Austin, TX

[themissingsock]

Apartment Finders Service was pretty helpful. They took me out and let me look at apartment rooms directly. That was really nice. I found a place in Hyde Park with their help. 

[firewitch]

I lived in the Austin area before moving away for graduate school about two years ago.

 

Windsor Park is northeast of campus, bordered by Interstate Highway 35 on the west, and Highway 290 on the north. South, it blends into an area that used to be pretty rundown, but is being gentrified.

 

It has some nice houses, and also some decent apartment complexes, but there is some history there of crime and even gang violence. However, I used to drive through there, shop for groceries, and buy gas without much concern. The University used to run a campus bus up to some apartments in that area, and probably still does, but there is also a semi-decent city bus service. I would definitely consider housing in that area, but would like to see it first.

[serpentina02]

I got an offer from UT and my question is how feasible it is to live in Austin on a $16k stipend (divided by 12 months)? 

I heard that it is difficult to find affordable housing...

[guest56436]

On 2/18/2016 at 5:06 PM, serpentina02 said:

I got an offer from UT and my question is how feasible it is to live in Austin on a $16k stipend (divided by 12 months)? 

I heart that it is difficult to find affordable housing...

It's certainly feasible but not in any way conducive to a comfortable lifestyle.

[madamoiselle]

Howdy, y'all! I went to UT Austin for undergrad and absolutely loved it; Austin is an absolutely kickass city. This being said, prices are rising as Austin is very quickly growing (and gentrifying, which is going to be a hot topic btw, should you move there). You'll find that most students, undergrads included, do not live in university housing. Maybe freshmen, but from what I understand, even freshmen aren't guaranteed housing anymore. I personally never lived on-campus (I lived in West Campus for 3 years, then spent my senior year in Hyde Park). Here's my little breakdown on student living as I saw it. I'll outline the more common student neighborhoods, although there are definitely more!

POPULAR STUDENT NEIGHBORHOODS: 

West Campus : Right behind Guadalupe St., the large stretch that separates West Campus and Main Campus. Guadalupe St. is also lovingly referred to by Longhorns as "the drag." The Drag has a ton of businesses, cafés and small restaurants that, sadly, fluctuate in and out of business. Certain staples like Caffé Medici, however, are super popular meeting spots for all types of students (namely Liberal Arts). West campus tends to extend from MLK Jr. to roughly ~31st street, and between Guadalupe St. and  Lamar Boulevard. Super expensive because of its proximity to campus (2br/2ba will run anywhere from 850-1500 per room, price decreasing as you go towards Lamar). Apartments are tall, new, rather nice and furnished. You may be able to find more humble abodes sprinkled around, if you look hard enough. Also, beware -- this is the Fraternity and Sorority neighborhood, which may not be the most savory for graduate students (unless you're dying to hear the Kappa Delta chant every day in August!) Super popular for undergrads leaving campus housing and getting their first apartment with friends, as well as people in Greek Life. 

Far West: Essentially the area between MLK Jr. and 51st, but between Lamar Blvd and Mopac Expressway. Way quieter and relatively cheaper than West/NW Campus, but Mopac can be a nightmare, so beware! I don't personally know many people who lived here, but the expressway is a great way to traverse Austin if you're not stuck on it between 4 and 6 PM. This back area has a lot of little businesses and houses; I've seen some apartments, but small room-for-rent houses definitely seem to be more common. If you go west enough, you'll start to see rather large, family houses, some of which may also rent to students. The only people I knew here were two PhD Candidates who were near defense. Seems to be pretty popular with standard Austinites and young professors. 

North/North West Campus : The areas surrounding Guadalupe, extending to Lamar (west) and I-35 (east), around 31st to 38th streets. Much calmer than West Campus. Still a heavy student population density, and still rather expensive. Mostly small, multi-bedroom houses as well. There are apartments, but they're not nearly as swanky as West Campus (2br/2ba will probably be in the 650-950 range per room). Next to some cool pubs, brunch places and bars, but not as busy as the West/Main Campus area. Good parties here for upperclassmen and graduate students. If you go east of Guadalupe, towards I-35, you essentially run into the engineering department of UT and the beginnings of Hyde Park, which is a super cool area. 

