New Haven, CT

[ACM88]

Oh, all-important question: available internet service providers in the downtown and East Rock area, and in New Haven generally? 

 

The leasing office for the apartment I will be renting when I move provided me with a form that included the companies that I will need to contact to have services turned one. Comcast and AT&T were on the list of options for internet/cable.

[Swagato]

Thanks. Looks like I'll have to go with the devil (Comcast) again. ATT's speed is just too slow.

[pandamonium]

I found this page on the Yale site that has relevant details for internet, cable, electricity, etc:

http://www.yale.edu/livingnh/services/utilities.html

[jdoh]

Does anyone recommend living at 142 York?

[pandamonium]

I don't know anything about that building but I feel like anything associated with the university will be in a safe, convenient location (convenient depending on what department you're in). That building looks to be close to downtown too, so you'll have easy access to restaurants, bars, etc.

[kiki90]

Hey everyone!

I'm an international student and I'll be moving to the US in August. I want to rent a room before I come to New Haven (Really don't want to spend the first days in a hotel looking for a room)... How would that work exactly? 

Can I get a room without actually being there? Will the landlord expect me to pay before I see the place? I'm not familiar with how this stuff works in America so any advice is welcome. Thanks!

[anonymouse2]

Can students move into the dorms early? Does anyone have approval for this summer?

[Swagato]

Hey everyone!

I'm an international student and I'll be moving to the US in August. I want to rent a room before I come to New Haven (Really don't want to spend the first days in a hotel looking for a room)... How would that work exactly? 

Can I get a room without actually being there? Will the landlord expect me to pay before I see the place? I'm not familiar with how this stuff works in America so any advice is welcome. Thanks!

 

1. You can rent a room (surely you mean apartment?) via places like Craigslist or other apartment hunting sites. Padmapper is great.

 

2. If you end up signing the agreement and close the deal then you will probably need to put down a security deposit and then your first month's rent prior to moving in. Exact times vary.

 

Edit: I just want to say that you should really think about getting a sense of the place before moving in. Consider spending your first year in a graduate dorm perhaps? Or perhaps network with your fellow admits/current students in the department to try and get an apartment shared with you and other apartment-mates. 

Edited May 27, 2013 by Swagato

[kabelo]

Hey everyone!

I'm an international student and I'll be moving to the US in August. I want to rent a room before I come to New Haven (Really don't want to spend the first days in a hotel looking for a room)... How would that work exactly? 

Can I get a room without actually being there? Will the landlord expect me to pay before I see the place? I'm not familiar with how this stuff works in America so any advice is welcome. Thanks!

 

I'm from overseas myself and recently signed a lease for a shared house with three other grad students. I emailed and skyped with a bunch of people through Craigslist and the "Yale-International" Yahoo group, and then took the one that sounded best. I guess if you can't visit that's the safest way, since it's rather unlikely that your future roomies will deceive you.

[ak48]

Yale has 2 forms of campus graduate housing:

 

HGS (Housing for Graduate Students?) - very college-like dorm plan. Meal plan mandatory, which is served in a dining hall buffet-style. I believe you can also use the swipes at undergraduate residential colleges. This meal plan is expensive and not popular.

 

HHH - (Helen Hadley Hall). University owned, but no meal plan required. Lots of Asians, for better or worse.

[radiomars]

Hey guys, I signed a lease for an apartment on Canner St and Livingston. Just wondering -- what is the general reputation of the area? Good neighborhood? Had to sign from out-of-state, info appreciated.

[AbrasaxEos]

That area is very nice, and right near the local elementary school.  You shouldn't have any problems there.  As you may deduce from the forum here and elsewhere, New Haven is an odd city, with wide gaps in income disparity blended with small ones in physical proximity so use common sense at night and such, but with all the families and kids in that area I would be surprised if you had any issues.  As an added plus the Yale Transit Orange bus goes right down Canner Street on that stretch, so you may well have front-door service!

[Varangian]

Reviving this thread.

