HelloKaty37 Posted February 23, 2010 Posted February 23, 2010 I'm going into the Ph.D. in Literature program. Anyone else on their way to South Bend this fall?
This Is Our Music Posted February 27, 2010 Posted February 27, 2010 I'm going into the Ph.D. in Literature program. Anyone else on their way to South Bend this fall? A chara! I'll be heading into the Ph.D. program in Literature as well. Are you as excited as I am? More the point - since I notice you've got a big move ahead of you too - have you done any research on housing in South Bend? I've started to look into that whole thing online, but I'm having trouble figuring out what are good and not-so-good areas for grad students to live. I have a dog, so I'm guessing that apartment living is pretty much out of the running.
HelloKaty37 Posted March 1, 2010 Author Posted March 1, 2010 Yeah; I'm definitely excited! I grew up as a rabid Notre Dame football fan, so this is like a dream come true. I actually have been looking into the housing situation a lot online, and I visited last summer to get a feel for the different neighborhoods. I really liked the area just south of ND between it and IUSB. I think they call it the riverside area or something along those lines. A lot of little houses (1-4 bedrooms, rent or buy) were there and it seemed like a predominately student and young family oriented area. A large chunk of my family lives in Niles, MI (about a 10 min drive north of South Bend) so they kind of know the area and they advised me against going south or west of the river. Mishawaka also seems to have some nice housing around their big shopping center. I think that may be called University Park, but once again my memory for names is a little fuzzy. I hear Granger in general is nice, but I'm personally not willing to live that far from campus. I have found these two rental agencies to be helpful, and Blue & Gold Rentals has even agreed to let me look at some houses for pre-leasing during the visit weekend in March. http://bluegoldrentals.com/ http://www.bumbacahouses.com/ Will you be taking the trip there in March? I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone then.
This Is Our Music Posted March 2, 2010 Posted March 2, 2010 Hello again! I'll definitely be taking a trip out to South Bend in March - unfortunately, though, I've got comprehensive exams scheduled for the week of the _Weltliteratur_ conference, so I won't be out there until the following week, probably from the evening of the 24th to the morning of the 27th. My guess is that I probably won't get to meet any of the other recent admits, which sucks since I was looking forward to meeting everyone as well. Kudos to you for getting out there last summer to get a feel for the different neighborhoods; I really can't thank you enough for sharing all this information with me. The area you described ("Riverside") sounds perfect to me, provided I can find a property that'll let me bring the Cairn terrier along. Students and young families are pretty much my ideal neighbors, and I'm really hoping to find a place in my first year that I can "settle into" for the remainder of my time at ND. In terms of college sports, I'm from Philly so the whole "Holy War" / Villanova vs. St. Joe's basketball thing is pretty much hardwired into my brain. I'm hoping I'll be able to find some way to watch the big game out in South Bend everywhere, but we'll see. All that being said, tell me a bit about your research interests? I checked out your profile and it seems like there's a bit of overlap between the two of us, especially in terms of the Irish stuff. Yeah; I'm definitely excited! I grew up as a rabid Notre Dame football fan, so this is like a dream come true. I actually have been looking into the housing situation a lot online, and I visited last summer to get a feel for the different neighborhoods. I really liked the area just south of ND between it and IUSB. I think they call it the riverside area or something along those lines. A lot of little houses (1-4 bedrooms, rent or buy) were there and it seemed like a predominately student and young family oriented area. A large chunk of my family lives in Niles, MI (about a 10 min drive north of South Bend) so they kind of know the area and they advised me against going south or west of the river. Mishawaka also seems to have some nice housing around their big shopping center. I think that may be called University Park, but once again my memory for names is a little fuzzy. I hear Granger in general is nice, but I'm personally not willing to live that far from campus. I have found these two rental agencies to be helpful, and Blue & Gold Rentals has even agreed to let me look at some houses for pre-leasing during the visit weekend in March. http://bluegoldrentals.com/ http://www.bumbacahouses.com/ Will you be taking the trip there in March? I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone then.
This Is Our Music Posted March 2, 2010 Posted March 2, 2010 Oh ... and almost forget to mention ... let me know if you have your heart set on any of the properties listed on the linked websites. It's only fair that you get first crack at these since you were gracious enough to share them with me! Yeah; I'm definitely excited! I grew up as a rabid Notre Dame football fan, so this is like a dream come true. I actually have been looking into the housing situation a lot online, and I visited last summer to get a feel for the different neighborhoods. I really liked the area just south of ND between it and IUSB. I think they call it the riverside area or something along those lines. A lot of little houses (1-4 bedrooms, rent or buy) were there and it seemed like a predominately student and young family oriented area. A large chunk of my family lives in Niles, MI (about a 10 min drive north of South Bend) so they kind of know the area and they advised me against going south or west of the river. Mishawaka also seems to have some nice housing around their big shopping center. I think that may be called University Park, but once again my memory for names is a little fuzzy. I hear Granger in general is nice, but I'm personally not willing to live that far from campus. I have found these two rental agencies to be helpful, and Blue & Gold Rentals has even agreed to let me look at some houses for pre-leasing during the visit weekend in March. http://bluegoldrentals.com/ http://www.bumbacahouses.com/ Will you be taking the trip there in March? I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone then.
