Grad Student Apartment/ Roomie search

[BionicKris]

Hello everyone,

I currently have the displeasure of searching for a decent apartment in the Purdue (Lafayette, West Lafayette) area. I'll be joining the PULSe program in the fall so I'm super excited. Naturally I contacted grad students there about places to live and while their answers were informative, they were all weirdly vague on where exactly the great places to live are. To make matters worse the department doesn't send out information on grad school dos and don'ts and places to live (per grad student polls) until the summer. Obviously all of the good apartments are gone by then. I'm wondering where I should live. I'd like to live within walking distance but I don't want to live near an extreme amount of undergrads if at all possible. I'm also avidly searching for a roommate. So, that being said, any advice? What are the best places to live, specifically (for those of you in the Purdue area)? How did you individually go about the roommate search and how did you go about ensuring that all parties survived the lease without wanting go into Hulk mode?

Edited March 19, 2010 by BionicKris

[rising_star]

Naturally I contacted grad students there about places to live and while their answers were informative, they were all weirdly vague on where exactly the great places to live are. To make matters worse the department doesn't send out information on grad school dos and don'ts and places to live (per grad student polls) until the summer. Obviously all of the good apartments are gone by then. I'm wondering where I should live. I'd like to live within walking distance but I don't want to live near an extreme amount of undergrads if at all possible. I'm also avidly searching for a roommate. So, that being said, any advice? What are the best places to live, specifically (for those of you in the Purdue area)? How did you individually go about the roommate search and how did you go about ensuring that all parties survived the lease without wanting go into Hulk mode?

First, let's clear up one thing. It is highly unlikely that all the good apartments are gone by the summer. I used to live in a college town, within 4 miles of campus, and didn't find my apartments (which were awesome) until July, for August 1 move-in. Furthermore, if you wait, you're likely to get a better deal since if the landlord can't rent to a student by August, they're probably facing at least 4 months of vacancy. So, the price is often flexible, or already reduced. Definitely do NOT panic.

Your best bet is to head over to the "City Guide" and see what advice people have offered in the past. You might also want to see if the university has any resources for off-campus housing. Most universities do. What you really want to know is how close to campus people live, how they commute, and the average amount they pay. Most of this can be found out using alternative resources.

[BionicKris]

First, let's clear up one thing. It is highly unlikely that all the good apartments are gone by the summer. I used to live in a college town, within 4 miles of campus, and didn't find my apartments (which were awesome) until July, for August 1 move-in. Furthermore, if you wait, you're likely to get a better deal since if the landlord can't rent to a student by August, they're probably facing at least 4 months of vacancy. So, the price is often flexible, or already reduced. Definitely do NOT panic.

Your best bet is to head over to the "City Guide" and see what advice people have offered in the past. You might also want to see if the university has any resources for off-campus housing. Most universities do. What you really want to know is how close to campus people live, how they commute, and the average amount they pay. Most of this can be found out using alternative resources.

Thanks so much for the insight! I've been to the housing site for my school multiple times and it's off campus housing sections sends me to the normal apartment search websites (apartments.com, move.com, etc). I've also been in contact with a few complexes. Of those that I've spoken with they've indicated that requests for lease renewals go out in November and most people renew by March. I'm not sure if this is a common practice or what. I'm anxious, but not quite in panic mode yet. I want to wait, but I'm worried about waiting too long. Who knew that this process would be so confusing?

[peppermint.beatnik]

Find out what your potential roommates schedule is like. First year, of my MA, I lived with a girl I didn't know beforehand. She went to bed early and got up early. I go to bed late and get up late. Needless to say, it led to a lot of conflict.

Second year I lived with a friend I made in my program. We got along much better: had same schedule and could appreciate one another's perspective.

It made everything so much easier.

[RNadine21]

I figured I'd add my own question to this topic: How are people finding roomies? I'm looking at Craig's List right now, but I wanted to know what others are doing.

[fuzzylogician]

I figured I'd add my own question to this topic: How are people finding roomies? I'm looking at Craig's List right now, but I wanted to know what others are doing.

Since I was abroad and couldn't apartment hunt in person (damn visa regulations) I sent an email to my department's grad students mailing list. Got my email forwarded to friends of some of the grads who were looking for roommates, talked to a couple of them and finally ended up rooming with a graduate student from the department. A lot of students in my department live with each other, it's very convenient for many reasons, including having a generally similar schedule, similar interests, not being too crazy, having a steady income so you don't have to worry they won't pay their part of the bills, etc..

Check and see if your university operates a university-based apartment bulletin board that only students can access - that's one way to screen out some of the crazies. Other than that, Craig's List is always a good place to look.

[gsams]

Not living with a roomie - refuse to because I am a huge neat freak and love quiet. I lived around people for the last 4 years and had 4 roommates last year. Can't do it. Still, you are in the same boat as me. I am moving to a place I don't know (more than likely). Contact the grad office and ask if they offer a roommate service (some do). The uni I am hoping to go to offers a uni match service that is really great. They have a whole questionnaire of likes/dislikes, other issues, etc. Purdue may have something like this.

I don't think you want to live close to campus. I am at IU (the sworn enemy of your school) but my Dad was a transfer from Purdue and we have friends there, so I have been to campus and so on. Unless you are not like me and don't mind noise,you will be around undergrads. I would look at the City board, as there is a good thread there. Public transit is pretty good at Purdue, although anywhere in the Midwest IMO you will need a car sooner or later. Find friends for grocery shopping and rent a zipcar if possible. Housing does fill up, though. Don't panic, but Purdue has a housing shortage on campus (or at least they did when I was applying there as a senior in high school), so many are forced off campus. Thus, rentals are a hot commodity. Call some prospective places and just ask. They will be frank with you. I am doing that right now. I, also, need to get applying because where I am going doesn't have a shortage of housing, but a shortage of GOOD, quiet housing that isn't sublet.

[daimiasue]

Hey BionicKris...I visited Purdue (and got into PULSe) but decided on somewhere else. I made a couple friends there and one told me that he knew about some good apartments that weren't listed online. PM me if you'd like to get in touch with him.

[BionicKris]

I've definitely considered not getting a roommate, but I can't get over how much money I'll be able to save if I do. It honestly depends on NSF. They are seriously taking their sweet time letting everyone know about the GRFP fellowship this year. I am not really a neat freak but I am big on things like common decency - if you break replace it, if you drink something don't leave a ml of fluid in the container and stick it back in the refrigerator - ya know, stuff like that. Having to deal with things like that is a big turnoff, but having someone to split everything with is a major plus. In the event that I do decide on a roommate, my biggest issue will be trying to weed out the crazies. I just want this process to be easy and, most importantly, over! Thanks for the feedback everyone! I wish I'd have found this website a LONG time ago!

[daimiasue]

I am looking into American Campus Communities housing. I'm hoping that they'll do the weeding out of the crazies so that I end up with decent roommates. I spend most of my time in my bedroom anyway so as long as they're not loud, untidy or inconsiderate, I'll be fine. I'm going to stick it out there for 1 year and hopefully by then I'll have car, have met people who are roommate material. I'd also be able to pick housing which I like as opposed to convenient.

[BionicKris]

I've thought about waiting until the 2nd year to get roommates as well. It's probably worth it to not risk having a terrible roommate my first year and being miserable. On the other hand, my bedroom has always been my oasis and retreat so it may not be that much of an issue. I do know that it'll be easier socially to have someone to chat with and whatnot when I get out of class/lab. It's just so difficult to make a decision. Save money or save my sanity? Hmmm....