 

Does anyone know what the areas of West Haven and The Hill (in New Haven). I see all Yale students here but I never applied there. I was accepted to University of New Haven for a PhD (ironically located in West Haven). Any info would be appreciated. Also considering options on living alone versus roommates. I'd really prefer to live alone but if there are other people on the board heading up there who are also going to be looking, it would definitely help will expenses and such.

[linguotherobot]

Hi, everyone,

 

I've been accepted at Yale, and probably I will be attending. I am an international student, so I don't understand much about cost of living, taxes, and actually, how much money will I finally be earning. I also don't know if I'll be able to have a credit card, for instance, since the first two years I will be fully-funded with a fellowship (no TA or RA, so I guess I won't have a "letter of employment" to apply for a SSN), and only since the third year I'l be TAing. 

I wanted to have some advise, too, about which neighbourhoods are close to Yale and/or safe, and if living with roommates (I looked up on craiglist, for instance, and it seems to be about half-price than an apartment, plus dividing utlities) is actually doable. I don't have trouble living with other people, but I've always lived with family or very close friends here... All the information I'm getting is quite overwhelming, so maybe you can give some advices about living in New Haven and some approximation to costs of living...

 

Thanks!

[Varangian]

Really? No one has anything to say about New Haven? Where are all the Yale, SCSU people?

[IncretinEffect33]

I also am going to be likely heading to New Haven to attend Yale's BBS PhD program. I've leisurely begun to look at apartment options and have seen that a lot are available in the Wooster Square area. Anyone have any input on the safety/reputation of this area? I know that a lot of graduate students live in the East Rock area too, so I'm looking into apartments in that area as well.

 

Also, if there are any areas of the city that you would recommend definitely not living in, that would be very helpful to know!

[AbrasaxEos]

Wooster Square is nice for the most part.  Some areas border Fair Haven, which is one of those areas that you should not live in, so these border areas can get a bit less savory.  However, if you exercise good judgement you shouldn't have any problems.  There are a number of nice markets and coffeeshops in the area, and the Yale Shuttle service runs there now as well, so you'll be able to get in the vicinity of your apartment without too much difficulty.  There are a lot of nice apartments there, with a mix of young professionals, families and graduate students living there.  You'll also be close to the classic pizza places in New Haven.

 

East Rock is typically called the "grad ghetto" of New Haven, but don't mistake the latter portion of the name to imply that it is not a nice place to live, because it is.  There are lots of nice, tree-lined streets, a decent number of nice apartments, and the area overall very safe.  All of the Yale Shuttles run here as well, so getting to and from class is easy.  It tends to be more monolithically graduate student oriented than Wooster Square, but there are still plenty of families and professional living here.  Orange Street is a nice stretch with lots of little shops and small restaurants dotting its length. 

 

In general, these two areas would be the best to stick with.  Westville is a nice area, but it is separated from the main campus a bit, so you'd really need a car to get to and from school.  Many of the other areas, other than that directly abutting downtown proper can be quite variable in their safety, from the downright dangerous to a bit run-down.  Also, as I've posted here before, New Haven is a small, compressed city, which means that very nice areas are directly adjacent to not so nice ones, and so can change in the space of a block or two.  Thus, I would really try to see the place prior to moving in.  Less scrupulous real estate agents will sometimes try to play on the name recognition of areas like East Rock or Wooster Square to get you into a place that is in one of these areas because it technically might be located in the vicinity.  So as a general rule, see the place before you sign, walk around the area a bit, and when you do move in, use common sense (i.e. don't walk home alone at night half in the bag with your iPhone out, holding a bag with your computer, iPad, and wallet with 500 dollars in cash in it).  People get mugged, even in the best areas of New Haven, but by and large they seem to be avoidable situations.

[thenewphantom]

Which is better-to stay in an on campus apartment like-whitehall, esplanede etc. or apartments in Eat Rock-It will be great if you can list the pros and cons of both. Thanks.

