Storrs, CT

[Guest Guest]

I will be at Uconn for next 5yrs, Anyone can tell me the cost of living and the social life besides the basket ball craz. Is it enough to live there with 1500 TA salary?

[Guest guest]

I'd be interested to know this too.

[Guest Guest]

I'm also curious. The two grad students I asked about entertainment were too busy even to go to a basketball game (a sacriledge at UConn). The potential advisor stressed opportunities for hiking, but I'd be very careful about it (due to the overabundance of deer ticks in CT and their likelihood of carrying Lyme).

My guess is that for serious entertainment (other than a campus play or something), you'll need to travel to a nearby city--if you have the time. The Storrs area seemed pretty rural.

[Guest df]

My brother is at Storrs as an undergrad and has been for the past few years. It seems like the social life isn't lacking there - UConn is a huge campus, with about 30k students. Now granted a lot of that will be undergrad stuff, but I'm sure there'll be stuff to do around the campus area. Hartford is probably the closest city and is less than an hour away, though I'm not sure if it's all that much better than what you'd find in Storrs.

I can't help much with cost of living - I think my brother splits rent two ways for about 600 a month or something (including utilities and cable and all that) - but that's a big I think.

[Guest guest]

Storrs is nothing but the university. It is in the middle of NOWHERE. So everything you'll experience will be university-centered. The closest city is Hartford, which is superboring. I know. I live there.

[Guest guest]

What about cost of living in Storrs (as far as groceries, alcohol, etc go).

Bars, movie theaters, regular theaters, concerts, anything?

[Guest Guest]

I think there is a grocery store or two in the towns neighboring Storrs. "Storrs" is a deceptive name. It should be called Universityville because I don't think much besides UConn is located there. Storrs (with a whopping area of 5.7 square miles) is actually part of Mansfield.

I don't know much about CT's Tolland County (where Storrs/Mansfield is located), but it certainly looks quite rural. Ironically, if you want to drink alcohol (legally, not with the minors on campus), you will have to drive for a little bit. There is a few mainstream movie theaters within 15 miles of UConn's zip code, though, so perhaps there is civilization in those areas. I have no idea what the nearest really happening town is. Most of CT's (and, in fact, New England's) cities haven't quite recovered from the Guilded Age yet. (OK, that's obviously an oversimplification.)

[Guest Gulit]

anyone can give me an idea of the rent for one bed apartments near Uconn. I know this is specific, but a general range would be helpful. Besides the locality is the cost of living(rent, food, etc) as high as other major cities. please advice

[Guest dettociao]

Check out Craigslist for Hartford and query Storrs

http://hartford.craigslist.org/cgi-bin/ ... &bedrooms=

There's the direct link

[LGrunner]

Hi all! Anyone have any advice on where to live in and around the UConn campus? I've heard that living in the Storrs might not be the best since it's full of undergrads, but I'd prefer not to have a long commute (unless I can use public transportation). I also don't want to have to worry about getting in during any snowstorm if I live further away. Any advice is very appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[storiaitaliana]

I know it's too late for LGrunner, but anyone interested in info about the Storrs area, I recommend doing a search on http://www.city-data.com/ -- lots of info there.

[Dirt]

Anyone have more info on the Storrs/UConn area? Where to rent, where not to?

[uhdare]

I too would like to know about Storrs. Are there any good places to hang out? What's there to do around there?

[TheEzrahite]

Well, I've only been up for a recruitment weekend, but I know enough to say that there is essentially nothing in Storrs itself. Grad students generally live in 1 of 2 towns: Vernon or Manchester, each about a 20-30 minute drive to campus.

[dherres]

I wanted to bump this one up in case anyone does have experience with the town, since now it's a good likelihood for me (at UConn.... ugh, I keep waffling over the two options).

[frecklez301]

I don't know anything about it either, but I am going there.....

Any advice anyone?!?!?!?!

[arod107]

I lived in Storrs for 4 years as an undergrad. When people tell you there is nothing to do there, they are right.

First of all, Storrs is only the zip code 06269 and is owned by the university. If you live off campus you are living in Mansfield (06268). There are many apartment buildings located off campus which are mostly occupied by loud partiers. DO NOT LIVE IN CARRIAGE HOUSE APARTMENTS OR CELERON APARTMENTS. During spring weekend partying cars get flipped over and lit on fire, the population triples and people walk around these two complexes. Try to stay at least 5 miles away from campus. The area is very safe pretty much everywhere. You just don't want to be around partying ungrads. Try: http://www.offcampushousing.uconn.edu/

For things to do: not much. The main road at uconn is called Storrs Rd, also Route 195. There is a Big Y grocery store, Store 24, a couple pizza places, and a mexican restaurant. There are 2 tiny bars on campus full of mostly undergrads (Huskies and Teds), and a newer, bigger bar, a stones throw from campus. If you want to go to a mall, the closest one is 45 minutes away. Buckland Hills: http://www.theshoppesatbucklandhills.co ... index2.asp

All I have to say is good luck. UCONN is a party school because there is absolutly nothing to do there but drink and sled in the cow fields.

