Lawrence, KS

[mrscheesemaker]

Hi guys,

 

I, like Laith, would be really happy to know more about specific neighborhoods for grad students but also for young families. I'll be moving from Germany with my two kids and husband. I haven't had word on funding etc., but if anyone has any personal info or insights, well that would be rad.

 

What are some good elementary schools, daycare options - (I checked out Hilltop on campus care), but I'm just curious. I've looked at free standing houses that are pretty affordable ($700-$800/month) in East Lawrence, and Old West Lawrence. I just wanna be able to bike to as many places as possible, and walk into town whenever I can. 

 

--> another good question from Laith --> What minimum salary shall I expect to take in order to be able to live with my family ?From your own personal point of view? 

 

I haven't yet accpeted the offer from KU, but I tend to think that it might be our final destination. I'll decide of course, once I hear from the funding committee.

 

Thanks   

 

P.S. I am from the D.C. area, but just finished my MA here in Germany (been here for a decade), and our children are bilingual since dad is German. I wish there was an international school here. We are just nervous that they'll loose a lot of German ... any advice or suggestions are much appreciated.

[LivingLaveda]

I saw this article on the 20 coolest towns in the U.S. and was pleased to see Lawrence listed as #9.

Nice little write up. 

 

http://matadornetwork.com/trips/20-coolest-towns-us/

Edited February 26, 2015 by LivingLaveda

[NYTreader]

It's a very nice town. Some great food (wheat fields). Housing cheap. Surprisingly, good music passes through. Love the book stores. Beautiful campus. Not too RED, it's a big bubble of liberal in an otherwise red state. Hilltop is where you want your young kids to start school. Ask you program coordinator any very specific questions, for example about where to live.

[mrscheesemaker]

Great! Thanks for you feedback on Hilltop NYTreader! We just secured a spot for our 3 year-old and are happy about that. We want to get our daughter into Hillcrest Elementary School since she has been raised bilingual (German/English). Have any of you heard about the school?

 

Thanx

[latifuzair]

Hey everyone!

 

I got an offer from KU for the Phd porgram in Physics and Astronomy (5 year) and I just accepted it a few days back. I am an international student from Pakistan. I have never been to US and I really don't know where to start from. So I would really appreciate any help that I might be able to get.

 

I would like to start by looking around for an apartment. I read the posts earlier and they were really helpful. Can someone please tell me what Craigslist is? And how do we go around looking for a place to live using that?

[FinallyAccepted]

Hey everyone!

 

I got an offer from KU for the Phd porgram in Physics and Astronomy (5 year) and I just accepted it a few days back. I am an international student from Pakistan. I have never been to US and I really don't know where to start from. So I would really appreciate any help that I might be able to get.

 

I would like to start by looking around for an apartment. I read the posts earlier and they were really helpful. Can someone please tell me what Craigslist is? And how do we go around looking for a place to live using that?

 

Craigslist is a website where you can search for any of a number of things, including available housing. You can message each person who posts a listing individually. Here are Lawrence apartments. http://lawrence.craigslist.org/search/apa The closer you are to campus and the dorms, the louder it will be and the more undergrads there will be. Rent is pretty reasonable in Lawrence. I went there for undergrad, and as I search for apartments in Boulder (moving for PhD program), I only WISH I was paying Lawrence prices.

 

Plus it's a fun place to live with some of my favorite places to eat. Kansas City is only a 30 minute drive away (so we go back to Lawrence frequently).

[latifuzair]

Yeah I looked and there are alot of options there. Would it be advisable to live with a roommate or without for my first year? What would you guys advise?

[FinallyAccepted]

I think that just depends on what you're willing to spend. As an undergrad, I always lived with roommates, but they were people I already knew. I never had to find a stranger for a roommate.

[donquixote]

Hi everyone!

I will also be new to Kansas as a geology M.S. student! I was a little skeptical at first about how Lawrence might be but thanks to the feedback of this thread I am very excited to explore the place!

I was just wondering how far in advance people recommend looking for an apartment? How much does a single bedroom apartment usually cost? How cold are the winters? (I just finished my undergrad in Syracuse, NY so I am sure they are probably not as bad as here) Also do most places have basements/ do you recommend living in a place with a basement because of tornados?

