madeinbritain

Hi Tica, I think whether you can get by without a car or not is dependent on your lifestyle and how hard you're willing to try. When I was out there for the open house I rented a bike from Bike Religion - a little shop on campus. (BTW, if anyone is visiting UCI or looking to buy a new bike, get in touch with them and they'll hook you up.) I rode all around the area (Irvine, Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach, Newport, Aliso Viejo) and it was relatively easy if you're used to riding in traffic - nearly all of the roads have bike lanes. There are also a number of off-road shared-use paths if you're not comfortable riding with cars. You can find the OC bike map on OCTA's website. I didn't think traffic was at all bad there, but I'm used to riding downtown to work every day where I live now. It did seem to take longer than I thought it would to get from place to place - mainly due to the infinite number of traffic signals! If you just need a car occasionally, there's a solution - especially if you'll be living on-campus. FlexCar offers cars for $7+/hr. Just google UCI car-sharing to get the details. And then there's always the bus - which I believe you can ride for free as a UCI student - and the various shuttles that the university offers. All of this is a bit more work and time of course, but it's a lot less expensive than owning a car!

Nearly all of the PhD students I spoke with live on campus. I guess some people in the program live on campus or nearby until they finish their coursework. Then they move somewhere more interesting and/or affordable while they work on their dissertations. Again, Long Beach was mentioned as a good spot. I had a rental car and a bike while I was there, and spent some time checking out the area. The one thing I found is that it takes much longer than you think to get around - by bike or car. It made me reconsider the distance I was willing to live from campus. Costa Mesa did seem to be the best area in terms of convenience, but rental prices don't seem THAT much lower than Irvine. The same goes for most of the other cities in the area. Unfortunately, I don't think there's any easy solution to the off-campus housing problem.

Hi Bob, I grew up in Richmond and am finishing a Masters at VCU now. Richmond has lots of great places to live right around the campus. The nicest is the Fan, just west of campus between Grace and Cary streets. You can easily walk or bike to everything you need there. Lots of great restaurants, corner shops, small neighborhood parks, etc. There are a few areas on the fringes of the Fan that are a bit sketchy, but the vast majority is great. It can be a somewhat difficult to find a place to live that's really nice at a reasonable price. There are lots of scruffy places available that have been rented to students for years without being renovated or updated. With a bit of searching though, you can find a great place. Oregon Hill is another popular area for students. It's located just south of campus. Oregon Hill used to be pretty run down, but there' s been a lot of renovation and some new construction in the past few years. If you can find something good there it is a nice place to live. Parking and large parties can be a problem because the streets are narrow, there are lots of students, and the neighborhood is pretty dense. The neighborhood website is oregonhill.net One of the great things about Oregon hill is that it is right by the James River and has good access to Belle Isle and the other parks in that area. West of the Fan is an area called the Museum District. It' s similar to the Fan, but the apartments are smaller and can be a little more affordable. You'd probably want to ride the bus or bike to campus from there, it has a great shopping district called Carytown that is very convenient. Lots of great shops, restaurants, and grocery stores. Also good access to the major parks and museums in the area. Maymont Park is a great place to spend an afternoon. Craigslist is a pretty good source for finding apartments, as are Style Weekly (free local mag.) and the Richmond Times Dispatch (local newspaper). Many places don't seem to be advertised though, and it' s worthwhile to come to town, take a walk or drive around the neighborhoods, and look for the "for rent" signs. In any case, there's great variety in the VCU area and I'm sure you'll find something you'll like. Good luck.

Just curious...has anyone here heard from UNC-CH - especially about the PhD programme? I'm assuming that no word means rejection since they advertised that notifications would go out after 9 Feb. But, I haven't seen anyone post a result so far. I wouldn't be entirely disappointed with rejection since I have an excellent offer in hand and it would make a difficult decision exceedingly simple. However, it would be nice to have some resolution. Especially since the application deadline was 1 December.

Hi unabridged, same problem here. We've had our dog forever and my 3yr old daughter loves it too much to part with it. I'm scheduled to go out to visit UCI March 7-11 and I'll post any info I get. It's painful to have to decline the university's offer of cheap, guaranteed on-campus housing. I'm also concerned with finding a place to live that's reasonably urban. It would be rather unpleasant to live in a gated suburban apartment complex after spending the past several years in cities where I could walk or cycle most everywhere.

I have applied to Urban Planning PhD programs at UNC-Chapel Hill, UC Irvine and Michigan. Have been accepted at UCI with funding, though I'm still waiting for all the details. No word yet from the other two.