[Dirt]

Having just returned from my first visit to UConn, I thought I might share my impressions.

While the campus is certainly isolated--there is no town to walk into, for example--it's hardly "rural" in the sense I'm accustomed to in the Midwest. I stayed in Manchester, a rather nice suburb of Hartford and only a 30 minute drive to campus (albeit mostly on winding two-lane roads). There were houses and some smaller businesses along the road basically the whole way there. There is bus service between the Storrs and the nearby town of Willimantic--closer to 45 minutes from Hartford, but with a Wal-Mart, gorcery stores, etc. Where I'm from, "rural" connotes driving for at least 15 minutes--frequently much more--without seeing anything but farmland. This is not that kind of rural.

We liked Manchester quite a bit--lots of shopping and nice apartments--but are leaning toward renting in neighboring Vernon, which seems a bit sleepier but has lower rents. Both are easily accessible with a car (traffic doesn't seem to be much of an issue). I also visited with some faculty and students who live in more isolated areas north of campus, and they seemed quite content with their situations. Willimantic, while it does have the benefit of public transportation, seems to appeal to those accustomed to smaller towns. Some people do commute from farther afield, including the western suburbs of Hartford, but traffic in that area is a consideration.

In addition to Hartford, Storrs is only about an hour from Providence, 90 minutes from Boston, and less than three hours from New York (it's an hour to the commuter line in Waterbury--$40 round trip to Grand Central). I can see how this could be infuriating to an undergrad without a car, but to me it seems very promising.

[michalis]

Hello everybody,

I've been admitted to Uconn, Storrs and I'm trying to figure out the best place to rent...

I strongly feel Vernon is the best solution, but does anyone know if there's transportation to and from campus? I couldn't find anything online. I plan to get a car as soon as I can anyway, but still this won't happen vesy soon...

thanks!

[dherres]

Hello everybody,

I've been admitted to Uconn, Storrs and I'm trying to figure out the best place to rent...

I strongly feel Vernon is the best solution, but does anyone know if there's transportation to and from campus? I couldn't find anything online. I plan to get a car as soon as I can anyway, but still this won't happen vesy soon...

thanks!

I haven't seen or heard anything suggesting this. Have you considered living on-campus? I think they have graduate student housing..... don't they?

[michalis]

Yeah actually I'm not interested in sharing, and single appartments on campus cost abt 1000$/mo. So there's no point there.

I read here that Vernon and Manchester are popular for grad students though...

[dherres]

$1000/month?? How on earth do they justify charging that given a grad student's meager salary?? :evil:

I'd much rather live alone as well. I'm going up next month to speak with other people in my program and look at apartments. If it's not too late, I'll post on here what I learn. There were some places I've heard to avoid, but I can't remember where.....

[michalis]

Well to be fair, its the single appartments with private bath 1000/month The rest are somewhat cheaper, but i'm not interested in sharing a bathroom. I really need to go to an empty home everyday and relax.

I've read online that Willimantic isn't a nice place to stay due to crime and homeless situation. Also Mansfield and Storrs are OK but isolated and relatively more expensive than the surrounding places. I see in this thread that Vernon is the most selected place for a grad and I can see why. It is an OK community, close to Manchester and Hartford, close to UConn of course also, and daily bus route to NYC. But I wouldn't mind living outside a town, but still pretty close to it...

[dherres]

I live in Atlanta right now, where Comcast and Bellsouth pretty much hold a monopoly on cable/DSL internet. Is there any service provider that's the norm in the Storrs/Hartford area, or one that somebody might recommend?

[galka8]

Okay, so my best friend (who is Russian and not on Grad cafe or any other websites where relevant info can be found) will be going to UConn for 3-4 months this winter.

Obviously, he will

a) not have a car

probably live on campus

c) want to see NY, Philly, Boston and *if I can convince him* the Atlantic.

Hence my question - I've checked out the website and all, but it assumes everyone has a car. How easy or difficult is it to get out of Storrs? Is there rail service (preferably something inexpensive) to the major Eastern cities? How reliable and decent are the buses?

And what can one do (assuming my best friend is OH SO NOT a party animal) on campus?