HelloKaty37 Posted March 3, 2010 Author Posted March 3, 2010 Oh ... and almost forget to mention ... let me know if you have your heart set on any of the properties listed on the linked websites. It's only fair that you get first crack at these since you were gracious enough to share them with me! I'm interested in the two 31st street houses and the one on South Bend Ave at Blue and Gold Rentals. At Bumbacahouses, mainly the one on South Bend Ave. I will be checking them all out when I visit, so I'll let you know if any of them really catches my eye, but feel free to grab any of them that allow your dog if you're looking to prelease now. I know what a hassle it can be to move with an animal. From the pictures I've seen of Cairn terriers, they actually look smaller than my cat, who is almost 20 lbs. Landlords always give me a funny look when I ask if there is a cat weight limit as well as a dog one, lol. All that being said, tell me a bit about your research interests? I checked out your profile and it seems like there's a bit of overlap between the two of us, especially in terms of the Irish stuff. I mainly do Dante, since my language background is mostly Italian. I'm very interested in his arguments for the use of vernacular languages and his influence on later Medieval/early Renaissance authors. In general, I am interested in the depiction of Medieval Catholic theology in literature, so Dante gives me a wealth of that what with the Commedia and everything. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to study Irish yet, so all the mythology I have been able to read is in translation. I'm hoping to pick up some Irish classes while at ND, which Dr. Buttigieg was supportive of when I spoke with him last summer. I love the stories of Cù Chulainn and how the heroes of that cycle of literature are so flawed. I would love at some point to do some comparative work on the depiction of warrior-heroes in the Ulster Cycle with those in other literary traditions (particularly Anglo Saxon), but I need to get started on that Irish first.
HelloKaty37 Posted March 18, 2010 Author Posted March 18, 2010 Just wanted to give you a heads-up. I called the realtors whose sites I suggested, and they are all rented out for next year already! Time for some more online searching, I guess. *shrug*
This Is Our Music Posted March 19, 2010 Posted March 19, 2010 Just wanted to give you a heads-up. I called the realtors whose sites I suggested, and they are all rented out for next year already! Time for some more online searching, I guess. *shrug* I know, right? I had e-mailed them last week and they sent me an e-mail a few days ago that said pretty much what you did (i.e. that they were all booked up for next year). Honestly, I'm a little surprised they'd turn away business - I mean, at the very least, you'd think they would refer us to some other realtors that could use the $. Oh well, back to the drawing board. Keep me in the loop re: what, if anything, you find. I'll be sure to do the same. Oh, and while we're on the topic of all things ND, how's the visitation going? I imagine that St. Patrick's Day in South Bend is something else ...
HelloKaty37 Posted March 20, 2010 Author Posted March 20, 2010 (edited) Oh, and while we're on the topic of all things ND, how's the visitation going? I imagine that St. Patrick's Day in South Bend is something else ... My plane landed a little late to do much partying on Wednesday, but the restaurant that the program had me get dinner from had an excellent corn beef, cabbage, and potatoes special, lamb stew, and Guinness available for the occasion. I'm sure next year St Patrick's Day will be awesome! The visit was really good. The students who I met in the program were all very friendly and welcoming and I could tell they all knew one another very well. There was much good-natured mockery and stories of drunken events going around. The professors were also very helpful, and the campus really can't be beat. The weather was mercifully mild these last few days (almost the same as Texas) but I have been told that is not the norm this time of year, so it may be hellish by the time your visit rolls around. There are a couple of students in the program currently doing Irish. One girl actually did her Masters in Galway, and presented at the conference today on an Irish translation of the Aeneid. I imagine they will be able to tell you plenty about that aspect of the program. One thing I have noticed is next to none of the grad students really care about ND sports, which is disappointing (though probably should have been expected). I'm looking forward to getting football tickets to as many of the games as I can next year, and I'm a little bit heartbroken the basketball team went down so quickly this week. Edited March 20, 2010 by HelloKaty37
JustChill Posted March 21, 2010 Posted March 21, 2010 How's South Bend itself? I've heard so many negative things about it that I don't know what to think.
ceridwen Posted March 21, 2010 Posted March 21, 2010 I'm starting Notre Dame in the Fall for a PhD in Biology. Very excited (except about the weather)! One thing I have noticed is next to none of the grad students really care about ND sports, which is disappointing (though probably should have been expected). I'm looking forward to getting football tickets to as many of the games as I can next year, and I'm a little bit heartbroken the basketball team went down so quickly this week. It seemed to be quite the opposite for the bio grad students. A lot of them were pretty in to the football thing especially. JustChill, I've heard negative things about South Bend as well, but it didn't seem that bad when I was up. None of the grad students I talked to loved the city, but they didn't hate it either. I hate the city I'm living in now, so I'm not terribly worried about it.
LateAntique Posted March 26, 2010 Posted March 26, 2010 I'm headed to ND this Fall for Early Christian Studies. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm trying to find some graduate students to go in on a house, so if anyone's looking for a roommate, let me know.
HelloKaty37 Posted March 29, 2010 Author Posted March 29, 2010 JustChill, I'm not going to lie: South Bend sucks a little. It isn't the prettiest or most lively city. On the other hand, Mishawaka didn't seem all that bad to me, and the Notre Dame campus more than makes up for the city surrounding it. It is beautiful and filled with things to do, from film festivals to concerts to sporting events. Ceridwen, it's good to know that some graduate students care about football there. I was beginning to think I would be the lone grad student in a sea of undergrads in the student section at games.
srk Posted April 5, 2010 Posted April 5, 2010 am an international applicant (PhD in mech. engg.).....guys do you have any idea...when does the mech. dept. generally gives out the results???
Samux Posted May 6, 2010 Posted May 6, 2010 I'm headed to ND in the fall and am looking to rent a room in a house. I've been scouring Craigslist but it's slim-pickings on there. I can't figure out whether the problem is that it's too early to look for a room or that South Benders(?) prefer other sites for posting room ads. Does anyone know?
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