robot_librarian

also, if you are wanting to live a bit further from emory but won't have a car, i know that there is a shuttle that goes to/from downtown decatur a few times a day (there should be info on emory's transportation website), and also some sort of shuttle from the inman park marta station (my old roommate used to use this but i can't remember the specifics). i'm saying this b/c even though it may make your commute to/from campus a bit longer, quality of life without a car would be significantly higher in decatur or inman park, where you can walk to grocery stores, restaurants, bars, etc.

if you're international & can't come visit in advance, it may be best to just live on-campus for your first semester or two. however, you should be able to find a few places in the neighborhood nearby on http://atlanta.craigslist.org. in the apartment/housing section, search for "home park" or "tech" or even "atlantic station." as for roommates, i'm not sure, but your department may be able to match you with someone in a similar situation perhaps?

look into the "emory woods" complex, which is at the intersection of north highland and clairmont (behind the shopping center), or the complex across the street from clairmont campus which i think is called "lincoln at decatur" or something similar. emory woods is older and doesn't look like much, but the apartments are quiet & a great deal, and definitely walkable to campus (about a 20-30 minute walk to main campus, or about 10 to clairmont campus where you can catch a shuttle). the other one is directly across from clairmont campus, but not too many undergrads live there even though the apartments are really just as nice as highland lake and other popular complexes for emory students. also, just check craigslist or emory's off-campus housing website. if you can go on a visit and just walk around the area you may also be able to find something. like i said in an earlier post though, things like carriage houses tend to get passed along to friends & are rarely advertised.

I'll be at Pitt in the fall for an MS in Library Science! Can't wait to get there and meet everyone!

would you recommend waiting until july (if i want to start a lease on august 1)? or just trying to come up there as soon as possible?

for the question about GSU... i think you could definitely do it on your own for that amount as long as you're not trying to live a super luxurious lifestyle... to be honest, after i make my student loan payments every month i'm probably living on well less that $19K! look at the neighborhoods along the East stretch of the MARTA line...inman park, candler park, little five points, cabbagetown, even decatur. it is not too tough to find relatively inexpensive studios or one bedrooms in these neighborhoods ($500-$650 i'd say) and they are all located right on MARTA (btw a student monthly pass for MARTA is $40, just to give you an idea of budgeting.) in particular, there is a huge new shopping complex with a kroger and target and several restaurants across the street from the Inman Park station, so if you won't have a car at all that might be the best area to look. craigslist can actually be pretty helpful for atlanta, or try the classifieds in the AJC (ajc.com) or creative loafing (creativeloafing.com). hope that helped, let me know if you have any other questions! my roommate currently commutes to GSU from our apartment in inman park/reynoldstown and she says it's super convenient.

so, i'm beginning to narrow my options and drexel is a serious contender for fall 2008. but of course, i could use some advice! i'm a little bit familiar with the university city area right around campus, but what are some other good areas for a grad student (or just a general fun 24 year-old) to live? specifically, i would be willing to trade a short commute (as long as it's doable by foot, bike, or transit) to live in a more fun/"hip" area of town with decent nightlife. maybe i'm fooling myself by thinking i'll get to experience any nightlife as a grad student, but at the moment it's something i want to look into.

wow, are you me? kidding, but i'm in the exact same boat. i would love to live a little further from campus and especially in an area with good nightlife. i don't mind a walking/biking/bus commute at all, in fact i would gladly trade a short commute for a more fun/"hip" area to live. can anyone offer some insight about when is the best time to visit and look for apt's? i've scoured craigslist like a madwoman, but it generally seems to not be the best source for pittsbutgh. and i have a cat, so that's a concern as well b/c i will NOT be leaving my baby behind.

