gt6

Hehe.. sorry.. yes.. "sport" and gt6 are the same person.. I forgot to log in when I replied to your first message.. and just entered the first thing that came to my mind for a user name.. don't worry.. I'm confused myself.. Hrmm.. I thought SmartPark was available in a few other areas, but I guess not. You're info is correct. If those are the only two parking areas where it's available now, then I would say it is not very convienent. I think most people live in Home Park so that they don't have to drive; so yes, it is very doable to live in Home Park and not drive a car. There are a lot of bicycle riders on campus, so that would probably be your cheapest option. (Motorcycle parking is only $55 a year, and is a good option if you ride). You're still going to bring a car to Atlanta though, right? Atlanta is similar to Texas in that you really need a car to get anywhere (well.. at least from my experience living in the DFW area). It's hard to say how long it would take you to walk to the engineering building simply because just about every building at Tech is an engineering building.. :wink: Luckily for you, just about all of the buildings that ECEs use are all clustered together along Atlantic Drive (van Leer being the main building, at the end of Atlantic Dr). I think the distance from Home Park to the van Leer building will be about 3/4 of a mile. That would probably translate to about 10 minutes walking or probably less than half of that on a bicycle. You don't want to know how long it takes *me* to walk from where I live to my engineering building. I live about 2.2 miles away.. so that takes about 30-40 minutes.. but I drive anyways.. I park in the W02 parking deck which is next to the student center (probably the best parking spot for most commuters, unless all your classes are on the north side of campus, which is when the North parking deck is the best option).

Home park should be fairly safe. You wouldn't want to leave your windows open at night or anything... there are some homeless people who are very opportunistic and would not pass up the opportunity to steal something from you if you dont secure it. You can refer back to that link I gave you to the Homepark message board. They often discuss crime issues in their neighborhood. It seems they are very proactive about keeping their neighborhood safe. You wouldn't really need to worry aboug gang shootings or anything.. :wink: Home Park and GT are, of course, right in the heart of a major city, so with a bit of city smarts, you will be perfectly fine. Keep your car locked at all times with the windows up, keep your house secure, don't walk alone at night... just the obvious big-city basics will be enough. The area around Home Park is being developed more and more as time goes on, so there should be less and less crime. Georgia Tech just put up new graduate housing units adjacent to Home Park, Turner Broadcasting is doing some construction to enlarge their facilities, and there are new Georgia Tech facilities being built on that side of campus adjacent to Home Park. There has been a big revitalization in Atlanta in the past 5-10 years, so there are lots of new growth that has helped to push crime and run-down areas away from the midtown region. A bicycle is probably a better option than just walking, although both are doable. The GT campus is pretty big, so if you need to get from one side to the other, you will probably want something faster than just walking. http://local.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&sll=33.781172,-84.400567&sspn=0.00832,0.013497&q=Landon+Learning+Ctr+atlanta&cid=33748889,-84388056,12243601431545132802&li=lmd&z=14&t=m Hopefully that URL will not get malformed, but should give you a good idea about the relative distances between Home Park (I just picked that learning center because it seems to be right in the middle of Home Park) and Georgia Tech. The Georgia Tech bus system should also be able to get you from Home Park to campus. Here is a map of the GT bus system. The "green" route encircles the Home Park area at the north side of the map. http://www.parking.gatech.edu/info/1_maps__schedules/2_stinger_all_routes.php However, I find the bus to be a bit slow. If I am in a rush, I never take the bus because I can always get their faster by walking. GT is trying to utilize a GPS system to tell you where the buses are at all times.. I think it's operational, so maybe that could help you in timing your departure so you could catch the bus. I would categorize the bus system at Tech as pretty good. For distances less than half of the campus in length, I find that with a brisk walk, you could either beat or tie the bus. You could also use the Trolley system to get between campus and Technology Square (an extension of Georgia Tech on the other side of the interstate that has the bookstore, retail, food, and other facilities). You can read about the transportation system at Tech at the following link: http://www.parking.gatech.edu/index.php You can also read about the parking permit situation. The good thing is, as a graduate student, you should have no problem getting a parking permit since you would have priority over undergraduates. Parking isn't so much a hassle as it is expensive. A yearly pass cost, I think, $520 last year. Expect it to be the same if not a bit higher this coming fall. There are other parking options, such as a commuter pass that allows you to pay a daily rate (I think it's about 4$ per day after getting a $25 dollar permit). This is good if you have a car, but only drive it when its raining or cold or dark or something. I never had a problem finding a spot in my parking garage, but parking anywhere in Atlanta is a big deal. In terms of what I'm doing.. well.. I'm doing MS Aerospace.. I'm actually the same guy that replied in the Meet & Greet board.. I just never bothered to log in when posting in this board so thats why I'm a guest ...

That is absolute BULLS***. Kent State is a signer of Council of Graduate Schools Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Trainees, Fellowships and Assistantships. Print out this resolution form and take it to the department head and tell him to shove it. http://www.cgsnet.org/portals/0/pdf/CGSResolutionJune2005.pdf

I'm doing aerospace masters this fall. However, I went there for undergrad aerospace as well.. so really, I'm just staying here.. :wink:

There was an excellent post on another forum. I will quote it below:

Well, I can't comment on the Emory area, but I've lived in the metro area for over 15 years.. and have lived in Midtown for the last 5. Generally, I would say a car is very important in Atlanta. Public transportation in Atlanta isn't the greatest. The trains are pretty good, but I would stay away from the buses. However, unless you live within short distance of the train stations, they are fairly useless. Here is the rail system map. http://www.itsmarta.com/getthere/schedules/index-rail.htm Even though I only live 2 miles from school, I still chose to drive. It is very difficult to walk that much on a regular basis in the Atlanta heat during the warmer months. This is also a major city, so you must always be aware of crime. Walking everywhere leaves you more vulnerable. I would not call Atlanta a bicycle friendly city, but that is a better option than walking ofcourse. I personally find it very hard to imagine having to survive in the city without a car. Unless you live next to a grocery and retail center, you are going to need a car just to get the basics to survive. On the other hand, if you plan to reside on campus and don't plan on going out much, then perhaps you could survive without a car. However, to experience everything that Atlanta has to offer, you almost certainly will want a car. Congratulations on your acceptance, and I think you will enjoy Atlanta. The cost of living is pretty good for a major city, and Atlanta has everything that you could possibly want, including great weather.