College Station, TX

[sylark]

Padmapper and Apartmentguide are the best resources from my experience. 

 

I've been enjoying just thinking about what life will be like in College Station...or in a larger city in general, in addition to the populace cities nearby such as Houston and Austin.

 

Growing up in a small town, well, technically village, and attending a small university, the Aggie experience will definitely be a HUGE change in my life. 

[superbygk]

To respond to iit_chem and some other general inquiries...

 

I'm finishing up my second year of PhD studies here at A&M. I found the place I'm living both through craigslist and aggiesearch.tamu.edu. aggies search, as one of the previous posters mentioned, is run by the university, so if you're a bit hesitant to look for apartments on craigslist, aggiesearch is a good resource. There are both complexes looking for lessees and students looking for roommates on the website, so you have options.

 

I'm not an international student, but I'd still recommend living off campus if you're an international student. Chances are housing is much cheaper off campus, and you don't need to share bathrooms or things with undergrads living on-campus. Because this is a university town there are loads of housing options. I live just south of campus which is a heavily undergrad populated area, which isn't ideal for me. I plan to move to Bryan (neighboring city but pretty much CS), which is where more grad students tend to live.

 

In terms of transportation, CS is not the most bike friendly city, but I do bike when the weather permits (I just take side roads to get to places). The bus system is pretty good, too, so you can totally get to campus using the A&M buses. Here's an overview of the bus routes: http://transport.tamu.edu/BusRoutes/

 

As you can see buses go quite far off campus, so you have transportation even if you don't have a car.

 

There is one Indian restaurant in CS called Taz, which is pretty good. I'm not Indian so I can't gauge it's authenticity, but it's delicious to me =). Coming from Chicago I was pleasantly surprised at the number of good places to eat around here.

[zaphyr]

To respond to iit_chem and some other general inquiries...

 

I'm finishing up my second year of PhD studies here at A&M. I found the place I'm living both through craigslist and aggiesearch.tamu.edu. aggies search, as one of the previous posters mentioned, is run by the university, so if you're a bit hesitant to look for apartments on craigslist, aggiesearch is a good resource. There are both complexes looking for lessees and students looking for roommates on the website, so you have options.

 

I'm not an international student, but I'd still recommend living off campus if you're an international student. Chances are housing is much cheaper off campus, and you don't need to share bathrooms or things with undergrads living on-campus. Because this is a university town there are loads of housing options. I live just south of campus which is a heavily undergrad populated area, which isn't ideal for me. I plan to move to Bryan (neighboring city but pretty much CS), which is where more grad students tend to live.

 

In terms of transportation, CS is not the most bike friendly city, but I do bike when the weather permits (I just take side roads to get to places). The bus system is pretty good, too, so you can totally get to campus using the A&M buses. Here's an overview of the bus routes: http://transport.tamu.edu/BusRoutes/

 

As you can see buses go quite far off campus, so you have transportation even if you don't have a car.

 

There is one Indian restaurant in CS called Taz, which is pretty good. I'm not Indian so I can't gauge it's authenticity, but it's delicious to me =). Coming from Chicago I was pleasantly surprised at the number of good places to eat around here.

Thanks for your useful info. What about grocery stores? I am travelling from Vancouver to pursue my PhD and currently I could locate HEB which I am not familiar about it. Are there other options for grocery close to CS?

[CC2014]

To respond to iit_chem and some other general inquiries...

 

I'm finishing up my second year of PhD studies here at A&M. I found the place I'm living both through craigslist and aggiesearch.tamu.edu. aggies search, as one of the previous posters mentioned, is run by the university, so if you're a bit hesitant to look for apartments on craigslist, aggiesearch is a good resource. There are both complexes looking for lessees and students looking for roommates on the website, so you have options.

 

I'm not an international student, but I'd still recommend living off campus if you're an international student. Chances are housing is much cheaper off campus, and you don't need to share bathrooms or things with undergrads living on-campus. Because this is a university town there are loads of housing options. I live just south of campus which is a heavily undergrad populated area, which isn't ideal for me. I plan to move to Bryan (neighboring city but pretty much CS), which is where more grad students tend to live.

 

In terms of transportation, CS is not the most bike friendly city, but I do bike when the weather permits (I just take side roads to get to places). The bus system is pretty good, too, so you can totally get to campus using the A&M buses. Here's an overview of the bus routes: http://transport.tamu.edu/BusRoutes/

 

As you can see buses go quite far off campus, so you have transportation even if you don't have a car.

 

There is one Indian restaurant in CS called Taz, which is pretty good. I'm not Indian so I can't gauge it's authenticity, but it's delicious to me =). Coming from Chicago I was pleasantly surprised at the number of good places to eat around here.

 

I'm hoping to be able to bike most of the year.  I've scoped out the streets on street view and it seems as there are few with bike lanes but hopefully drivers aren't jerks on lower traffic streets.

