College Station, TX

[sleepingdogmatist]

I've received a PhD offer from Texas A&M with tuition plus a $13k stipend per year for six years (yeah, as you can probably guess, it's in the humanities). Though I understand that College Station's cost of living is well below the national average, I'm not sold on the idea of being able to live comfortably on that amount of money. I think it's probably an extremely bad career move for me to attempt to work at all during my time as a graduate student--including the summers, as this is when I'm planning on trying to do intensive language study, etc.--so I don't think there would be much of any supplementary income I could add on. Could one make this amount of money work without loans? Would I be miserably poor? What are grocery prices like? How much is the typical bill in a decent restaurant? I'm single (and not a parent), so the money is just going toward my own expenses.. well, except for my dog. Speaking of which, are there any dog parks in town?

If any of this stuff is already covered, my bad.. I didn't see it.

[publicpolicy79]

I don't live in College Station yet (going for Political Science) but I can speak to cost-of-living in the wider region. And honestly, it's all about expectations and what you are used to paying. I grew up in OK but lived on the East Coast for seven years after undergrad, so to me groceries, rent, gasoline, beer, etc. are ridiculously cheap in OK/TX. I think you can live off the stipend you mentioned, assuming you don't have other outstanding debt (car payments, credit cards, etc). The harder part might be finding a place that accepts your dog without additional pet rent.

There are tons of cheaper places to eat too. Goodness knows you can get cheap (GOOD) barbecue in Texas. Plus places like Freebird's are cheap and one burrito from there can serve as your entire food for the day.

So I'd say it is doable but it will be stretch. I wouldn't necessarily call it "comfortable", but again I worked for several years and made real money, so I think I have a higher expectation for comfort than most PhD students...

[texcards]

I think its possible to live on $13K. I currently live in a 3 bdrm house where the total rent is $850 and my share of bills (cable/internet/electric/gas) are about $85 in the winter and $110 in the summer. So thats $368-393 a month for a place to live and I'm sure you could live on $100 a week or less for groceries if you do it right. But, in college station you will almost certainly need a car to get around so thats another cost to consider.

[lifeincartoonmotion]

13 is definitely enough for College Station, especially if you have roommates.

I disagree about the car. It is very easy to get around without one. There is a bus system that pretty much runs 27/7 and has stop ALL around town. I know a family with two boys who gave up their car for a year and did fine biking and bus riding. The bus is also free, student or not.

Could one make this amount of money work without loans? Would I be miserably poor? What are grocery prices like? How much is the typical bill in a decent restaurant? I'm single (and not a parent), so the money is just going toward my own expenses.. well, except for my dog. Speaking of which, are there any dog parks in town?

I spend about $100 on groceries a month and could probably go much cheaper. I usually spend 10 max at a restaurant. Research park is where most people take their dogs, it's down past West Campus. There are also plenty of city parks to consider.

[sleepingdogmatist]

Public, texcards, and ielah--thanks a ton for your advice. The word on restaurants and grocery bills is a big help, honestly. Although I've become a bit soured on roommates during undergrad, I might give it a shot again and see what happens.

I don't have any outstanding debt at this point, but that's also at the expense of not having a car. If I end up in CS, then I'll probably try not having a car for a year, and then buy one if I find I really need it. And the bus is free? Aces.

[aginath]

sleeping, check the current off-campus bus routes: http://transport.tamu.edu/transit/routemaps/offcampus.pdf. That should help you with determining how to get around town. There's also the Brazos Transit District (http://www.btd.org/BryanCollegeStation.htm), but it's not free.

Personally, I've taken to hanging out in Downtown Bryan as I've gotten older (and more liberal). Revolution on Main St has an awesome outdoor patio area. You occasionally find someone with their dog out there and they have never minded when we bring in pizza from Mr. G's around the corner (then again, Mr. G is the owner's dad). For coffee and the like, I prefer Village Cafe on 26th.

There is a large dog park at the end of West Ridge Rd towards the south side of College Station. It's one of the large fenced-in parks where you can turn your dog loose and chat with other owners while they play.

[boneh3ad]

Does anyone know if many apartments allow grills? That would be a strong selling point for me.

[aginath]

Darlin' this is Texas. Not owning a grill is a violation of the state constitution. :wink:

Actually, I don't know of any complexes off hand that don't allow them, and I recall the California law raising a big ruckus around here. Still, to be sure, I'm asking the good folks of http://www.myBCS.com just in case. I haven't lived in apartment in so long that it could be a new city ordinance or complex rule.

[aginath]

And the response is in...

In College Station you cannot have a gas grill on the balcony of a multifamily structure, i.e. apartments; they are prohibited. The only grill you can store on a balcony is a charcoal grill. Use of any grill is prohibited within 10 feet of any structure.

[boneh3ad]

Well that is ok I suppose. I will have to do an apartment for at least the first year, so who knows what their individual rules will be, but hopefully grill friendly.

[capnganch]

Does anyone know anything about Holleman by the Park?

[aginath]

Can't say I've heard anything bad about them. I had a friend who lived in the fourplexes to the west of HbtP years ago without any issues and another friend lived off of Holik at Holleman and loved it.

The location is fairly close to campus (straight shot up Anderson) and right behind HEB and Target. It's a highly populate student area, so expect HEB to be PACKED.