ok, here are some tips from an emory grad (with a gtech boyfriend & gstate roommate): EMORY: - it is incredibly difficult to live around emory without a car. this isn't to say it's impossible, i did so for 3 1/2 years, but it isn't easy or fun. there are university shuttles that will take you to the grocery store or the mall, but if you want to have any kind of social life or find off-campus employment you will need alternate transportation. there are only two MARTA routes that go by emory, and the buses come roughly every 40 minutes (but don't depend on them...they are incredibly unreliable). on sundays there is only a bus in one direction, which comes even less frequently. it is not a good area for biking, as the streets are narrow, hilly, and full of traffic. if you are planning to come without a car, be prepared to deal with this, and make friends fast. even if you do have a car, you should make every effort to live within walking distance of campus if money is a concern, because parking passes are roughly $600-$700 a year and traffic is awful. cabs in atlanta are not very well-priced either. - the graduate housing at clairmont campus is very nice, but many people i know feel like it is TOO nice/expensive to live in as a graduate student living off loans. as someone said above, it's basically like living in a resort. if you plan to spend the majority of your time on campus or in your home, it would be a good place to live, but it is in a very inconvenient area for getting to public transportation or more interesting areas of town. the neighborhood around emory (druid hills) has lots of houses to rent, but very few one-bedroom places within walking distance. some grad students manage to find garage/carriage house apartments, but these tend to get passed along to friends and are hard to come by. if you're looking for a one-bedroom, i would try emory woods (behind the shops at the corner of n. decatur/clairmont). i lived there for awhile, and while they don't look like anything special they are a good deal, very quiet, and definitely walkable to campus. there are a few other smaller apartment buildings in a walkable distance, and several huge complexes (popular ones include highland lake, carlisle lake, gables) that would require a drive. if you will definitely have a car, you might want to look into neighborhoods like inman park, candler park, cabbagetown, or decatur which all require a drive, but have lots more options in terms of one bedroom units, generally good rents and are much more fun places to be than druid hills. - the majority of emory students are fairly well-off, and tend to get out of the area to socialize/party/whatever. there is basically no social scene to speak of on/near campus. again, it's hard to fun without a car. GTECH: - tech is also not particularly close to a MARTA train stop, but it is do-able on foot or bike to avoid taking the unreliable buses (i'm not sure lines run in that area, but none of them are reliable anywhere). the area around tech is also a bit more bike-friendly in general, although you will still be dealing with narrow, trafficky streets. i don't know anyone who drives to campus, they all either live within walking distance or use a bike/MARTA. - most of the tech students i know live(d) in either homepark (the neighborhood right around campus) or right downtown. the general consensus seems to be that the undergrad dorms were a dump, although i don't know anyone who has lived in their grad housing (perhaps for a reason? ha). housing is not too expensive in this area; i would expect probably $500-$800 a month in rent for a one bedroom. - tech definitely has more of a near-campus social scene than emory or state, although it's still lacking a bit in options that are walkable. there are a few bars/restaurants that are decent and hire lots of students, but not much else. STATE: - state is right on a MARTA line, so you can pretty much live anywhere near a marta station and get to campus with no problems. i know tons of state students who live along the East line, and even though many of them have cars they choose to use MARTA. there are very few places to live right around campus, and i'm not sure what the grad housing options are like, but you shouldn't have trouble finding more affordable housing near a MARTA stop in a better area. if you do drive, i believe the parking rate is $3/day (MARTA is $2/ride or $40 monthly for students). - there is NOTHING around state except office buildings, and places that cater to their employees. it is DEAD at night and on weekends. keep this in mind. i mean NOTHING. IN GENERAL: - atlanta is difficult to get around in without a car, and even with a car the traffic is bad and parking is expensive. make location or proximity to transit a priority in finding a place to live, especially if you are unfamiliar with the city. - the major university campuses do not tend to have much to do around them. budget for cabs to go out if you don't have a car. - atlanta DOES now have flexcar, which is a good option if you don't want to bring a car. there is a small monthly fee, and then you pay by the hour for use of their cars (great if you need to do a huge shopping trip or something).