Columbus, OH

[TrAverses]

I was in Columbus for three days trying to find an apartment and here is what I found out:

1. Rent can be fairly cheap as in two bdrm for 500 all the way to about 1200 per month.

2. From what I have seen, avoid areas south of the city. If you can't find anything on campus, look at areas north of the city, and better yet, north west.

3. The city is big. Driving 14 miles from point to point is fairly common. Fortunately, traffic is light and it only takes 20 minutes basically from the farthest two points in the city.

4. Landlords/real estate want your income to be around 3 times the rend cost.

5. I rented a 2 bdrm townhouse for $650 in an area near westerville. The place is nice.

6. Utilities cost. Obviously it depends on usage. But here are some numbers: water is about 80 to 100! If your heat and cooking is gas, expect 100 in the summer and 200 in the winter. If everything is electric, including heat, expect 100 in the summer and 200 to 300 in the winter.

In other words, if possible choose gas heating. In fact someone told me that in order to keep a three bdrm single house warm in the winter using electricity, it may cost 500 to 700 per month. I guess if you have an apartment, this is not a big issue.

7. I estimated that for every mile you live closer to campus, you can save $10 per month in car usage...so you can pay 10 dollars more in rent and still have the same net cost + convenience.

 

How did you search for apartments when you are there? I am heading down next week and some folks are mentioning that just driving around looking for rental signs could be the way to go. I haven't had the best of luck with padmapper, craigslist, metro rentals, etc since I have two small dogs. 

 

Which property did you end up going with? Just looked at a map and Westerville seems pretty far out. Did you find it necessary to go that far out for something reasonably priced? 

[sabq]

Yes, I am about 7 miles north of campus. Initially, I looked in Craigslist and Trulia. I had two days to find something. I ran into the place I rented by accident: I drove around and stopped at about 4 real estate places. Apparently, that was more productive than the internet.

The process of looking around can (and was for me) be daunting: fill out multiple application and answer a zillion questions and pay application fees ranging from $25 to $50 per adult.

[toasterazzi]

Yeah I would say electric can run pretty high in some places, especially in the winter, but water really shouldn't be very high. My husband and I have never paid more than $30-35 per month for water here. 

[doomination]

I lived in a 2 bedroom apartment, 3 people living there. Our gas bill was around 30-50 per month total, electric was from 75-110 per month total. Water, trash, sewer etc was all combined, and was around 30-45 per month total.

 

Very interesting that you have electric heat! Not many places are like that anymore.

[ssynny]

Hello everyone,

 

I have recently accepted an offer to attend graduate school at the Ohio State University starting in the fall. I have been searching for apartments in neighboring towns to Columbus, OH like Clintonville, Grandview, Victorian Village, German Village, Worthington, etc since my research found that these were the best neighborhoods to live in. However I am finding it difficult to find an apartment complex with a decent approval rating. I have found many places within my price range (less than $650 a month) but there are always a bunch of really negative comments about the place and low approval ratings.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for apartment complexes that they have lived in or know someone who has and that they would recommend for a graduate student to live in? 

 

Thank you!

 

Same! I keep thinking that I found the perfect place, and the reviews are 1.5 or 2 out of 5.... I know people really only post reviews when they've had an extreme experience, but the stuff they're saying is concerning (bugs, thin walls, etc.). Any specific recommendations for apartments in the places the previous poster listed above? 

[sam0_o]

On 6/16/2015 at 10:19 AM, ssynny said:

Same! I keep thinking that I found the perfect place, and the reviews are 1.5 or 2 out of 5.... I know people really only post reviews when they've had an extreme experience, but the stuff they're saying is concerning (bugs, thin walls, etc.). Any specific recommendations for apartments in the places the previous poster listed above? 

I asked a current student I met on my interview.  The ratings for the complex I chose are still bad, but I'm sure it wouldn't have been recommended it if was an absolute nightmare.  Hopefully, when the lease is up next year I'll be able to buy/rent a better place. 

[VMcJ]

Hello, everyone. I'm going to OSU next autumn! Bumping this thread to ask how things are in Columbus by now. No major changes, I guess?