If you'd like to keep looking, this is one of the more useful websites.

http://www.bcsaa.com/

[boneh3ad]

Well I signed my life away via lease the other day. Talk about buyer's remorse. I think I might have to take out a loan and get a condo like the next 4 years so that maybe I can try to at least come close to breaking even. And I figure if I buy low soon, it won't be so expensive, and maybe the housing market will recover in the next 5 years and I can actually turn a profit. Hey, it could happen...

[aginath]

It truly is a buyer's market...there are PLENTY of properties for sale right now...And I say this having had my house up for sale for almost 8 weeks now.

[boneh3ad]

Yeah I wish I had the time to buy instead of rent for the first year, but not being that familiar with the area and not having time for the summer, I couldn't go do a halfway decent job of shopping for a real place.... Apartment it is...

[Bobb Cobb]

Does anyone have anything new to add for CS? Any new cool places to hang out or live?

[jlloyd87]

Does anyone have anything new to add for CS? Any new cool places to hang out or live?

I really like College Station a lot. As far as cool places to hang out are concerned, it depends on what you like to do. There is always things going on on-campus. Off campus they have North Gate which is just a 1/4-mile stretch with a bunch of restaurants and a few bars that host concerts. Dancing is HUGE down there. Everybody that I know that is down there goes country dancing. There are 3 places specifically for country dancing that I can think of and probably more. If that is not your thing then you should probably stay away from the College Station Thursday nightlife. Austin/Houston are both only two hours away and are not difficult drives. I went there for two years during my undergrad and it would have been an amazing experience if I hadn't joined the Corps of Cadets.

[delphi]

Well, my sister went to TAMU for her undergraduate. I never really even considered going there, even though they have a great program in my degree/specialization, because I just couldn't stomach the idea of living in College Station.

Then again, I did go to Univ. of Texas for my undergrad.

On the plus side, it is incredibly cheap. Perhaps you could make up for the fact that there is literally nothing to do there with being able to get a 3 bedroom house for $700 a month.

It depends on what you mean by livable. I got my masters from TAMU, and its a good education. However, it's a super small town with a small town mentality, there isn't much to do if you do not want to drink with the undergrads on Northgate, and some of the rumors about this place are true if you are any type of minority. But it is a cheap place to live.

Edited February 18, 2010 by delphi

[Bobb Cobb]

It depends on what you mean by livable. I got my masters from TAMU, and its a good education. However, it's a super small town with a small town mentality, there isn't much to do if you do not want to drink with the undergrads on Northgate, and some of the rumors about this place are true if you are any type of minority. But it is a cheap place to live.

Fair enough. Does anyone have any suggestions on places to live or areas that are good/not good?

[joro]

Also interested in places to live. Well, I actually plan on living in the on campus apartments since I've never really experienced "on campus life" during my undergrad. And the price for these apartments are less than half of what my undergrad charged.

[jlloyd87]

Fair enough. Does anyone have any suggestions on places to live or areas that are good/not good?

They do have on-campus apartments which I don't know much about. There are a lot of apartment complexes out there, but definitely look at the houses if you are interested in relatively low-cost and close to campus. There are many many houses that are maybe 1/2 mile from the campus and are pretty cheap. If you are concerned with safety then common sense will suit you well in your search. Personally, I would stick to living in College Station. Bryan isn't horrible, but avoid the apartments and stick with houses if you go to Bryan.

@joro: The on-campus apartments are a good choice from what I understand. They are primarily grad students and married students if I remember correctly. If you want the on-campus experience then definitely make your way on-campus during the week before classes begin. A&M offers a lot of activities for students that have moved in. I never got to attend these events because of the corps, but my friends have told me amazing things.

[joro]

@joro: The on-campus apartments are a good choice from what I understand. They are primarily grad students and married students if I remember correctly. If you want the on-campus experience then definitely make your way on-campus during the week before classes begin. A&M offers a lot of activities for students that have moved in. I never got to attend these events because of the corps, but my friends have told me amazing things.

Thanks. I've been looking at the new ones being built and just anxiously awaiting my acceptance (if it is coming to me). I plan on moving in at least a week beforehand if I do get in. It's a long drive from California to Texas. Approximately a 29 hour drive...

Edited February 20, 2010 by joro

[Bobb Cobb]

They do have on-campus apartments which I don't know much about. There are a lot of apartment complexes out there, but definitely look at the houses if you are interested in relatively low-cost and close to campus. There are many many houses that are maybe 1/2 mile from the campus and are pretty cheap. If you are concerned with safety then common sense will suit you well in your search. Personally, I would stick to living in College Station. Bryan isn't horrible, but avoid the apartments and stick with houses if you go to Bryan.

@joro: The on-campus apartments are a good choice from what I understand. They are primarily grad students and married students if I remember correctly. If you want the on-campus experience then definitely make your way on-campus during the week before classes begin. A&M offers a lot of activities for students that have moved in. I never got to attend these events because of the corps, but my friends have told me amazing things.

Thanks. Do you have any suggestions on house finders or good sites with listings?

[jlloyd87]

Thanks. Do you have any suggestions on house finders or good sites with listings?

As far as houses go I would use craigslist or facebook. If you are looking for an apartment then any apartment.com sort of website is fine and craigslist will have a lot of stuff about empty rooms in apartments that already have people with current leases. I am using craigslist and it seems to have a lot of places.

[RAFT-LAND]

how gay friendly is it at TAMU and CS/B area