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Does anyone know if a school can temporarily help students with housing?

The reason I ask is that I am having a really difficult time finding housing in the town I am moving to for grad school. It seems that they book up places 1 year in advance, and there is just nothing so far, and I am getting very worried.

I have talked to my school about it, but they don't seem as worried, and just give me links to the local classifieds, but I still haven't been able to find anything!

So, if I cant find a place by the time school starts, do I just sleep in the library, try to befriend people, so I can sleep on their floor or do I have to ask for a deferment!?

:?

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I posted in the Housing Wanted section of Craigslist every couple of days and received a few replies with each posting. If you're attending school in a large city, you'll probably find something by the fall. Maybe you can post specifics here (location, budget, etc.) and see if anyone is looking for a roommate. Good luck!

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Hmm. What town is this?

Is a matter of you can't find anything in your budget? Or you don't want to have roommates? Or the town is really, really small?

I can't imagine not being able to find a vacant apartment, so I'm wondering if there is some constraining factor that would help us better understand your problem.

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Sorry for not being more clear, I have been looking for a roommate, and there are budget constraints. I can only really afford something up to $550 a month, and that would have to include most utilities.

The school is Ohio University and the town is a very tiny town called Athens.

Im not opposed to having a roommate, though I would prefer to be on my own, but I cant seem to find a graduate student roommate at the moment, as most people are still holding out for a studio apartment... And I dont really want to live with an undergrad.

Is it a bad idea to live with someone in your very same program?

Thanks for your replies by the way!

:D

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Craigslist really is one of the best resources. That's how I found the house I'm renting in Georgia. A quick search of Athens, OH turned up this:

http://athensohio.craigslist.org/apa/1261879151.html

$475 / 1br - Nice East Side Apt (Near East Side) (map)

Reply to: hous-qjwxm-1261879151@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

Date: 2009-07-09, 5:35PM EDT

Nice and cozy one bedroom/one bathroom apartment located in the Near East Side. Perfect for grad students. Two blocks from Village Bakery. Located on second floor of house. Plenty of street parking. Mostly gas appliances and new heating unit. Only need to pay for electricity. Washer and Dryer on first floor. Please e-mail for more information. Thanks!

Elmwood Pl at Shannon Ave (google map) (yahoo map)

* Location: Near East Side

* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

http://athensohio.craigslist.org/apa/

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Also if you're looking for an apartment from a distance, you may get a false impression of the market. I've tried many times to do that, and it's been a failure all but once. However, every time when I actually got to the town and started looking in person, there was much more available than I had thought.

Also, to the other poster upthread going to UCLA -- several of those times have been in LA, and what I just said goes doubly there. NO ONE in LA deals remotely. There are PLENTY of apartments here though, don't worry. People are scrambling to unload them in fact. You do, however, want to look before September.

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Perhaps as a temporary solution, have you thought about an extended stay hotel? They can be quite cheap (relatively speaking), and can provide you with a bit more time to search once you're in the area.

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Also if you're looking for an apartment from a distance, you may get a false impression of the market. I've tried many times to do that, and it's been a failure all but once. However, every time when I actually got to the town and started looking in person, there was much more available than I had thought.

Also, to the other poster upthread going to UCLA -- several of those times have been in LA, and what I just said goes doubly there. NO ONE in LA deals remotely. There are PLENTY of apartments here though, don't worry. People are scrambling to unload them in fact. You do, however, want to look before September.

That's good to know. I was thinking about driving to LA sometime between August 10-15 and staying in an extended stay motel. In your experience, is 2-3 weeks long enough to find a place? In my current city, you usually have to be on a waiting list for a couple months.

Thanks a bunch!

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That's good to know. I was thinking about driving to LA sometime between August 10-15 and staying in an extended stay motel. In your experience, is 2-3 weeks long enough to find a place? In my current city, you usually have to be on a waiting list for a couple months.

I think your timeline gets you in there in time before the big student rush to find something. I never found waiting lists in LA; I just looked until I found a place I liked, then wrote a check on the spot securing it. Sometimes that meant overlapping a month with my former residence, but that's how it is. I don't know what you're looking for or how far you're willing to commute, but if you just want to share an apartment with another grad student in Culver City, Palms, generic "West LA", or inland Santa Monica, I seriously doubt you'll have to look longer than two or three days. If you have a family and need a larger condo or house, maybe much longer. Check over in City Guides for more info on neighborhoods.

Edit for linky goodness: http://forum.thegradcafe.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=190 - the UCLA LA thread. USC and UCLA occupy very different spheres of the tangled mess that is called LA.

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I think your timeline gets you in there in time before the big student rush to find something. I never found waiting lists in LA; I just looked until I found a place I liked, then wrote a check on the spot securing it. Sometimes that meant overlapping a month with my former residence, but that's how it is. I don't know what you're looking for or how far you're willing to commute, but if you just want to share an apartment with another grad student in Culver City, Palms, generic "West LA", or inland Santa Monica, I seriously doubt you'll have to look longer than two or three days. If you have a family and need a larger condo or house, maybe much longer. Check over in City Guides for more info on neighborhoods.

Thanks a lot. I'm just looking to room with another grad student, so that really puts my mind at ease.

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Sorry for not being more clear, I have been looking for a roommate, and there are budget constraints. I can only really afford something up to $550 a month, and that would have to include most utilities.

The school is Ohio University and the town is a very tiny town called Athens.

Im not opposed to having a roommate, though I would prefer to be on my own, but I cant seem to find a graduate student roommate at the moment, as most people are still holding out for a studio apartment... And I dont really want to live with an undergrad.

Is it a bad idea to live with someone in your very same program?

Thanks for your replies by the way!

:D

1) I lived with an undergrad my first year of graduate school and it was awesome. She knew the town, had ideas for stuff I could do, and was quite mature so we never got in each other's way. I'd transport her to my current city and live with her again if i could. My point is, don't just swear off of all undergrads because of what year they are in school.

2) I second the craig's list idea, especially posting in the "housing wanted" section. You may also want to see if your university, department, etc has a graduate student listserve that you could post on.

3) Athens, OH is probably like where I live now in that only about 60% of available apartments/houses/duplexes/etc are listed online. The best way to find places that I've found is to couple an online search with driving/cycling around neighborhoods you want to live in, writing down numbers, and then calling them.

4) I lived with someone in my department during the 2nd year of my MA. Most of the year it was fine but then we had a personal conflict that extended to school and that led to several people in the department no longer speaking to me (I refused to mention the situation to anyone; she didn't do the same). Plus, you'll be seeing that person A LOT.

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I'm also searching for a place/roommate in Gainesville, Florida (I'm an international student, and won't be in Gainesville till August 19th). Would anyone know anything about the housing market in Gainesville? I'm hoping to either find a place/roommate before arriving Gainesville, or find within 2-3 days of arriving Gainesville - is this wishful thinking?

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