I was realizing that the first thing you should do is get a credit report thingy from eHousing. I'm worried that some landlords will look askance at a check from a Ma bank. I'm looking to see if I can open a Ca checking account on-line. (I'll be staying with Washington Mutual.) You might try to see if you can open a banking account there. I'm not sure of the feasibility of this without a Ca driver's license...