<p>I went to FSU for undergrad and just graduated and still live in Tally, and I came across this forum, and since it’s slow at work a figured I’d offer some advice.</p>
<p>First let me address that I highly encourage everyone to live on campus for the first year, it’s a great experience and you meet a lot of people, get more involved, tend to do better in school, etc…. But if you couldn’t get housing in a residence hall here is my advice.</p>
<p>Cost</p>
<p>More often then not off-campus housing is going to be cheaper per month then the residence halls. You need to realize a couple things though: the lease is for the entire year it’s a good thing because you don’t have to move out during breaks, but you’re still paying rent. 99% of the student apartment complexes lease by the bedroom, so you’re only responsible for your portion of the rent. It’s cheaper the more roommates you have, its going to be a lot less for a 4/4 compared to a 2/2. If you don’t know who you want to live with a lot of apartment complexes have you fill out surveys for compatibly and will match you up with randoms, but this isn’t e-harmony I know for a fact some complexes just throw these in the trash, really most of them only pay attention to sex and if you smoke or not. You could room with a 6th year senior or a freshman its just luck for a lot of places. Factor in things like electric if it’s included and how much is the allowance, places might say electric is included but it’s only a $100 and if that’s a 4/4 plan on the bill being at least $25 extra per person. A lot of places run specials I would advise everyone to always ask for specials OCH is very competitive I never paid any deposits or app fees, the only thing is a majority of places charge you a hassle free move out fee, this is super common your not getting ripped off. Always ask what’s included in the rent, i.e. internet, cable, trash pickup, furnished (if so what furniture)etc… </p>
<p>Parking </p>
<p>I also want to address parking, it is not nearly as impossible as everyone thinks, sure there isn’t going to be a parking spot right in front of the building you have classes in waiting for you, but there is tons of parking now and it is a lot better then before. Honestly the first week of classes is horrible because everyone has to go to class or they get dropped and people are on campus a lot during the first week of the semester but after that my whole time at FSU I normally found a spot within 10 mins of getting to campus, there were only a handful of times when it takes longer then that and no more than 30mins max. People who say parking is hard are the same people who only know of two garages and want to park right in the middle of campus, normally there is always parking at the Stadium and you can take the bus everywhere. Also now the bus routes extend off-campus and generally stop in front of the large student apartment complexes so it might not even be necessary to drive.</p>
<p>Amenities </p>
<p>A lot of places will have tons of amenities to offer but ask yourself if your really going to use these things, they have an awesome pool but have you even been to the pool in the past five years, some places have everything from in-door basketball courts to tanning beds, but realize if these places cost more and if your not using the amenities it’s a waste. </p>
<p>Apartments</p>
<p>-There are tons of apartments surrounding the campus within walking or biking distance, but a couple things: generally these apartments are cheaper then the dorms and not that expensive at all. But there’s a reason their simply not as nice as other apartments. The only reason I would live in these apartments is if you wanted to walk to school. But see the above info on parking and I would say it’s worth it to avoid the majority of these places. Basically what I’m saying is Tallahassee isn’t really that big, and if you going to have to drive to campus it doesn’t matter if you live 2 or 5 miles from the school. </p>
<p>If you want to make friends easily I would definitely live in a student apartment complex here are some suggestions.</p>
<p>-Don’t believe a model, a place could make a model look amazing have new furniture, appliances, carpet, etc… but a real apartment could look totally different. </p>
<p>-I really dislike Student Housing Solutions, some of their properties are nice but a lot are really dumpy, I would also stay away from Southgate or any other "residence/dorm-style" apartment.</p>
<p>-I think West 10, Victoria Grand, University Club, Evergreens at Mahan, Polos on the Park, those are all nice places there’s definitely more but those are the ones I can think off the top of my head.</p>
<p>-I would also say Heritage Grove only if you have pre-paid though, if not there's nicer options for the same cost.</p>
<p>Another route is to look for property management companies in Tallahassee just google it. They have inventory of condos, townhouses, homes that are available to rent for students You typically get more bang for your buck but it might not be as easy to make friends and you would need to know roommates beforehand. Also many of these places will be unfurnished.</p>
<p>Well this post is extremely long now, so ill just list some good websites for you all to use:</p>
<p>-Ratings of Apartments (take with a grain of salt because a lot people only post when they have problems)</p>
<p>Tallahassee</a> Apartments for Rent - Tallahassee Apartments Reviews and Ratings </p>
<p>FSU Off-Campus Housing Office</p>
<p>student</a> resource center • we bring student services to life</p>
<p><em>Feel free to ask Q’s I’ll try and respond when I have time</em></p>