East Lansing, MI

[alanc]

I was able to get a cute little 4 bedroom house with a yard, basement, and garage for $850 in a cute and quiet neighborhood just west of east lansing.  I am only 3.5 miles from campus...

3.5 miles west of campus is not a place that I would go out after dark. Did you visit the neighborhood at midnight? If you're along Mt. Hope, down to maybe Pennsylvania, you're okay, if you're near Kalamazoo or north of that it's not a place you will want to live. If the bike path is the river trail don't plan on ever coming home after dark, you will be mugged or assaulted. It's okay during the day but after dark it's taken over by prostitution, drug dealers, gangs, and homeless camps. There's a really good reason you got a 4 bedroom house for $850. Lansing is in the top 10% of dangerous places to live in the US. You are 4 times as likely to be a victim of violent crime in Lansing as you are in E. Lansing and twice as likely to be the victim of property crime. If you live alone and you are out for extended periods your home will be burglarized. If you are female, as your name suggests, I hope you are not planning on living alone.

[ritapita]

3.5 miles west of campus is not a place that I would go out after dark. Did you visit the neighborhood at midnight? If you're along Mt. Hope, down to maybe Pennsylvania, you're okay, if you're near Kalamazoo or north of that it's not a place you will want to live. If the bike path is the river trail don't plan on ever coming home after dark, you will be mugged or assaulted. It's okay during the day but after dark it's taken over by prostitution, drug dealers, gangs, and homeless camps. There's a really good reason you got a 4 bedroom house for $850. Lansing is in the top 10% of dangerous places to live in the US. You are 4 times as likely to be a victim of violent crime in Lansing as you are in E. Lansing and twice as likely to be the victim of property crime. If you live alone and you are out for extended periods your home will be burglarized. If you are female, as your name suggests, I hope you are not planning on living alone.

 

Yes, I am confident in my choice. But thanks for implying that I am daft in my efforts. You make it sound as if the majority of Lansing is some awful ghetto that we females will violently perish in once we arrive. Why bother to go to school there if there is no real safe place to live? I am an extremely resourceful person that does their homework and am able to work well in dealing with real estate and landlords.  The entire area I am in is full of higher end housing and friendly retired folks and families. I feel very safe and very confident that I, as a multiple home owner and landlord myself, can navigate finding a safe place to live, and as a result pass on 2 cents worth of advice.  I got a cute (small!... size, not neighborhood = lower cost) 4 bedroom house for that price because I do my research, and network and talk to people.  (and the bike bath is not the river trail). My point with my post was that if you do a bit of research in certain ways, you can find other options. There are many ways to approach a move. Doing thorough research is one of them.  How about pulling up crime stats from the police department when considering an address? Do you know you can do this for Lansing and pull up all crime for a 5 mile radius of an address?  Maybe this could have helped you, if you feel so unsafe.  Your post makes it seem like you are having quite the miserable experience there.  I don't know about you, but I'm good.  Somehow I feel like I am leaving this post unnecessarily defensive....thanks....from a successful, secure, and intelligent female. 

[anthrohis7092]

Hi everyone,

 

I am looking for a studio or a one-bedroom apartment, preferably near campus. If not, I would try to look for a place near from a bus stop. I am still debating whether I should get a car. Would you give me some suggestions in terms of where to start? What are some of the reliable management companies in the regions that I can look into? Thanks in advance!

[futuregradstudent1923]

Hi,

 

I'm planning to move to East Lansing for graduate school for Los Angeles and was hoping some of you may be able to address some of my questions or generally offer tips:

 

1) What are reputable apartment/studio complexes near campus? If possible looking to live alone for a max of $700 a month. Also open for living arrangements with roommates but probably not more then 1 or 2 people.

2) Do most apartments come with built in heaters/AC? 

3) Experiences with owning a car/driving and public transit around Lansing? 

4) Any other suggestions for a California girl moving to MI? 

 

Thanks in advance! 

 

[gradcatsgradhats]

Hi!

I attended undergrad at Michigan State University. 

1) DTN definitely owns most of the apartments buildings/complexes around the immediate MSU area. I think you can for sure find a single apartment near campus for $700/month or less. It might be close to $700/month, but it's doable. If you're willing to drive 10-15 minutes to campus, you'll find some (possibly) cheaper options like Chandler Crossings. 