Thanks

[FinallyAccepted]

Winters are cold, but if you're from New York, you'll probably be fine. For safety, I would make sure that there is a basement. It doesn't necessarily have to be yours. When my husband and I lived together, we lived in a small little 2-bedroom apartment that was right behind campus (off 9th and Mississippi) and we spent around 600 for rent (this was 2006-2007). We were on the second floor, but if there was a tornado warning, we could go downstairs to the communal laundry room area. If you're looking to rent a house, rather than an apartment, most probably have basements anyway, but it would be good to have one. Tornado watches and warnings are pretty common, but I've lived in Kansas for 30 years and have never seen a tornado (besides people's amateur footage that gets sent to the news station). I've been hustled into basements while out doing stuff (including seeing Brand New at a show at Liberty Hall), but have never been in an actual tornado. So there definitely are tornadoes, but being in the wrong place at the wrong time to be in one is less common. I wouldn't be too concerned about them.

 

As for when you should start looking, you could probably start looking around now, but many leases go through July 31st with people subletting their places over the summer if they go home for the summer or graduated in May. We sublet a place one summer that we ended up staying in and renting when the school year started.

 

The fraternities and sororities are distributed throughout campus (Tennessee St., West Campus Road, and Indiana St. as they get close to campus). They might be something to avoid if you're needing more quiet. There are a couple of bars on 14th street right next to campus that (when I lived there) got pretty loud on the weekends and when students didn't have class the next day. So there are some areas to avoid, but you can easily be within walking or biking distance from campus if you don't have or want to bring a car with you.

[LivingLaveda]

I have already rented an apartment, because I will be moving there June 1st. I rented a 2 bedroom apt. very close to campus, with washer/dryer for $650 per month (incl. pet fee $25). 

Advice I was given, was to make sure to get my own apartment, as a PhD student, just to make sure you can get work done on your own schedule. My stipend makes this apartment affordable, so I am enjoying the extra room, alone.

Rock Chalk!

[juan2089]

Hello,

I'm attending KU in the fall as a graduate student in the chemistry department. Im an international student from Colombia

Does anyone have an apartment and its looking for a roomate?

Im checking craigslist but it dosent have much apts.

Juan

[oqowa]

Can anyone give me any recommendations on housing?

[cjbennett94]

Got back from a visit to Lawrence a week ago. The town and campus were quite nice. I do have a couple of questions though:

I'm from Central TX and have spent the last 2 years in West TX. Ie, I've lived in either humid heat or dry heat most of my life, and I can count on my right hand how many times I've seen snow. Does Lawrence get miserably cold (for extended periods of time) in the winter?

It seemed like the neighborhoods around campus had a lot of students. Are these mostly undergrads, grads, or a mix? I'm not the "I need perfect silence" type, but I'd also like to avoid living next to a party every weekend.

Some people mentioned that the fishing/hiking around Clinton lake was good. I also read something about the Kansas River being open for paddling now. (As I understand, it's not like TX where all navigable waterways are public) I'm an avid kayaker and backpacker, so if I can bring my gear with me and actually use it, I'd pretty much be sold. 

 

~Craig

[alto_cumulus]

On 3/30/2017 at 1:06 PM, cjbennett94 said:

It seemed like the neighborhoods around campus had a lot of students. Are these mostly undergrads, grads, or a mix? I'm not the "I need perfect silence" type, but I'd also like to avoid living next to a party every weekend.

Hi everyone!

I'm going to be moving to Lawrence in August and am wondering pretty much the same thing mentioned in the quote above. Does anyone have any neighborhood/area recommendations that fit the description? I was hoping to be somewhat close to Mass St. but it is certainly not a deal breaker if not.

Thanks!

[cannonfodder]

On 15/04/2017 at 3:32 AM, alto_cumulus said:

Hi everyone!

I'm going to be moving to Lawrence in August and am wondering pretty much the same thing mentioned in the quote above. Does anyone have any neighborhood/area recommendations that fit the description? I was hoping to be somewhat close to Mass St. but it is certainly not a deal breaker if not.

Thanks!

I may be headed to Kansas this fall as well. I haven't received the official offer yet, only a notification from the admissions committee. 

