Akron, OH

[Guest Guest]

I got into Univ of akron, Can anyone tell me what else is there to do besides the quite downtown. Is 18,000 enough to live in Akron. Any suggestion on Living expense, rent, insurance (car, health) will be helpful.

[PETRAL6]

Akron not the hoppingest of places. I don't know specifics, but you can easily get by in Akron with 18,000. It's not really a city, so you can live in the suburbs basically and be 10 minutes away. If you don't have a car, be close to campus, because public transportation is not what it is a big city.

[pace327]

I second everything petral said, especially about having a car. Akron is a normal smallish midwest city. I grew up in a suburb about 10 minutes from Akron. You can definitely get by on $18,000/yr there if you don't live beyond your means. And yes, definitely look into suburbs if you don't see anything in the city you like. There really isn't too much rush hour craziness around Akron (though like any city I suppose there is some).

Akron is only about 40 minutes from downtown Cleveland, so you're not too far from major museums, sporting events, concerts, etc (when you have time/money to go!). As far as Akron itself goes...I'm not too sure. There's a symphony. A zoo. An art museum (I think?). The National Inventors Hall of Fame. The Cleveland Indians' AA baseball team, the Akron Aeros. Um...not sure what else...

[mander]

Hi,

Kent is pretty close to Akron, so I thought I'd post here instead of starting a new thread...

Just looking for any thoughts re: how necessary a car will be to live in Kent. I was hoping to bike until the snow hit and hold off on buying a car until Nov/Dec. Am I being delusional?

Thanks

-amanda

[Guest bruno]

I am the person for everything about Akron, having spent 6 years getting 3 degrees here.

There is plentiful inexpensive housing immediately south of campus. Many people do not even buy the university parking passes and walk the few blocks to campus everyday, because it takes more time to get a place to park as opposed to walking. Plus the parking spaces are all on the far edges of campus, so you might as well walk anyway. Parking is the number one student complaint, although it is light-years ahead of what it was 5 years ago. In the area south of campus, you can get a room in a shared house for $250-275, or a single apartment for $350 and up. There is one nice apartment complex (Fir Hill Apts.) within walking distance, and I think that they go for $500 for one bedroom. Places out in "the valley" I believe are a little more than that, and you will have to contend with the commuting and parking. The figure that I hear is that 90% of all students drive into campus.

The older housing stock varies in safety and quality by area. My house on Brown St. has rarely had any problems with the local riff-raff, but people that I know that live a few blocks away are constantly having problems with vagrants and bums.

There is a big homeless population here, and their mission is just off the north side of the campus, so often the transients there drift over to the school looking for hand-outs. There has been a rise in crime in the area, but most of it is not against the students. There is a rehabilitation project going on to get rid of the worst of the old housing stock, and hopefully remove some of the worst element, but it is going to take a couple of years.

Having said that, there are many people from over at Kent State that live in the area south of the UA campus and commute to Kent daily, because the cost of living is much cheaper than living over in Kent.

I can't really recommend UA's graduate housing; I think it is over-priced and not very good. But new housing is going up as I write this.

$18K is more than any stipend I have heard of UA giving to anyone. Most of them are in the $8K range. You ought to be abel to do well with that amount, even with living off-campus and commuting.

[Guest bruno]

Mander: Kent is fairly small, and because of KSU it has a better than average bus system.

Actually, the past winter you could have biked every day. It depends on the winter. Often on the years where there is heavy snow, it doesn't come until past the winter break. Alot of Kent's housing is within walking distance to the school.

Kent is one of the best college towns that I have experienced. The living experience in Kent will be great.

Have fun in your program, Bruno

[mander]

Thanks Bruno!

I'll be visiting Kent this weekend to look for an apartment -- I'm sure that I'll be pestering you with more Kent questions once I get back

[Alex82]

I wonder if anybody has some information about the City and the University of Akron.

I have been admitted to this university as a TA with Tuition Waiver scholarship and a monthly stipend of $1300. Is that enough to make ends meet?

Is is worth going there while I have admission from LSU, SUNY at Binghamton and UKy as well?

Some of my friends have already told me to ignore all these universities and think of new choices for the coming year. What is your idea?