2) Yes, most come with built in heaters/AC. 

3) It's fairly easy to own a car in East Lansing. You can buy a parking pass for different ramps, and it's not too expensive. Parking in ramps and non-metered spots are free after 6 pm and on weekends usually. There's a bus system called CATA. When I went to MSU, a semester pass was $50. Some apartment complexes like Chandler Crossings will provide free bus passes when you sign a lease with them. Bus stops all over campus and buses come around regularly. There are bus stops all over EL too. You can get to the mall and the grocery store on the bus. 

4) Get a good winter coat and boots. The campus is huge and you'll probably be walking around a lot. I'd also suggest getting a pair of gloves, a hat, and a scarf. MSU students are generally nice people. Good diversity, but you do run into some ignorant people since the student population is so big. Attend at least one home football game, basketball game, and enjoy the beautiful campus! 

I'm happy to answer more questions  Welcome to the Spartan family! 

[gradcatsgradhats]

Forgot to add: My friend currently lives in an apartment off Oak and Beal St. (across from campus) owned by Musselman Realty. It's just two people in the apartment and rent is really cheap! I think she pays $300-$400/month. Her apartment has two huge bedrooms, one bath (two sinks).  

[futuregradstudent1923]

Thank you so much! This information helped very much!  I'll be sure to reach out to you if I have any more questions. 

[Skyride Season]

On 3/11/2006 at 0:36 AM, Guest said:

Why don't you recommend living in Lansing? Just curious; I'm considering MSU and I have no idea where to start with housing....

I live in Lansing and I love it. It's grubby, it's inexpensive, it's kinda weird at times. But I'm a grubby, cheap, weird person, so that may be why... If you are looking for cheap housing, you're not fussy, and you don't mind commuting by bus, bike, or car, then Lansing a great alternative to EL (which is comparatively more expensive). I lived in EL for undergrad, and it significantly contributed to my student debt even though I worked full time in the summers and part time all year. Food, rent, entertainment-- everything is more expensive in EL. It's true, though, Lansing can be pretty boring if you want to be around other students, and it's horribly drab in the wintertime.

[Skyride Season]

On 4/16/2015 at 1:39 AM, anthrohis7092 said:

Hi everyone,

 

I am looking for a studio or a one-bedroom apartment, preferably near campus. If not, I would try to look for a place near from a bus stop. I am still debating whether I should get a car. Would you give me some suggestions in terms of where to start? What are some of the reliable management companies in the regions that I can look into? Thanks in advance!

Fair warning about parking on/near campus: it can be very difficult to find a spot, and it tends to be very expensive. EL and MSU parking police are notorious for ticketing and towing. Almost every Spartan I know has a story about being ticketed in some ridiculous situation (e.g. they dozed off in their car, woke up 5 minutes later to find a ticket on the windshield, that kind of thing). I highly recommend getting a bike! There are bike lanes on all the major roads on campus, there is an MSU bike shop that does repairs and has tools handy if you want to do your own, and bike racks are unlimited.  

[Skyride Season]

On 3/25/2015 at 7:21 PM, ritapita said:

 

Yes, I am confident in my choice. But thanks for implying that I am daft in my efforts. You make it sound as if the majority of Lansing is some awful ghetto that we females will violently perish in once we arrive. Why bother to go to school there if there is no real safe place to live? I am an extremely resourceful person that does their homework and am able to work well in dealing with real estate and landlords.  The entire area I am in is full of higher end housing and friendly retired folks and families. I feel very safe and very confident that I, as a multiple home owner and landlord myself, can navigate finding a safe place to live, and as a result pass on 2 cents worth of advice.  I got a cute (small!... size, not neighborhood = lower cost) 4 bedroom house for that price because I do my research, and network and talk to people.  (and the bike bath is not the river trail). My point with my post was that if you do a bit of research in certain ways, you can find other options. There are many ways to approach a move. Doing thorough research is one of them.  How about pulling up crime stats from the police department when considering an address? Do you know you can do this for Lansing and pull up all crime for a 5 mile radius of an address?  Maybe this could have helped you, if you feel so unsafe.  Your post makes it seem like you are having quite the miserable experience there.  I don't know about you, but I'm good.  Somehow I feel like I am leaving this post unnecessarily defensive....thanks....from a successful, secure, and intelligent female. 

