all reachable on foot — which
means a car stays parked for more days than you’d expect.
Valley Metro Light Rail
The Mill Ave / 3rd St station connects you to the broader Metro system through Tempe, Phoenix,
and Mesa. Practical for getting to campus, downtown Phoenix, Sky Harbor Airport, and
anywhere else that doesn’t require a car. Worth learning the schedule in week one.
Biking and scooters
Tempe’s trail network and flat terrain make biking a legitimate everyday option — especially for
the campus commute and the Town Lake loop. Figure out your safe route to your regular
destinations early, and keep a water bottle on the bike as a non-negotiable.
Driving
VERVE has parking available — confirm details with the leasing team. For the destinations that
require a car (desert hikes, further restaurants, day trips), the Alafaya corridor setup means
most trips are still under 20 minutes.
Desert note: Keep a go-bag by the door: keys, wallet, sunglasses, water bottle. Tempe’s heat punishes
anyone who steps outside unprepared, and getting into the habit early makes it automatic by the time
summer arrives.
Use Your Amenities. From Day One.
VERVE Tempe’s amenity stack is wellness-forward in a way that matches how Tempe residents
actually live. The first week is the window to build the habits that carry the semester.
Two-Level Fitness Center + Outdoor Fitness Space
A serious fitness setup with the kind of equipment that makes a gym membership unnecessary
— including pilates reformer machines with touchscreens. If you build a morning routine here in
week one, it tends to stay. The rooftop outdoor fitness space is especially good around sunrise
before the heat sets in.
Rooftop Pool + Courtyard
VERVE Tempe’s rooftop pool is the kind of amenity that improves the value of every warm day
in the Valley — and in Tempe, warm days are most of them. Come up during the first weekend
to get a feel for the space and meet neighbors while everyone’s still in new-place mode.
Sauna
A recovery tool that’s easy to underestimate until you’re deep in a semester. Works as a reset
after a hard workout, after a rough day, or as a deliberate wind-down before sleep. Worth
building into your week early rather than discovering it during finals.
Wellness Suite
The space for stretching, recovery, and the lower-intensity side of staying healthy. Pairs
naturally with the sauna for a complete post-workout reset.
Solarium
A light-filled space at the top of the building designed for relaxed focus and taking in the views.
Good for a quiet read, a slow morning, or any moment when you want natural light without going
outside.
Private + Group Study Rooms
When your apartment isn’t the right environment to focus, these rooms are. Quieter than a
coffee shop on deadline days, available when you need them, and already part of what you’re
paying for.
Golf Simulator
A genuinely fun social amenity for groups — whether or not you actually play golf. One of those
spaces that becomes a go-to once you try it and is easy to overlook if you never do.
Your First Week Tempe Orientation
You don’t have to discover the neighborhood on your own. These are the easy first picks — the
spots that make Tempe start feeling like yours rather than somewhere you landed.
Whole Foods Market | 750 S Ash Ave Ste 101, Tempe, AZ 85281
Your first grocery run. Start here for the weekly shop — quality produce and a prepared foods
section that makes eating well manageable on a busy week.
Safeway | 926 E Broadway Rd, Tempe, AZ 85282
Your fast-restock option for standard staples and pharmacy needs. Good secondary option
when you need something quickly.
The Burger Spot | 3 min walk
Three minutes from your door. Solid burgers, fast service. Go here in the first week before
you’ve figured out anything else and you’ll be glad you did.
Four Peaks Brewing Co. | 11 min walk
The essential first Tempe outing. A walk down to Four Peaks in your first week is how you start
to feel like you actually live here rather than just temporarily renting.
Tempe Town Lake + Rio Salado Paths
Go for a walk or run along the lake in your first few days — early morning before the heat builds.
This is the outdoor habit worth building immediately, and it’s one of the better ones in the Valley.
Belle Vie Bubble Tea | 4 min walk
Four minutes from VERVE. Good for punctuating a study session or a walk. Find it early.
A Simple First-Week Game Plan
A low-chaos ramp-up that actually works:
Days 1–2: Unpack bedroom and bathroom first — sleep and a functional shower are what
make the rest of the week possible. Everything else can wait.
Day 3: Kitchen basics and laundry setup. Then your first grocery run at Whole Foods.
Days 4–5: Pick one amenity routine and repeat it — fitness center, sauna reset, or a study
room block. One habit started early tends to hold.
The Weekend: Longer outdoor session: Town Lake loop or Papago Park hike (go early). Then
a proper first outing on Mill Ave — Four Peaks or wherever the group lands. That combination
does more to make Tempe feel like home than anything else on this list.
Desert note: Week one in Tempe sets routines that carry the whole semester. Build the outdoor habit
before summer arrives, get comfortable with the Light Rail before you need it for something important,
and find your go-to coffee shop before midterms — it’ll be there when you need it most.
Ready to Make VERVE Home?
Talk to our leasing team about floor plans, availability, and what life at VERVE Tempe actually looks like.