Is it possible to find affordable and safe housing or there will be some compromising? (I've been looking into rentals and the vicinity of Indianola Ave seems to be dangerous but cheaper -- while Clintonville and Grandview are nice but tend to be above my price range)

And affordable places to eat, are there any or am I stuck with fast-food and cooking at home? (OSU's meal plans are definitely not attractive and restaurants do not seem to be an everyday solution)

[CalicoCat]

On 3/24/2017 at 8:17 AM, VMcJ said:

Hello, everyone. I'm going to OSU next autumn! Bumping this thread to ask how things are in Columbus by now. No major changes, I guess?

Is it possible to find affordable and safe housing or there will be some compromising? (I've been looking into rentals and the vicinity of Indianola Ave seems to be dangerous but cheaper -- while Clintonville and Grandview are nice but tend to be above my price range)

And affordable places to eat, are there any or am I stuck with fast-food and cooking at home? (OSU's meal plans are definitely not attractive and restaurants do not seem to be an everyday solution)

I completed my undergrad at OSU. Definitely possibly to find affordable/safe housing! Indianola Ave is not what I would consider dangerous at all. it's an area that a lot of undergrads live in. on the east side of campus I would say stay west of 4th ave, south of Hudson, and north of maybe 8th ave. You may be able to find some cheaper suburb areas (Grandview and Clintonville are some of the more expensive ones) and I would advise staying away from south east of Columbus. I currently live northwest of campus. TONS of good eating in Columbus. We're a bunch of foodies I'd say. Lots of quick options on High St and near campus. I would advise against a meal plan. I did mostly cooking during the week and will adventure out to places for food on the weekends.

[GCBrittany]

Hello! I applied to OSU and am trying to research living options if I get accepted. I've seen some suggestions a few years ago, but I'm wondering if you have any suggestions for me that are updated a bit... thank you!

I will need to live off campus, as I am married with an 11yo. Also we have two small dogs, so pets allowed is a must.

We haven't lived in an apartment for a while, we'd like to keep in a duplex/town-home/private entrance sort of thing.  I'd like to keep the rent under $900mo and would prefer it to be in a good school system for the kiddo.

Also, does anyone know anybody that is in the restaurant management business around town that is familiar of places that might be looking for a manager starting this summer, or maybe places to avoid, etc? (For the spouse )

Thanks for any help!

[kachokie]

Hi y'all! I just got accepted to OSU for PhD in Linguistics. I'm a single female and trying to figure out where might be a decent place to live, that's safe. I'll be looking at about 20,000 per year in stipend probably, so I'm flexible. I'd be open to living solo, studio, one bedroom, or in a 2 or 3 bed room as long as they have separate baths (I have a cat and don't want to shove litterboxes upon others lol). Where are good places to be looking? What prices should I be expecting? 

TLDR; Need tips on places to live safely as a young female. 

[Adriane Swetland]

On 1/18/2018 at 9:23 PM, kachokie said:

Hi y'all! I just got accepted to OSU for PhD in Linguistics. I'm a single female and trying to figure out where might be a decent place to live, that's safe. I'll be looking at about 20,000 per year in stipend probably, so I'm flexible. I'd be open to living solo, studio, one bedroom, or in a 2 or 3 bed room as long as they have separate baths (I have a cat and don't want to shove litterboxes upon others lol). Where are good places to be looking? What prices should I be expecting? 

TLDR; Need tips on places to live safely as a young female. 

The best place to live for young professionals is in Grandview or Victorian Village. Both are super close to OSU, and easily accessible by car, bus, or bike! Prices range as well. There are a lot of luxury apartments popping up that would cost around 1600 a month for a two bedroom, single bedrooms range from 750-1300. Either way your are looking at least 700$ a month. If you find it cheaper it will be further away or poor quality. Grandview and Victorian Village are also a 3-5 minute uber ride from downtown and the short north.

[amayadoli]

On 2018/1/18 at 10:23 PM, kachokie said:

Hi y'all! I just got accepted to OSU for PhD in Linguistics. I'm a single female and trying to figure out where might be a decent place to live, that's safe. I'll be looking at about 20,000 per year in stipend probably, so I'm flexible. I'd be open to living solo, studio, one bedroom, or in a 2 or 3 bed room as long as they have separate baths (I have a cat and don't want to shove litterboxes upon others lol). Where are good places to be looking? What prices should I be expecting? 

TLDR; Need tips on places to live safely as a young female. 