I have frequently found that a major reason white people in EL are afraid to live in (or even travel to) Lansing is because Lansing has a proportionally greater number of Black people living there. i.e. racism. That being said... The more EL folks who move to Lansing to commute to EL, the more gentrification will become a problem in Lansing. It is already happening in certain areas. So you may want to keep your newfound neighborhood on the DL...  

[gradcatsgradhats]

17 hours ago, futuregradstudent1923 said:

Thank you so much! This information helped very much!  I'll be sure to reach out to you if I have any more questions. 

You're welcome! 

[bhr]

I live in Lansing proper (Waverly, to be precise), and it's only about a 10 minute drive in. I wanted to live in more of an adult area.

Around campus there are a lot of decent, affordable options. Talk to your program/current grad students to vet specific places/landlords. Downtown Lansing (between EL and the Capital), REOtown, and Old Town are all popular grad student places, and are on bus routes. Lots of folks in my department live along Saginaw north of Downtown, usually in 2-3 person shared houses/townhomes.

Depending on your funding (there's a big gap for science vs humanities) you may even want to talk to a realtor about buying. I nearly did over the summer, but with only 3 years left it didn't work for me number wise. If you are planning to be in town for 5-6 years it's definitely worth considering buying (you can find a nice condo in REO for under $100k, or buy further out a bit).

The thing to know is that MSU is the biggest campus in the country, with something like 50,000 students, so East Lansing is pretty much all varying levels of student housing. Most faculty live east of campus (Okemos, Williamston, Haslett) or south (Mason), but there are some decent apartments there too (and the CATA bus runs right into campus). Meanwhile Lansing is the state capital and an aging industrial center, with all the things that go along with that.

As was said elsewhere, buy some good winter boots (warm, not just stylish), and a heavy jacket. Also invest in some YakTrax (basically tire chains for your shoes) for those icy days.

DM me if you have any other questions.

[SMaric]

Hi everyone!

I'm enrolling in MSU's PhD program this Summer, so i am interested in understanding the city a little bit more.

First, what are some interesting entertainment avenues (bars, pubs, clubs, bowling alleys etc)?

Secondly, what sort of living accommodations do you recommend? I know it's a personal preference type of thing, but for example, are there companies that do match you with potential roommates? What are housing rates that are appropriate (I'm thinking without roommates at first)? It doesn't need to be fancy, but it has to be close to the school or at least close to the bus lines as I won't drive.

Also, since I am an international student, how does the lease work? Do I use the stipend papers I will receive in the future as proof of income and that's it or do they usually require something else (deposit maybe)?

Thanks.

[cogpsych94]

I may be moving to East Lansing in the fall and wondered if there is any current advice on good/affordable housing options in East Lansing and any other opinions on the city as a whole?

[Intigrity]

Hey there,

I am a new graduate student at MSU who is currently looking for an affordable apartment/roommate at MSU, East Lansing  campus. Any ideas or help will be appreciated. Thanks in advance for your responses.

[Amandelqamar]

I will start my PhD in Chemistry in Michigan State, however as I am looking for a place to rent I don't know what should be my limit for the rent as I couldn't find any average cost of living. They told me that ''The current annualized stipend for first year graduate students is $25,924, paid on a bi-weekly basis.(for 2019-2020) '' and '' Based on the anticipated increase, a 12-month stipend for the 2020-2021 academic year will be $26,442. ''. But I also couldn't find any information about taxes as I am an international student. If anyone with experience would help me, I would be glad ^.^

[keesby]

On 4/9/2020 at 9:30 PM, Amandelqamar said:

I will start my PhD in Chemistry in Michigan State, however as I am looking for a place to rent I don't know what should be my limit for the rent as I couldn't find any average cost of living. They told me that ''The current annualized stipend for first year graduate students is $25,924, paid on a bi-weekly basis.(for 2019-2020) '' and '' Based on the anticipated increase, a 12-month stipend for the 2020-2021 academic year will be $26,442. ''. But I also couldn't find any information about taxes as I am an international student. If anyone with experience would help me, I would be glad ^.^

Are you looking for a house or an apartment? Houses are typically 700-1200 per month, depending on how close to campus the house is. The apartments around campus can be a little more pricey. The ones along grand river are very expensive, especially for a studio or 1 bed 1 bath are about 1100-1200 per month. As you get further away, prices start to drop some more, so if you have a car I'd recommend doing that.