Mueller : 38th to 51st but on the east side of I-35. I love Mueller and spent a lot of time here. The East Side of Austin is historically a very African-American/Hispanic/Latinx population, but as I previously mentioned, gentrification is challenging that. Mueller housing is mostly professors, TAs and young lecturers, and the student population starts to wane off a bit. However, you can find some awesome, authentic food in this area, and it's incredibly cheap. Also has very cool, hole-in-the-wall coffee shops. Mostly houses, as well, prices comparable to Hyde Park, possibly a bit cheaper.

Cherrywood: from 28th to Airport, on the east side of I-35 (Austin starts to get very loopy and curvy on this side of I-35 around Cherrywood/Mueller, so it's harder to differentiate the neighborhoods). Mostly houses as well, super similar to Mueller. Cherrywood Coffeehouse was one of my favorites during undergrad

Hyde Park : Where I lived during my senior year, a personal favorite neighborhood of mine! Very quaint, mostly house rentals. Lots of trees and cute houses. Little shacks that sell sandwiches and coffee/pastries are not rare. This area is east of Guadalupe, from around 38th to 51st street, between Guadalupe and I-35. I had an awesome studio for about $800 (still a lot, but it was very spacious and nice, I also had my dog). You may be able to find a studio starting around $700 or even $650. I had friends in a 6 bed, 3 bath home who paid around $450-$650 a person. Super popular for upperclassmen, graduate students and young professors/lecturers. Also, people/students with families. A lot of parks and many, many cafés, almost no parties. Suburban in the cozier sense. TONS of buses that run to UT. 

The Triangle: Between 38th and 45th on the west side of Guadalupe, you find a ton of shopping centers. Housing picks back up again after 45th up until about 51st in The Triangle. I know some underclassmen who lived here, and surprisingly, not a lot of graduate students. Rent isn't necessarily cheaper than say Northwest campus, though, because the residential area is really nice and in a pretty swanky shopping center. So it's nice, but further away. Thankfully, the 801/803/1/5 buses run really frequently to UT and it doesn't take too long to get from the Triangle to Main Campus (the bus typically stops along the Drag). If you have a car, it's even easier. Super close to grocery shopping, suburban in the fancier sense. 

Riverside : South of the lake, along Riverside Drive. Even more south than Downtown. Incredibly popular low-cost housing options for undergrads and graduate students alike. A 1br/1ba will run around $500-$700 for a pretty nice space in a newer apartment complex. Heavily suggest having a car, though, because I've heard buses are irregular from here -- had a ton of friends in undergrad who lived in this area who would run late for class. Students in Riverside tend to be cut off from the general UT population, which can stink. It's a rather suburban area near the river, and has great access to outdoorsy-Austin, SoCo and downtown. However, it does have some safety issues (such as theft. Rest assured, Austin is a generally safe city overall!) 

Downtown (super south) : From MLK to Cesar Chavez. A huge business district and high rises galore. Some coffee shops with almost no capacity, I don't even try going down there during finals. I don't know anybody who lived here, personally, but a cool place to take family that's visiting! Buses run from UT Campus to 6th street/Rainey/Red River very frequently, with nightbuses on weekends and Thursdays (pour one out for the dirty 6th!) In terms of nightlife, 6th street is very undergraduate-dense, Rainey tends to be more for graduate students and upperclassmen with IDs. The West End is Downtown around 6th Street and Lamar, and is very, very swanky, with the Whole Foods and lots of fancy Yoga places. South Congress is south of the river, and is mainly for new graduates and general Austinites. 

North of 51st (super north): Around Burnet and the North Loop, the student population tends to wane off as well. Not too sure about the graduate student density, but these areas have great, quieter, larger coffee shops and tend to cater to standard Austinites. 

OTHER HINTS: 

Should I bring a car? I did, and it really helped with stuff such as groceries. However, if you have a roommate, you may fare well with one car between you. The buses are pretty good, but not as frequent as much bigger cities. UT Austin students get free bus fare as well, so benefit from that, especially since downtown parking is impossible!