Edited April 16, 2017 by cannonfodder

[alto_cumulus]

11 hours ago, cannonfodder said:

I may be headed to Kansas this fall as well. I haven't received the official offer yet, only a notification from the admissions committee. 

Are you from the area by any chance? I was able to visit a few weeks ago but spent most of my time on campus, so I am trying to find the right part of town to look for housing in at the moment.

Edited April 16, 2017 by alto_cumulus
spelling

[cannonfodder]

@alto_cumulus, not quite. I am an international student, so I have no idea about any of this. I'll start looking after 30th April once I hear from the Canadian universities I have applied to.

Edited April 17, 2017 by cannonfodder

[mcgatay]

On 4/14/2017 at 5:02 PM, alto_cumulus said:

Hi everyone!

I'm going to be moving to Lawrence in August and am wondering pretty much the same thing mentioned in the quote above. Does anyone have any neighborhood/area recommendations that fit the description? I was hoping to be somewhat close to Mass St. but it is certainly not a deal breaker if not.

Thanks!

 

On 3/30/2017 at 1:06 PM, cjbennett94 said:

Got back from a visit to Lawrence a week ago. The town and campus were quite nice. I do have a couple of questions though:

I'm from Central TX and have spent the last 2 years in West TX. Ie, I've lived in either humid heat or dry heat most of my life, and I can count on my right hand how many times I've seen snow. Does Lawrence get miserably cold (for extended periods of time) in the winter?

It seemed like the neighborhoods around campus had a lot of students. Are these mostly undergrads, grads, or a mix? I'm not the "I need perfect silence" type, but I'd also like to avoid living next to a party every weekend.

Some people mentioned that the fishing/hiking around Clinton lake was good. I also read something about the Kansas River being open for paddling now. (As I understand, it's not like TX where all navigable waterways are public) I'm an avid kayaker and backpacker, so if I can bring my gear with me and actually use it, I'd pretty much be sold. 

 

~Craig

Hey! I'm not going to KU, but I do currently live just a couple blocks from campus, so I may be able to answer some of your questions. 

It doesn't get stupid cold - this year was rather mild and it only iced over once or twice. However, with the windchill it will stay below 32 for typically the latter part of December and most of January. You will get to thoroughly enjoy all four seasons. 

It's pretty much a mix as far as graduate and undergraduate students. Mass st. bars tend to attract a younger crowd, but I'm subleasing not too far from KU and all my roommates are graduate students. Again, the closer you get to Mass st., the younger and more livelier the occupants are going to tend to be. 

I'd honestly check Craigslist for housing. There are a bunch of subleases that are going to be up July 31, and if you grab them in time your monthly rent can be pretty cheap. 

On the whole, Lawrence is probably the bluest place in Kansas's very red state, so be prepared to live in a place that is very pro-recycling and pro-equality. 

[CulturalCriminal]

Looking at applying to Kansas in the next application cycle. It sounds like a nice space and I am encouraged to hear Lawrence is a blue oasis. That said, does anyone know how accepting it is of the LGBTQ community? Specifically, how accepting is it of queer folks that aren't gay men? My partner and I are both trans and queer, so the idea of spending 4+ years in Kansas is a bit frightening.

[Shnoztastic]

8 hours ago, CulturalCriminal said:

Looking at applying to Kansas in the next application cycle. It sounds like a nice space and I am encouraged to hear Lawrence is a blue oasis. That said, does anyone know how accepting it is of the LGBTQ community? Specifically, how accepting is it of queer folks that aren't gay men? My partner and I are both trans and queer, so the idea of spending 4+ years in Kansas is a bit frightening.

Lawrence is definitely the most progressive town in Kansas. I'd consider it to be pretty accepting of the LGBTQ community for a mid-western city. I attended KU for undergrad and really loved my time in Lawrence. I've not lived there since 2011 but still get back occasionally.

Regardless, Kansas is still quite a conservative place and is somewhat of a trying place politically. Despite Lawrence being an oasis, Kansas is swing hard right, these days.

For travel purposes, the drive to the Kansas City airport is not too bad: 45 minutes to an hour. I'd recommend having a car. Lawrence has decent public transportation but it's difficult to get out of the city without one.