[skaforhire]

Akron can be cheap (I never lived there, but that is where my family comes from.) 1300k a month is a decent stipend depending on your field. I would take out another 5k in loans my first year as "oh crap" funds... Knowing your field will also help us answer your other questions. If you were talking History, I would say forgo Akron for any of the other choices if you have money. Go to the best institution that will give you money. Also, is this a PhD or a Masters?

Only give up what you have now if you really think you can do better next year. Can you raise your GREs, get some publications or whatever your field looks at, and come up with a strong year of work to show on your resume / CV?

[bgk]

Knowing your field will also help us answer your other questions.

Just a little heads up for you and other users, since it's not all that obvious: Fields/Majors can be found in the profile at the right of the post. In this case: "Program: Materials Engineering".

[Kathryn]

Bumping up the topic for new info - school, city, part time job opportunities around the city, etc.?

[boonmee]

I also want to know about Akron too.

Can anyone suggest me a nice apartment (living alone) within a walking distance?

[KM3]

I earned my MA in Akron and I will honestly miss living here. Some of the best areas to live in are part of Highland Square (AVOID ANYTHING LEASED BY SQUARE MANAGEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and Wallhaven. I would avoid anything east of and including Rhodes. Also, rent around the bars with caution. Summertime saw a lot of crime on South Highland. Highland Square has a great, vibrant bohemian feel. I highly recommend Angel Falls coffee shop, Aladdin's, Mr. Zub's (BEST sandwiches) and Square bar (it's a gay bar, but has an "everyone welcome" feel). Chin's on Balch has great Chinese and Cantonese food. The best ice cream is not at Mary Coyle's in the square but further down West Market at Zack's Fire and Ice. Nervous Dog Coffee is next door and also very popular, but I personally prefer the coffe at AF.

Stan Hywet---a gorgeous Tudor-revival museum home and a must-see--offers a summer farmer's market. Local rock legend, Rachel Roberts plays weekly in town. Talented and sweet as pie, a real genuine person.

Downtown, the nicest restaurants are Crave and Bricco, both excellent. House of Hunan has great sushi. The neighboring towns of Fairlawn and Montrose have almost anything you need. Also not-to-be-missed are Luigi's pizza (expect a line to start forming out the door when they open!) and Chrissie Hynde's Veggieterranean--an upscale vegan restaurant.

Akron also has a lot of neat galleries.

Campus is medium-sized..you can easily walk across it. There is a campus shuttle, but I've never used it.

The cost of living isn't too bad, but living with roommates definitely helps. You can find prices all over the board. My sister has an apartment in a nice area (English Market or something like that near Nervous Dog) and it's a two bedroom, two bath for 600$.

Hope this helps! I've been glad to call Akron home while I was here.

[theflash7269]

Don't miss out on Swensons either. Best. Fast. Food. Ever.

[dhangover]

Please give me a rough idea about the accommodation (near The University of Akron) and other living expenses in Akron for a doctoral student.

[Gradhorn]

Avoid housing near the Akron campus. It is a terrible neighborhood and students are frequently victims of both violent and nonviolent crime. A much better option is to get an apartment in the Highland Square area and drive or take a bus over to campus. Highland Square is a safe and pleasant area where many graduate students choose to live. Nothing in Akron is especially pricey, so you can expect housing to be affordable.

[BrookeSnow]

Bumping since I plan to be in nearby Kent and would love some input on Akron/Kent/Ohio in general.

[TonyB]

I lived in Kent for a semester and downtown Akron for a semester last year - can't say much about rent, as I lived on campus both places. But I actually really liked Akron; it's pretty quiet at most hours of the day, but a few blocks down on Main St you have bars, clubs, fast food places, etc. So there's plenty of night life on Friday and Saturday nights, and it's all very walkable. It's one of the prettier downtowns I've seen, much nicer than Dayton, for instance (where I worked and went to school for several years).

 

Kent is pretty, and the buses will get you around town (though only on certain days and times of day). If you're hoping to get a job in Stow or Ravenna - the two nearest towns - and you don't have a car, you won't be able to work later than say 7 or 8 in the evening, and even earlier than that on weekends. And grocery shopping, doing laundry and such are a loyal pain when you have to schlep all your wares around on the bus. I'd definitely recommend getting a car.