Is food cheap? Food is pretty standard; not as expensive as a big city such as NYC, but maybe more comparable to the quieter parts of Seattle/Portland. TONS of awesome takeout places and really diverse cuisine! South of the lake, you'll find really nice, little gourmet restaurants  Tons of HEBs, Wal-Marts and Targets, if you don't want to spend too much money on food. You WILL, however, have to partake in ATX craft beer culture from time to time  TONS and TONS of coffee shops. Coffee shop culture is gigantic in ATX, and all UT students have their favorites/opinions! 

How is the UT Campus? UT is absolutely stunning as a campus and I miss it dearly. It's a sprawling, shockingly green campus with tons of trees, fountains and beautiful places to study. You'll also find a ton of good food and coffee places on campus (F*** Starbucks and GO TO TEXAS COFFEE TRADERS!)  

-------

So yeah, that's my very rough beginner's guide to ATX! It was an awesome city with tons of diners, cafés and fun things to do. If anybody has any questions, don't be shy  I was in Liberal Arts, but know a little bit about every department!

[TheWalkingGrad]

On 30/01/2018 at 9:15 AM, Excelsior! said:

Is it possible to find an off-campus appartment before I move to Austin?

Hi, 

I'm also an international student and found my apartment before moving to Austin. What I did (and from my understanding many grad students do), is get a real estate agent (I think) to hunt for apartments. It's free for the renters and in my experience it worked out very well. If you want PM me and I'll send you the contact of the person who did it for me.

[rrk686]

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking about Austin for an English PhD. My wife is an English adjunct professor, and we're wondering whether there are commonly English adjunct jobs available in Austin or the surrounding area one can apply to externally?

Thanks!

[Excelsior!]

Guys, what's a good yearly stipend to live comfortably (I mean with no worries if you're gonna make it) in Austin?

[CulturalCriminal]

@madamoiselle's breakdown of neighborhoods is still fairly accurate through today, though I should warn that all the rent prices are at least 1.5 - 3 times described.

On 2/2/2018 at 11:35 AM, RK092089 said:

I'm thinking about Austin for an English PhD. My wife is an English adjunct professor, and we're wondering whether there are commonly English adjunct jobs available in Austin or the surrounding area one can apply to externally?

There are quite a few options within the city or up to an hour's drive from UT. These include Texas State University, St. Edwards, Southwestern College, Huston-Tillotson, and Austin CC (probably one of the best community colleges in the country). There is also Concordia Texas, though that is a pretty conservative, religious university.

On top of those, driving an hour and a half will get her to the various San Antonio schools (UTSA, Alamo colleges, St. Mary's, U of Incarnate Word, Out Lady of the Lake, TAMU-SA, Trinity), Texas Lutheran, a few Texas Central Colleges, A & M Central Texas, Mary-Hardin Baylor, and one of the Blinn College locations. Some of these are also pretty conservative, religious universities.

Hope that helps!

[madamoiselle]

@CulturalCriminal Ah really? I knew Austin's rent was skyrocketing (I finished in 2016), didn't realize it was going up that fast. Thanks for clarifying! 

[CulturalCriminal]

@Excelsior!It really depends on how much debt you're currently carrying. I have friends who are on 18k/yr that live fairly comfortably (though in surrounding area). I have debt though, so I have to supplement my income with content writing gigs. I would imagine with no debt, I would want at least 20k/yr if I was to live in Austin.

@madamoiselleit just keeps getting higher and higher. If I do manage to get off the waitlist at UT, I'll probably stay where I am in San Marcos. Even if we hypothetically move the following year, I doubt we'd find a comparable place north of Slaughter lane or south of Research blvd.

 

[paul101]

Hi, 

I am an incoming student at UT Austin joining LBJ the coming fall. In lookout for a UT student to share accomodation with. Can anybody direct me to a fb page/ site where I could catch up with other fall admits

Thank you

[Nothingtown]

1 hour ago, paul101 said:

Hi, 

I am an incoming student at UT Austin joining LBJ the coming fall. In lookout for a UT student to share accomodation with. Can anybody direct me to a fb page/ site where I could catch up with other fall admits

Thank you

Hey there! Congrats on the acceptance to UT! I'm a native to Austin so if you have any questions about the city or housing, let me know!

