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Indiana University


kristinag

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I'll be enrolling at IU this fall for a PhD in Slavic Language and Literature. I just signed a lease for a studio apartment downtown. That was easiest for me as I have a cat and finding a cat friendly place and roommate was just double the challenge. When I was looking for apartments my main requirements were close to campus, cat friendly, not full of undergrads, and not by the stadium.

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Hi!  I'll be at IU, too.  I found an apt/roommate on craigslist and I'm quite excited.  It's in walking/biking/bus-taking distance.  Not close to the noise and in an area I generally like (spent last summer in Bloomington).  My roommate and I have a ton in common.  It's just enough room for me.  Hopefully, I'll be moving June 1.

 

I'm so happy.  The program is a dream for me, an absolutely perfect fit.   :)

 

(Also - after living in NY/NJ for 30 years the rent is amazingly affordable.)

Edited by karent
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Hey All, I posted in the city guide too, but then realized that this forum seems to be much active, so I figured I'd pop over here too. Anyways, I'll be starting my MA at IU next year, and have started scouring the internet for advice of places to live, how to find apartment-mates, nice areas of Bloomington, etc. Any advice?

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I will be going to IU in the fall 2013 for grad school (elementary ed.)!

Any suggestions on finding an apartment/roommates?! I have no idea where to even look 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi everybody! I'm a PhD student at IU, and I recently responded to an email from an incoming grad student (who doesn't have a car) about where to find housing. I thought it might be useful to also post it here, for those of you who are unfamiliar with Bloomington and may not be able to visit before settling on a place to live. Here's my perspective on the rental market:

 

 

My main piece of advice would be to avoid living anywhere north of 10th Street as it is likely to be rundown undergrad party central (particularly as you get closer to the stadium). Anywhere south of 10th St. is likely to be quieter. If you're looking for a big apartment complex, there are several decent ones on E. 10th that are popular among grad students including Fountain Park, Woodbridge, and Meadow Park. I also know some grad students who live on Pete Ellis in that area. There are a lot of newer complexes in the College Mall area. Those tend to skew more towards undergrads, but they don't have the "party" reputation.


I would also highly recommend checking out the Graduate and Professional Student Organization housing board at http://www.indiana.edu/~gpso/resources/housing/. A lot of the larger complexes advertise there, but you can also occasionally find smaller landlords too. When I first moved to Bloomington, I could only find a two-bedroom place that met my needs, so I advertised for a roommate on there and got to pick from several suitable candidates. There are also the usual places like Craigslist and OneStart (IU classifieds that you access with your network ID), but I like the GPSO housing board because it is specifically geared toward grad/professional students.

As for transportation, parking on campus is generally a hassle and always expensive, so most semesters I don't bother getting a permit for my car and instead walk or take the bus. The Bloomington Transit bus system is decent for a city this small, and students ride free by showing their IDs. Here's the page with all the routes: http://bloomingtontransit.com/maps-and-schedules/. Students are probably most likely to live along the 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 routes. You'll want to make sure you look at the summer and weekend schedules in addition to the school year schedule. Here's a breakdown of what I know about those options:

- The 6 and the 9 run frequently during the school year (every 20 minutes or less) and less often in the summer and on weekends. This is a pretty good bet for consistent transportation.

- The 7 runs about every 20 minutes on weekdays during the school year but not on weekends or any IU breaks (including summer). So this is fine unless you have weekend/summer responsibilities on campus and don't have a car or live close enough to walk.


- The 4 and 5 only run once every hour, but still operate on Saturdays and in the summer. Having a bus that ran so infrequently was kind of annoying when I lived along this route, but it was doable with advanced planning.

The bottom line is if you aren't planning on having a car, I would recommend living within walking distance of campus or on the 6 or 9 routes. (And there are tons of options that fall in those categories.) Bloomington is also a very walkable/bike-able place in general, particularly if you live near the campus/downtown areas.

 

 

If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them for you. Welcome to IU!

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  • 2 months later...

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