[superbygk]

HEB is the big chain grocery store, and there are several around so one should be close to you. It's the typical supermarket chain. Kroger is also another grocery chain. If you are looking for specific things, there's a pan-Asian market in south College Station called BCS market. If you're looking for organic foods, there's a place called the Village in Bryan. Bryan also has several Latin American supermarkets as well.

 

In terms of biking, there are a few bike lanes designated in smaller streets. My route takes me through streets where the biking lane disappears, but these are generally not too busy, and there are enough bikers that drivers aren't jerks to you about riding; they'll just pass by you when they can. no biggie. One thing you should be aware of is that there are a lot of bikes on campus, so heavy traffic areas like the MSC, for instance, have few open bike racks during peak times. People sometimes keep their bikes in their offices if everybody is okay with it.

[iit_chem]

Thanks super for the informative reply. Is CS fairly self sufficient or do we need to go to Houston to get stuff like SSN, non general shopping  etc done? Also any light on the cheapest way to get to Houston and back using public transport? How safe is the campus at night with regard to mugging and stuff especially since I dont exactly look like a guy no one will mess with.

[sylark]

I am also going to CS in the Summer/Fall. 

 

There is a shuttle from CS from the Airport, to Houston. It's 28 bucks each way...or 56 bucks round trip. 

 

Texas A&M is considered one of the safer campuses in the US. Ranked around #38 of 456 universities in the U.S. 

This has much to do with the low poverty rate for the surrounding areas, and the fact that it is a college town.

 

Hope this helps. 

[CC2014]

Can anyone shed any light on Bryan's neighborhoods?  Looking at houses there, I like that a lot more than the stuff I've seen in CS but I'd rather avoid sketchy neighborhoods.

[Buck-I]

Finally decided to go to TAMU for PhD from Mays Business School. Could any one of you give a list of apartment complexes best suited for Married students with kids. I don't want to be living in an area where alot of undergrad partying happens!

[superbygk]

Sorry, dunno what ssn stands for =), but there are furniture stores and things in town, and since it's a university town used furniture is in wide circulation. There isn't an IKEA in town, though; you'll have to go to Houston if you're into IKEA stuff.

 

Like sylark said, there's a shuttle from CS to Houston, but that goes directly to the airports (Bush and Hobby); it's called Ground Shuttle. I am not aware of any bus that goes from College Station to downtown Houston or that vicinity; you'll need a car to do that.

 

CS is overall a very safe campus. We do receive notifications of robberies and sexual assaults on females on campus perhaps several times a year, so please be careful and wary. If you're a male you're not likely to be assaulted, though of course you should always be aware and use caution. I don't feel unsafe when I'm walking to the bus or biking from campus to my place during the night. Areas with constant foot traffic are general safe even during the night (like near the bus stops, MSC, Rudder area); buses run until close to midnight so chances are there are always a few people around that area.

 

Bryan has a reputation of being more sketchy than College Station, but the truth is, it all depends on the specific neighborhood. There are neighborhoods in CS that would make most people feel uncomfortable, and conversely there are neighborhoods in Bryan that are very safe. In my limited experience, the neighborhoods in Bryan close to Blinn (the community college in town) and the major intersections (Texas and Villa Maria) are quite safe, as well as some neighborhoods West of the train tracks. I've driven through other areas in Bryan which don't look sketchy at first glance either. The best thing to do is to make it down here to check it out if you are able.

 

If you want to avoid areas heavily populated with undergrads, I'd avoid complexes near Northgate on University (it's the bar area where lots of undergrads and some grad students hang out); if you're several blocks to a mile or so away noise shouldn't be a big deal. Also, some apartment complexes on Southwest Parkway have lots of undergrads and can get noisy (I know because I live on that street and it has one of the highest concentration of students riding the bus to campus). Otherwise, it again depends on the neighborhood and sometimes even the street. I don't have a family so I'm not aware of specific apartment complexes conducive to families. Sorry!

[Ungericht]

Hi guys! Great info on these tread!

I am deciding between College Station TX, Gainesville FL (UF) and Blacksburg VA ( VT). I married, 33 years, and have a dog. I am trying to getter all info I can get from the towns.

How do you guys feel about those towns, I am specially concern about my wife, not going crazy in some place with nothing to do... Any married grad student care to share any thoughts also?

Thanks

[StatsG0d]

Trying to revive this thread for the Fall 2015 applicants. 

 

I read the whole thing, and it seems like everyone's concern is how conservative people are. Personally, I care not for politics, so if people are politically conservative I could care less. But what about when it comes to having fun? Like are people so morally involved with the Bible that they are not willing to go out and have some fun? Everyone talks about partying or whatever, I just want to make sure partying doesn't mean going to the bar for a few drinks and then going home alone every time.

[AuldReekie]

Anyone else sitting there doing a ridiculous amount of googling re: College Station and TAMU? I've still got lots of schools to hear from, but TAMU was always one of my top choices..

 

Trying to revive this thread for the Fall 2015 applicants. 