[diasporabound]

Is there a way to start a sub-forum for those looking for roommates in New Haven? This would be helpful since incoming students can't see all of the listings. If this already exists- sorry! Please point me in the right direction. Thanks.

[hrmb]

Hi everyone! We'll be moving to New Haven shortly. Anyone have any advice about 360State Street? We're considering it for our rental. The apartment looks great, but I'm not sure of the area. Thoughts on good street-perimeters in downtown for staying safe. Any insight would be great (on either the building or location). Thanks!

[AbrasaxEos]

360State is the newest attempt at a new, hip building in downtown New Haven.  The area a decent, though because there is a large bus stop there, people often loiter and hang around across the street, and I sometimes found this area less than desireable to walk through even in the day, let alone later at night.  It depends on how you'll be getting around, but it wouldn't be my first choice to walk home to from a bar late at night (well, actually nowhere in New Haven would be, so not just 360State).  I think that for the money, you could get something larger in East Rock or Wooster Square.  They are about the same as far as safety and such goes, though without the bus stop across the street.  There is a co-op on the bottom floor of 360 State, which is nice if you don't want to have a car and want to have easy access to a grocer.  I never actually found downtown NH all that desireable to live in.  In that the city is so small (i.e. you can walk from East Rock to downtown in about 30-40 minutes depending on where you are), it isn't like NYC or some sprawling midwest/southern hell-hole where living in even a close suburb can mean that you are an hour's train ride from where everything is happening.  Also, with the Yale shuttle, you can get within a block or two of anywhere in East Rock from downtown pretty easily.  Just my .02, but if you would really like to be downtown, I would stay within George St. (to the South) - Howe St. (West) - State St. (East) area.  To the north is East Rock, so go as far north as you want.

[H Bond]

Does anyone know whether I can/how much it costs to extend a dorm stay over the summer? The contract I received has seemingly self-contradictory terms, saying I must move out by May 24th, but can receive a reduced summer rate if I move out or can sublet. Has anyone else stayed in their dorm over the summer? Thanks!

Edited June 6, 2014 by H Bond

[poweredbycoldfusion]

Is there a way to start a sub-forum for those looking for roommates in New Haven? This would be helpful since incoming students can't see all of the listings. If this already exists- sorry! Please point me in the right direction. Thanks.

Yale has a housing forum. That's how I found my current apartment. You need a Yale, ID, though, and there are people that will only rent to others at the school.

[puddle]

I wrote up the following in an email for a friend of mine who was accepted to Yale (he ended up accepting the offer). Thought it might be useful to others moving to New Haven. 

 

As for the town itself – there are a lot of good features that I will mention in no particular order:

1)      Nightlife – New Haven has a pretty good bar scene with a few places that serve craft beer, a few dive bars, a good number of cocktail bars etc. You can pretty much get what you want on any given night. Also… there’s GPSCY which is the graduate student bar and is HEAVILY subsidized by Yale (free beer Thursdays, 2 for 1 several nights a week, 3$ mixed drinks, 1$ PBR always, lots of craft beer on tap at a low cost etc). GPSCY is always open and has an awesome community feel. There are also big parties there 3-4 times a year and dance parties every Thursday night which are surprisingly fun.

 

2)      Restaurants – Good Thai, lots of cheap junkfood places, a few upscale restaurants that are surprisingly reasonable, and the best pizza in North America (no lie… you will experience some of this when you visit here)

 

3)      Arts & Culture – unparalleled. We have the largest university art gallery in the world and it is free. There are also the art school and architecture school galleries, the British art gallery, the museum of natural history and the Beineke (rare book library gallery). Plenty of bands come to play at local bars & at Toads Place. The Yale Rep theatre has world class theatre (i.e. I saw Paul Giamatti in Hamlet) and tickets are 7 for 60$ for students. Lots of clubs & groups around town so you can get involved in anything you want.