Honestly, the grad housing on campus could be worst. The buildings on Neil Ave. and at Gateway are quite new, and because you're in the Linguistics department, if you lived at the one on Neil you'd be literally a block and a half from Oxley Hall. The main downside is that it's exceedingly expensive (~$800/mo and up) for what you're actually getting with the apartment. I lived in grad housing for a year when I started here, and minus the cost, it was pretty pleasant.

Off-campus, I'd suggest Harrison West, Victorian Village, Grandview, or Clintonville. Harrison West and Victorian Village are both right next to each other, and on the lower end you can expect to pay about ~$900/mo for a two bedroom (I split a $1000/mo townhome with my spouse in this area). Clintonville is a bit north of campus, but it's right on the Olentangy River bike trail, which makes for a super pleasant commute if you like biking. I've also had a number of colleagues who have lived in Grandview, and they had nothing but nice things to say about it, though it's a bit harder to bike to campus from there since it's on the other side of a large highway.

I feel reasonably safe walking in all these locations at night, and each of them is on one of the bus routes.

[Always]

17 hours ago, amayadoli said:

Honestly, the grad housing on campus could be worst. The buildings on Neil Ave. and at Gateway are quite new, and because you're in the Linguistics department, if you lived at the one on Neil you'd be literally a block and a half from Oxley Hall. The main downside is that it's exceedingly expensive (~$800/mo and up) for what you're actually getting with the apartment. I lived in grad housing for a year when I started here, and minus the cost, it was pretty pleasant.

Off-campus, I'd suggest Harrison West, Victorian Village, Grandview, or Clintonville. Harrison West and Victorian Village are both right next to each other, and on the lower end you can expect to pay about ~$900/mo for a two bedroom (I split a $1000/mo townhome with my spouse in this area). Clintonville is a bit north of campus, but it's right on the Olentangy River bike trail, which makes for a super pleasant commute if you like biking. I've also had a number of colleagues who have lived in Grandview, and they had nothing but nice things to say about it, though it's a bit harder to bike to campus from there since it's on the other side of a large highway.

I feel reasonably safe walking in all these locations at night, and each of them is on one of the bus routes.

Really?? I am an international student and will be starting my graduate program from this fall. And I thought I better choose on campus housing over off campus. As an international student, it would be hard to find an off campus housing. As far as I can tell, most houses are even not furnished, which means I need to set up an house prior to my arrival on Columbus!!

That is why I thought it'd be literally impossible. So for an alternative option, I would like to stay on campus for a quarter or something and I will move out with the information which I would get by actually living there.

Is it a bad decision??

It seems like I already made a decision by myself, but I am literally open to any options. Thank you in advance.

[amayadoli]

On 3/13/2018 at 10:04 AM, Always said:

Really?? I am an international student and will be starting my graduate program from this fall. And I thought I better choose on campus housing over off campus. As an international student, it would be hard to find an off campus housing. As far as I can tell, most houses are even not furnished, which means I need to set up an house prior to my arrival on Columbus!!

That is why I thought it'd be literally impossible. So for an alternative option, I would like to stay on campus for a quarter or something and I will move out with the information which I would get by actually living there.

Is it a bad decision??

It seems like I already made a decision by myself, but I am literally open to any options. Thank you in advance.

On campus is definitely easier! That was one of the reasons I chose it actually--I was moving back to Columbus from abroad, and I didn't have the chance to look for any off campus housing. The quality of it is definitely not bad since it was all built recently. But, if you're in the humanities/social sciences, the rent for on campus housing is basically half the monthly stipend. It's not bad for a year, but living there makes it basically impossible to put any money in savings. 

Another option, if you don't mind living around undergraduates, is trying the University Village (http://universityvillage.com/). It's off-campus, and a good bit cheaper than on-campus housing, and there's a dedicated University Village bus that runs to and from campus from the complex. A lot of international students live here because it's easy to arrange from overseas, and the majority of the apartments seem to be furnished.

[SomeoneThrewMyShoe]

Current OSU Students: Is the gym super crowded? I know there's multiple gyms/athletic centers that students have access too but with so many people is it constantly packed?

is it worth the while paying for another gym in Columbus for peace of mind/not having to wait forever for a machine?