These links may be helpful: UT Austin Roommate/Sublet finder and UT"s Graduate Housing Resources

If you're new to Austin, I would advise avoiding the housing off Riverside/Oltorf. There are large complexes off East Riverside that cater to students, 99% undergrads. I've lived there and it's not pleasant. They basically pair you up randomly unless you have roommates you'd already like to live with, and since it's not official university housing, sometimes you aren't even matched with other students (one of my roommates was an aspiring graffiti artist who left the place smelling of spray paint, let random people in to sleep on the couch who would later break back in to sleep on said couch after being kicked out, and was such a terror in the kitchen that we had a permanent fruit fly infestation). Even if you find roommates you'd like to live with, please look elsewhere with them, as these places are loud and there are lots of car break-ins. 

[feralgrad]

1 hour ago, Nothingtown said:

Hey there! Congrats on the acceptance to UT! I'm a native to Austin so if you have any questions about the city or housing, let me know!

These links may be helpful: UT Austin Roommate/Sublet finder and UT"s Graduate Housing Resources

If you're new to Austin, I would advise avoiding the housing off Riverside/Oltorf. There are large complexes off East Riverside that cater to students, 99% undergrads. I've lived there and it's not pleasant. They basically pair you up randomly unless you have roommates you'd already like to live with, and since it's not official university housing, sometimes you aren't even matched with other students (one of my roommates was an aspiring graffiti artist who left the place smelling of spray paint, let random people in to sleep on the couch who would later break back in to sleep on said couch after being kicked out, and was such a terror in the kitchen that we had a permanent fruit fly infestation). Even if you find roommates you'd like to live with, please look elsewhere with them, as these places are loud and there are lots of car break-ins. 

I lived in the Ballpark West off Riverside during undergrad, and it was okay because I picked my roommates. I agree that it's extremely risky if you get matched with strangers.

However, there are a lot of factors that make Riverside desirable in my opinion. Most of those large complexes are walking distance from a grocery store, which is vital if you don't have a car (I didn't). The area is pretty well-connected to public transportation, and there's a UT shuttle that stops right at the gates of many complexes. You're going to pay a high premium for these amenities in other neighborhoods. I knew people who lived in worse apartments close to campus (specifically West Campus), and they paid $200-300 more per month.

If you do have a car, I might recommend looking in the North Loop area. It's more expensive than Riverside, but from what I saw not by much. It's a quiet area with a few hip restaurants and stores (plus a coffee shop that stays open late-night!).

Edited March 13, 2019 by feralgrad

[Nothingtown]

On 3/13/2019 at 10:09 AM, feralgrad said:

I lived in the Ballpark West off Riverside during undergrad, and it was okay because I picked my roommates. I agree that it's extremely risky if you get matched with strangers.

However, there are a lot of factors that make Riverside desirable in my opinion. Most of those large complexes are walking distance from a grocery store, which is vital if you don't have a car (I didn't). The area is pretty well-connected to public transportation, and there's a UT shuttle that stops right at the gates of many complexes. You're going to pay a high premium for these amenities in other neighborhoods. I knew people who lived in worse apartments close to campus (specifically West Campus), and they paid $200-300 more per month.

If you do have a car, I might recommend looking in the North Loop area. It's more expensive than Riverside, but from what I saw not by much. It's a quiet area with a few hip restaurants and stores (plus a coffee shop that stays open late-night!).

Good point about the public transport. There's a UT shuttle that leaves from Riverside (Crossing Place and a few others). It was a decent place to live in terms of general walking distance to things. 

If you have a car though, the hidden cost of living there is that your car insurance will go way up in that area. I saved $50/month just by moving out of Riverside. You could put that towards rent in a better area--again, if you have a car. 

[ak13l]

Hi all! I was lucky enough to find two amazing roommates on gradcafe when I moved for my master's program. I just accepted a spot in a PhD program at UT-Austin and would love to chat with anyone looking for a roommate! I'll likely be moving in August and would ideally love to live in a house.