A decent chef's knife and a cast iron skillet

Definitely, spend a little more in kitchen supplies

Corelle dishes

I have an electric stove right now and the fire alarm is buggy in my dorm, but this is definitely an investment I want to make latter on.

Honestly the cast iron makes the temperature of an electric stove more consistent. Instead of cycling intensely on and off, the cast iron sort of filters it by slowly absorbing heat. You aren't going to be tossing the pan, just don't slam it down on a glass top.

This is a good question. I haven’t seen a starter pack list but check the subs sidebar or whatever it’s called.

Goddamn electric hobs are the worst thing to happen to kitchens since I don't know what.

I imagine induction would be significantly better but I prefer gas as well. I only wish powerful vent hoods were the standard instead of the exception. Who thought a puny microwave venting right back into the kitchen was a good idea?

Red Land Cotton sheets for sure- you’ll save a lot of money over your life and they are super cozy and awesome.

Rada knives are great too.

Country Cottons dishtowels and oven mitts too

Liberty Tabletop flatware too for sure.

I can’t stress this enough: estate sales. You can find plenty of older items at often reasonable prices. Furniture, cooking equipment, decorations, tools, etc. It is too easy to fall into the trap of IKEA/flat pack furniture, but you can get much better quality by using this method.

Also, look for office/government surplus stores. They will have desks, tables, filing cabinets (stores more than files), chairs, etc.

Just general thoughts:

Lodge enameled cast iron for low maintenance and durability.

Good chef/paring knife from victorinox. Don’t need a full set. Practice sharpening.

Don’t overlook emergency supplies/spare food and batteries.

I would add maple cutting board to make this a trio. Boos comes to mind, maybe on clearance.

I have a different take on this. Talk to your HR contact. The company that hired me right out of college had a full relocation package --- or as an option you could take cash and relocate yourself. I think the cash offered was around $2000-3000. As a fresh college grad I moved myself and used the cash to furnish my new apartment.

I believe it's probably worth the extra for a LeCruset or Staub Dutch oven for the long term. Lifetime warranty and made in France with their proprietary enamel coating. You can get them for half off or more during a sale. The enameled Lodge Dutch oven is one of the few things they outsource to China and there are reports that the enamel chips easily.

I’ve had all of these and agree that le creuset is of a higher quality. Without knowing the OP’s budget, Lodge should last 10 or so years and costs about 1/5 the prices of a le creuset.

Brother! Another legitimate home cook!

You're right tbf, I've not yet had any time with an induction top.... Perhaps I should get a splitter for the stove and get a desktop induction..... Then I'd need even more different pans though......

The vent shit should be illegal straight up no stops. I generally don't even run mine in favor of making a draft through the house and out the nearest point. I can choke out a horse in a matter of minutes depending on what I'm making. Ridic.

Basic set of tools. The crescent tool kits in the little gray cases are a pretty decent value imo. I have one thats maybe 12 years old and I’m pretty happy with it

Basic hand tools. Even if you’re not a handyman, you’ll still want the basics. Hammer, tape measure, some pliers, knife/box cutter, various rolls of tape, screwdrivers, scissors, ratchet + socket set, flashlight to name a few.

What you need to do is think up your own items and run them through the search engine. Otherwise, you will see a rambling post where people talk about a great microscope, ice climbing shoes and bread maker....non of which you give a damn about.

Or carbon steel skillet.

Induction is better in some regards, worse in others. Because it used magnets, it's hella fast - but it still cycles like an electric stovetop. However, the hob needs the cookware to heat it, which means it'll turn off the moment you take it off the heat.

I was under the impression that it cycles faster and can do fractional power instead of just fully on and off. I don't think I'd mind it turning off as long as I don't need to manually switch it back on after putting the pan down again. At some point I'll buy a decent countertop induction burner to give it a thorough try. I only wish they had knobs instead of buttons.

I think it might depend on the hob, to be fair. Mine definitely cycled.

If you want your place to be stylish, I would advise finding a designer. My GF is one, so I’m probably biased, but from from a sustainable standpoint if you get good pieces now you won’t be wanting to upgrade in a few years when you realize you want your place to look good (if your like me you don’t care about that bc I didn’t until my late 20s) so you’ll buy less overall. If you can’t afford that rn then I would advise buying used from FB marketplace. Then it’s not a big deal to upgrade bc you didn’t contribute to the new manufacturing of stuff and you can resell for minimal loss if it was quality and didn’t degrade. But don’t be afraid to pay up! Look for better materials when buying used. Real wood, real leather, less plastic/mdf etc.

Buy a Zippo. That way you can cross post r/BuyItForLife and r/EDC.

This is great advice. Rather than buying stuff just so you can schlep it to a new place vs taking a cash offer is a no brainer. Set yourself up in your new place, and then take your time to pick up bifl stuff as you see a need arise.

I don't know how much the relocation package I was given is, but this is basically what I'm doing. Making a list of stuff that I can buy for life for the new apartment.

By dad also swears by this. A good plate and glass set never hurt anyone

I was planning on doing this in the future when I have more money and can make more niche searches for specific items.

That's also my perspective on things, better to buy good and more slightly more expensive. I hadn't considered a designer since I'm just getting started but it sounds like a possible option in a few years.

Lowkey wanna get a really cool one and a good army knife

Everything in the living room revolves around the couch. Buy one you like and buy it first.

My first and only pocket knife is a civivi elementum. You’ll use it more than you think.

May not be an “army knife” but I’d look into a good karambit. They’re good for slicing, like zip ties or boxes. If you NEED to use it for self defense it’ll be good for that as well.

Don’t forget to get a sharpener for your new chef’s knife! A cheap-o knife sharpener will be just fine for everyday use, but if you feel like learning to sharpen yourself and get a better edge, a whetstone can take it from usable to exceptionally sharp.