 

[AB121212]

On 4/18/2018 at 5:20 PM, SomeoneThrewMyShoe said:

Current OSU Students: Is the gym super crowded? I know there's multiple gyms/athletic centers that students have access too but with so many people is it constantly packed?

is it worth the while paying for another gym in Columbus for peace of mind/not having to wait forever for a machine?

 

It's really about what time you go. 4-9 pm will be packed, the mornings are practically empty. If you google each facility, it will give you a basic idea of when not to go using the popular times feature. I also recommend going to the ARC instead of the RPAC/JON/JOS, as it's on far west campus where undergrads living on campus tend not to go.

[jmaginary]

On 3/19/2006 at 5:28 PM, Guest mary said:

FYI: Most grad students live in Victorian Village, the Short North, Clintonville, or Grandview. There are lots of organic food stores, including Wild Oats, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, the Clintonville Co-op, and the Sunflower - a new store is scheduled to open near campus this summer, too.

Is this still true?  I'm waiting on acceptance and will hopefully be moving to Columbus with my wife, so we're looking for something a bit larger than a downtown 1BR place.  Short North seems expensive, as does Victorian Village.  We've been kind of eyeing northwest Columbus and Dublin as well, mostly for affordability.

[huskypsych]

On 2/13/2019 at 1:29 PM, jmaginary said:

Is this still true?  I'm waiting on acceptance and will hopefully be moving to Columbus with my wife, so we're looking for something a bit larger than a downtown 1BR place.  Short North seems expensive, as does Victorian Village.  We've been kind of eyeing northwest Columbus and Dublin as well, mostly for affordability.

This reply is probably far overdue, but you're correct. Those areas cited are very trendy, but they're expensive. I currently live in the Short North on a research assistant budget, but it's tight.  If you're looking for a larger place, your best bet is probably to look to some distal neighborhoods or suburbs, which the NW area of the city or Dublin fit. Feel free to PM me (this is aimed at any future people reading this comment too lol).

 

[palyndrone]

I'm moving to Columbus without a car and a good number of the more affordable 1bed/studio apartments nearby are around south campus--any ideas how livable this area is for a phd student on a stipend? There's a good number of units in the 500-600/month range, but if the streets are gonna be running with bud light during football season i'm happy to bus in from somewhere cheaper and a little farther away

[huskypsych]

19 hours ago, palyndrone said:

I'm moving to Columbus without a car and a good number of the more affordable 1bed/studio apartments nearby are around south campus--any ideas how livable this area is for a phd student on a stipend? There's a good number of units in the 500-600/month range, but if the streets are gonna be running with bud light during football season i'm happy to bus in from somewhere cheaper and a little farther away

The area immediately surrounding campus is cheap and a good mix of graduate students definitely do live in the area. If you are looking to avoid an undergraduate alcohol-fueled shitshow every Saturday in the Fall, I would avoid the area bordered by High Street, Summit Street (or even 4th St), 11th Ave, and Lane Ave. West of High Street is much calmer, though there are still rowdy pockets on the streets immediately bordering campus. I lived on Southwest campus for all of my years in undergrad and it was a pretty balanced mix of (mostly) chill undergrads and graduate students. 

[palyndrone]

@buckeyepsych That's really useful to know, thanks! If you use them at all, how would you say the bus systems are? 

[huskypsych]

1 minute ago, palyndrone said:

@buckeyepsych That's really useful to know, thanks! If you use them at all, how would you say the bus systems are? 

The OSU specific buses run pretty frequently during business hours and are great for getting around campus. The Columbus bus system (COTA) is fairly expansive and free to OSU students. The city is not very public transport friendly considering its size (no bus lanes, rail transit, etc.). People can and do use the bus exclusively, but it's definitely a slower method than driving around and the schedules/frequency are not the best. 

[The Maritime Scholar]

I'm looking at off-campus housing for OSU, and I'm wondering if there's a list that someone can give me of my options. I'm interested in either a studio or a one-bedroom apartment that is furnished and includes a washer/dryer. 

If anyone can give me any advice, that'd be great.

Also, I've been looking at the housing on campus in the Gateway apartments. The price is great, and it includes everything I need. It's right on campus too, so that's perfect. Does anyone who has lived there have any thoughts on it? What was your experience living there?

Any info on housing will be appreciated!