 

I read the whole thing, and it seems like everyone's concern is how conservative people are. Personally, I care not for politics, so if people are politically conservative I could care less. But what about when it comes to having fun? Like are people so morally involved with the Bible that they are not willing to go out and have some fun? Everyone talks about partying or whatever, I just want to make sure partying doesn't mean going to the bar for a few drinks and then going home alone every time.

 

You'll probably be ok... https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Northgate+college+station&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=Jq3TVPfxBqfU7Aa9zYGICg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=667

Edited February 5, 2015 by AuldReekie

[Maxtini]

I am also interested in TAMU, but my concern is that I need to have a car to go to virtually everywhere in Texas, which is quite a hassle (and expensive) for me who used to riding public transportation everyday.
Being international student, I need to learn how to drive in reverse position (we drive on the left), need to pass driving test and apply for driving license, bought new car, etc... So much hassle, I imagine myself isolated in the campus for a few months before sorting them out and have enough money to buy car.

Is it difficult to obtain driving license in USA or Texas in particular?

Edited February 6, 2015 by Maxtini

[StatsG0d]

Anyone else sitting there doing a ridiculous amount of googling re: College Station and TAMU? I've still got lots of schools to hear from, but TAMU was always one of my top choices..

 

 

You'll probably be ok... https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Northgate+college+station&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=Jq3TVPfxBqfU7Aa9zYGICg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=667

Lol thanks for that. I've also been doing a lot of Googling. Pretty happy to see that you can live in the area for like $500 a month for a spacious 1br/1ba. Coming from DC, it almost seems like cheating to have rent so cheap.

 

@Maxtini: If you read the thread, it says that people don't necessarily NEED a car, but it would be difficult to not have one. Maybe you want to look into leasing a car instead of buying one. No, the driving tests in the US are not that difficult (I'm fairly certain the tests are quite similar across all states). Probably the most difficult thing on the test is parallel parking, but, at least in my home state of Indiana, you do it without a car behind you.

[dicapino]

Could someone give me brief overview of texas...............applying to texas a&m

[.letmeinplz//]

Everything is bigger in it.

[ss2player]

Everything is bigger in it.

 

Accurate.

 

But for real, A&M is in a college town: that means everything there will be associated with the university in some way. This has both good and bad points, but if you want a larger city experience, Austin and Houston are <2 hour drives from College Station. 

 

Aggies (the students there) tend to be naive but good-hearted people; people joke about them in TX but we actually take pride in the school being oddball. It's fairly diverse too, 40% of the students are non-white, so it should be more accommodating to a student from abroad. 

[StatsG0d]

Accurate.

 

But for real, A&M is in a college town: that means everything there will be associated with the university in some way. This has both good and bad points, but if you want a larger city experience, Austin and Houston are <2 hour drives from College Station. 

 

Aggies (the students there) tend to be naive but good-hearted people; people joke about them in TX but we actually take pride in the school being oddball. It's fairly diverse too, 40% of the students are non-white, so it should be more accommodating to a student from abroad. 

 

I just came back from my visit. I actually didn't think the setting was that rural. In fact, it's bigger than my hometown in Northern Indiana. Obviously it's not a city, but I would say there seems to be some good restaurants and stuff that you would expect of a town with >100,000 people.

 

The data here would suggest that you're right about the 40%, but I will say it certainly didn't feel like that on campus.

[ss2player]

The data here would suggest that you're right about the 40%, but I will say it certainly didn't feel like that on campus.

 

That's unfortunate, I wonder why? The Aggies I've met have been a diverse group, but that's just my anecdotal experience.

[AuldReekie]

Is it just me or does a lot of the housing in BCS just look quite grim?

 

Looking for somewhere that would allow me to cycle to the department. I'd be basically next door to the Bush Presidential Library, which is about as far into the 'West Campus' as you can get. 

Edited February 25, 2015 by AuldReekie

[ucdude]

What is life like in College Station? I've never been to Texas, so I have no idea what to expect of College Station/Bryan

[AuldReekie]

Working out TAMUs annual required fees and College Station is getting less attractive. Over $2000 per annum?!

[JHIE]

My partner and I will be attending TAMU in the fall. What areas should we be looking at? Goals are to stay close to campus (both engineering so near those buildings), will have one car but prefer to walk/bike, quiet graduate students, want clean/bug-free homes, yard/porch would be nice, 1-2 bedrooms and 1.5-2 bathrooms preferred. Is apartment or condo style living best to look at in this area with these goals?

[PullingOutMyHair]

Hi all, 

I am moving to the College Station / Bryan area in the Fall for a PhD program at Texas A&M. I was looking at housing and frankly, it's all so overwhelming! I'm coming from a pretty small town, so this is a lot to sort through. 

I have roommates (mostly new to the area) and we were trying to decide between: 
2818 Place
Parkway Place
The Woodlands

University Trails

If anyone has any sort of advice about these complexes, I would greatly appreciate it! 

Thank you!