jakecd

Yes, there's many. You can find a lot on craigslist. On Campus you could live in the Western View Apartments, although this may be considered off-campus they're literally right on campus and super close to all of the Geo halls. Western View is affiliated with the University so I think it can be included in your tuition. I could be wrong about that. I've had plenty of friends live there and they liked it. It's relatively quiet and the location is unbeatable and they're not even five years old! Off campus, the student ghetto is pretty cheap. If you don't live in Western View, there's pretty much two areas of off campus housing: west side and east side. West side is partyville, and includes Frat Ville and Lafayette Ave, etc, while the east side includes the student ghetto and downtown area and is more mixed between professionals, families and students, so a lot less partying goes on.

Feeling generous today and thought I would help anyone coming through here for 2016. I lived in Kalamazoo for over six years, four of those I was an undergraduate. Kalamazoo is a great city. Not too big and not too small. Easy to get away from the noise and also easy to find something to do. With WMU and Kalamazoo College, as well at KVCC, it is bustling with college life. I left just this year, unfortunately, and I will say the city continues to grown in all sorts of different ways. The craft beer lifestyle is huge out here. There's many pubs and cool bars to visit, with awesome food. See Kalamazoo Beer Exchange, Principle (this one's new and getting great reviews), Bell's Brewery, etc, etc. Farm to table is becoming a huge thing. It's overall a relatively healthy city that is constantly adopting economical and more progressive ideas. The Farmer's Market is growing as well. There's a People's Food co-op. There's tons of awesome breakfast places--Crow's Nest for less pricey, and Food Dance for a little more expensive, although the best you'll find just about anywhere (their food is entirely local and homemade). OK-- MOST IMPORTANTLY, where you should and shouldn't live: Assuming we're all going for Masters and PhDs, DO NOT live on the west side of campus. This includes West Michigan Ave, Lafayette Ave (I lived here for one year-CONSTANT PARTYING), Greenville, Redwood, Campus Courts (Don't Do It--Party Central), Frat Village (that's actually the street name), etc, etc...Unless you want to do some major partying and go to bars that are obnoxious and loud and have 1$ PBR nights, do not live over here. This is undergrad territory and it's meant to stay that way. Student Ghetto: OK, firstly, it's not entirely a ghetto. The North End of Kzoo is the real ghetto, but this area has been deemed the student ghetto because of its atmosphere and look. This area is: Davis, Oak (great street to live on), Locust, Vine, Wheaton, Lovell (don't live on this one, people tend to drive like idiots on this one way street). It is largely made up of massive old homes either broken into apartments or used as homes. It is VERY diverse around here. There are undergrads, grad students, med students, families, etc. all living here. It is, you could say the "alternative" part of town. It is East of WMU, in the mix with downtown. I lived on Oak for a year and really enjoyed it. I had a single bedroom apartment above a family of five and never had any problems (not saying you won't). It's a pretty relaxed environment around here. Rarely are there parties loud enough to disturb you. You can walk into downtown from this neighborhood. The houses are old and most of them are actually pretty beautiful if you appreciate that kind of thing, although a lot of them have been neglected over the years. This is largely a relatively middle-to-lower-class area in terms of wealth, which is a given because of the students and the families aren't rich or anything. The farther south you go, which you'll then kinda be considered outside of the Student Ghetto, the more familial it gets and the more kept up the homes look. The Student Ghetto can be pretty cheap. My one bedroom was 550/month and I knew multiple people who had bigger one bedrooms for the same price. WARNING: SOUTHSTREET PROPERTIES: Is, obviously, on South St, which isn't the student ghetto but it's right before it. South St. is beautiful. Like seriously, it's gorgeous all year round. These homes are stunning. But, I am warning you about SouthStreet Properties: He owns about six homes on this street and their all divided up into apartments. I had a very very bad experience with this, as well as many many other people I know, including undergrads and grad students and professionals. I am warning you. He wants your money and nothing else and he's very good at marketing his "professional neighborhood". Don't get me wrong, the homes are nice on the outside, but his staff is made up of a bunch of do-it-yourselfers who don't know much about building and remodeling and repairing (fyi, I have a carpenters license, I would know). You will not get your deposit back. Trust me on that. I got 47$ of my 450$ deposit. Just, be wary of living under his command. Other than that, if you can find a place on South Street that isn't under the rule of the communist SouthStreet Properties, and you can afford it, do try and live here. It's beautiful and quiet and close to downtown and very safe...for some reason the homeless and the crime kinda stays off this street. I lived under Southstreet Properties, which was a money pit, like I said, and I also lived with an independent landlord on this street. His home was beuatiful, and he rented out his first level apartment to me (he lived upstairs) for a few months while I got back on my feet financially. Great person. It's a great street if you can avoid the rule and command of SouthStreet Properties. Stuart Neighborhood: This is largely made up of KCollege kids and then the father North you go, the more you get into the hood. If you can find a place on Stuart or around there, closer to KCollege, that's great. This place is kinda like the Student Ghetto, except the homes are a little more kept up and clean, albiet a bit more pricier. I tried living over here but didn't work out. If you have money you can live downtown. Downtown, of course is going to be expensive, but certainly not as expensive as any other city. If you have roomates you may be able to find something more affordable. The apartments on Kalamazoo Mall are super nice and more for professionals who make a nice dime, but hey, if you've got it, might be worth considering. Don't live in the Prange Building. These apartments look really cool and enticing with their tall ceilings, but the landlord sucks and the maintenance is shoddy at best. I had friends who lived here and said it was overpriced and you're paying for location, that's it. If you're going to WMU or KCollege, you don't need a car. If your far from campus, you'll be able to catch a bus. Biking is highly encouraged in kzoo. Parking at WMU (I dont know about KCollege) is ridiculously overpriced and not worth it. IF YOU HAVE A DOG! I had a dog my last two years in KZOO. I like to get her exercise daily. Davis St. in the student ghetto has a HUGE HUGE HUGE patch of land that is only used by the rugby team and Ultimate frisbee team, so it's pretty much always empty. It's huge. You can go there whenever. I went there almost everyday. Many people bring their dogs here. So, anyway, Kzoo is pretty darn affordable. Great downtown atmosphere. Always festivals during the summer, almost every weekend. The downtown bars are great. There's always live music somewhere. The new Med School is downtown, too, fyi. There's a lot going on downtown right now and it's growing. Beer is a big deal. Biking is becoming bigger and bigger. Kalamazoo Coffee at Black Owl Cafe is some of the best coffee in the state, if you're into that. If you want to really get away from the downtown and college lifestyle, consider Portage (you'll have to have a car) or somewhere more toward Portage (which is South of kzoo) like Whites Rd. or Parkview (which is where the engineering college is). Avoid downtown bars such as Monoco Bay, Great Gatsby and Wild Bull--these are your more snobby nightclubs...Wild Bull is filled with mostly people from the west side of campus who want to come downtown for once a semester...It's filled with people dancing on each other and being annoying..I got stuck here one New Years and it was not fun....Kalamazoo Mall is great to walk down in the summer, filled with little boutiques and restaurants....Alamo Drafthouse is a movie theatre and it's super cool....There's a lot to do in Kzoo, so don't be deceived by its size.