 

4)      Sports & Rec – we are a stones throw from 3 nice parks (East Rock, West Rock & Sleeping Giant). There is a bike trail running out of town called the Farmington Canal. Nearby beaches are free and nice (good for summer months when we get 4 months of nice hot weather and sunshine. The Appalachian Trail is about 1.5 hours drive away and there are lots of hike in campsites. We are also a fairly easy drive to all of New England which is an outdoors paradise if you like that sort of thing (i.e. white mountains, green mountains). The gym is pretty decent and we are working on getting better hours… I get by and I go every day so it’s not terrible.

 

5)      Safety – lots of people ask about this… don’t be an idiot and you won’t have any problems. Part of the panic comes from the fact that we get emails from the chief of police every time an incident involving a Yale student occurs (robberies etc). New Haven is a weird town because there has been a lot of gentrification and Yale is pushing the resident population to the outside of town. On the other hand, Yale employs a lot of people who live nearby so there is conflict over where this has all been a good thing. I have never had any problems and I don’t expect to. I feel as safe here as I would walking around any urban center at night.

 

6)      Cost of living – really low, especially given our salary.  We make more here than they do in NYC or Boston and it’s much less expensive to live. Don’t underestimate how important this is. If you want to, you could go out every night of the week to eat and drink and you would have no problem getting by on your stipend. Yale subsidizes every aspect of student life so there are tonnes of free drinking and socializing options and we have a catered lunch meeting in the department every day of the week.

 

7)      Grad Student Life – Yale has the McDougal Center that offers lots of grad student life events so if you want to be involved at the uni or meet new people in different departments, you can. Lots of free events and fun opportunities to get out and do something other than sit in a room. This again should not be underestimated. We have an awesome week long orientation which seems like a drag but is actually a great way to meet people in other departments… I love having a group of friends that studies different things from me… means you aren’t always confined to shop talk.

 

8)      Transportation – Yale has a shuttle service that runs a regular route during the day and then does door-to-door shuttles between 6pm and 6am. It’s kinda like having a free taxi service. It is awesome (esp if people visit you because as long as you have a Yale ID number you can call it and they won’t check that you are an actual student)

 

9)      Proximity to other things – NYC is a 1.5-2 hour train ride away. I go into town 1-2 times a month for shopping or to hang out with friends or to go to an event. It is pretty convenient by Metro North (takes you straight to Grand Central) but you don’t have to deal with living in the busiest most hectic city in the world. Most times I am happy to come home. Boston is a 2 hour drive away and I also head there fairly regularly.

[puddle]

Oh I also wrote this quick summary of neighbourhoods for another friend who was moving to New Haven:

 

Lots of housing available in New Haven - especially for Yale affiliates.

There are 3 main areas (mainly housing for graduate students and staff as undergrads live on campus):

 

(1) Downtown - which is South of campus and close to the Gym. This is where I live. There are lots of high-rise apartment buildings. Ideally (i.e. for safety and comfort reasons) you want to live no further west than Dwight street, no further south than George, and no further east than State. Chapel is a main shopping drag with lots of coffee shops, restaurants, bars etc. I live on Howe street. It is a very nice area with lots of appeal to people who want to be near but not directly in the heart of the city -- such as it is. Pretty quiet and rent is fairly reasonable. Personally I am a big fan of living downtown but it isn't for everyone.

 

(2) East Rock - also known as the "Grad Student Ghetto". This is a large residential area east and north east of campus. To the north it is bordered by East Rock park which is a great little park with running trails. Most of the apartment buildings are converted houses. There are fewer shops & restaurants out there but lots of people like the quiet/more suburban environment. Many people find apartments out there through Elm Campus Partners http://www.elmcampus.com/ which also has apartments for rent downtown. You can also find housing here via. Craigslist.

 

(3) Wooster Square. This is the area east of State Street and over the railroad tracks. It is a short ride to campus by car or bike and has some nice apartments for rent - a few old brownstone walkups. There are lots of restaurants and the area has its own charm & is a bit separate from new haven proper. Most rentals out there found through Craigslist.