NewVolunteer

To the poster who is considering UTD... I did not go to UTD but I used to live a couple blocks from the campus on the border of Dallas/Richardson. Firstly, there are a number of apartment complexes in the area that are pretty affordable. I used to live in a sizeable townhouse for about $600 a month right down the road, and I'm certain you could find smaller places that are even cheaper. Just make sure you stay away from ANY apartments on McCallum Blvd. There is one small pocket of VERY crummy, crime-infested apartments in that area, and it's located squarely on McCallum. However, the vast majority of the area around the UTD campus is really nice. It's mostly upper-middle class suburbs, so it's pretty quiet and pleasant. And given that the university is there, it's been made to be affordable to students and young people, so I have no doubt that you could easily live on your stipend.

As for your second question, as much as I hate to say it, you would probably be better off with a car in the Dallas area. There is a grocery store and several shopping centers within walking distance of UTD, so you could easily survive without a car. But Dallas as a city is a massive urban sprawl, so most people end up doing LOTS of driving. In order to enjoy what the metroplex has to offer, you'd most likely need a vehicle. The DART system is adequate but far from ideal. The DART Rail system that runs north and south is very useful, but the bus routes that connect east and west are troublesome, time consuming, and not aesthetically impressive. So you wouldn't necessarily *need* a car, but it's tough to really get acquainted with the city without one. Hope this helps!

To the poster who is considering UTD... I did not go to UTD but I used to live a couple blocks from the campus on the border of Dallas/Richardson. Firstly, there are a number of apartment complexes in the area that are pretty affordable. I used to live in a sizeable townhouse for about $600 a month right down the road, and I'm certain you could find smaller places that are even cheaper. Just make sure you stay away from ANY apartments on McCallum Blvd. There is one small pocket of VERY crummy, crime-infested apartments in that area, and it's located squarely on McCallum. However, the vast majority of the area around the UTD campus is really nice. It's mostly upper-middle class suburbs, so it's pretty quiet and pleasant. And given that the university is there, it's been made to be affordable to students and young people, so I have no doubt that you could easily live on your stipend.

As for your second question, as much as I hate to say it, you would probably be better off with a car in the Dallas area. There is a grocery store and several shopping centers within walking distance of UTD, so you could easily survive without a car. But Dallas as a city is a massive urban sprawl, so most people end up doing LOTS of driving. In order to enjoy what the metroplex has to offer, you'd most likely need a vehicle. The DART system is adequate but far from ideal. The DART Rail system that runs north and south is very useful, but the bus routes that connect east and west are troublesome, time consuming, and not aesthetically impressive. So you wouldn't necessarily *need* a car, but it's tough to really get acquainted with the city without one. Hope this helps!