<p>I was just wondering based on other's experience how much electricity or heat ends up costing per month in collegetown.</p>
<p>Nobobody answered then; maybe now? This would be good to know. For 2 BR apartment, for example. Gas heat & electric.</p>
<p>Very few landlords will require you to pay for your heat…although one of my buddies lived in an apartment where she did have to pay for heat. As a general rule…the rent usually includes heat, hot water and sometimes garbage disposal fees. If you shop around you can find awesome deals…like the landlord including utilities and internet as well.</p>
<p>I lived in a studio apartment my senior year…heat, hot water and garbage disposal fees were included. My Road Runner internet was $29.95 per month, Cable (basic) was $17 per month and my electricity bill averaged around $20-$25 in the winter/spring months and $35 for August and September (I ran the A/C a lot 
). My apartment had an electric stove so I didn’t have a gas bill. One thing to be aware of with NYSEG…sometimes they read your meter and sometimes they don’t (this will be noted on your bill). Estimated readings are based on the amount of electricity the previous tenant used…so your bill may be higher or lower than expected. This will be rectified the next time an actual meter reading is done…so you will either be billed more because you used more electricity…or the amount you overpaid b/c the estimate was more than what you actually used will be credited toward your next payment. Another note: you can apply for a financial aid budget increase and get additional FA to cover all utilities except cable. </p>
<p>My friends had a 2 BR apartment their senior year…I would say their monthly electricity bill averaged $60. Their internet/cable bill was very high because they had Road Runner and digital cable with the extra bundle. Heat, hot water and garbage disposal was included in their rent.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Whether few or not, there is at least one offer now that does not include heat & elec; need to compare it with the others that are more like you are describing. Hence my inquiry.
Info on heating costs would be welcome.</p>
<p>Do students who live in Collegetown still have a meal plan? My daughter thinks she’s cooking dinner every night, but I don’t see that happening. I hate to think that they will just be eating greasy take out, fast food, etc. A partial meal plan would be nice, because a least I would know that they are eating relatively good food some of the time.</p>
<p>Also, are students living in Collegetown somewhat isolated from campus life/activities? If they did live in a dorm, would they be making new friends, or does everyone just sort of stay close with the friends they made freshman year?</p>
<p>i’m living in a house in collegetown next year and electricity is the only utility i (and the rest of the people living in my house) will have to pay. i think it’s like that for most houses. the landlady said that the utility bill (aka electricity bill) is usually around ~$10/person.</p>
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<p>There are special meal plans available for students who live off campus. The plan includes a certain amount of BRBs (I believe the options are 250, 500 or 700) and 10 all-you-care-to-eat dining hall meals. I had the meal plan option that included 500 BRBs…I definitely recommend it. I made dinner for myself just about every night but used the BRBs for breakfast (when I was campus that early ), coffee, lunches and basic food items that I could purchase at the on-campus convenience stores.</p>
<p>When I lived in a 2 bedroom and only had to pay electricity, although we had electric heat, it was 20/ month before winter and 40-50/month in the winter. When I lived in a 7 bedroom and had to pay all utilities in ctown, it was 15/month for cable/internet, 30/month for NYSEG and 30 every 3 months for water, plus trash tags.</p>
<p>I live in a 4 bedroom apt in collegetown. Internet and heat is included in rent. My electricity bill is $65/month, non-basic cable is $95 (showtime, hbo, HD programming etc). </p>
<p>A friend of mine lives in a 3 bedroom apt, and heat is not included. In Feb, she said her heat/electric bill all together was approx $200. This bill was closer to $100 when no A/C or heat was on in Sept/Oct. </p>
<p>Many kids living in Ctown do cook a lot. I cook most nights except for one or two on the weekend, or if I dont have time to go to wegmans. I dont bother with a meal plan because if you don’t use all of your BRB’s or dining room meals they disappear at the end of the Spring. I just charge coffee/ meals on campus to Cornell Card (charges directly to bursar), and sometimes I use City Bucks for off campus food which is also charged to the bursar (College Town Bagels, etc).</p>
<p>Electric is rare for some reason in the North. Don’t know why - it’s cheaper and less dangerous, but whatever, Northerners are weird. Most things are gas, and in the winter, a 2 BR Apartment would cost around 90-100 per month if you like it warm.</p>
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<p>Have you ever tried heating an entire house on electricity in temperatures below freezing? Try doing so and then tell me that it is cheaper than natural gas. It’s almost twice as expensive.</p>
<p>That’s not to mention the fact that it’s a much better heat.</p>
<p>oops in my post I meant per person btw</p>
<p>In my apartment this year, we have to pay electric and cable. Between 7 people, that is typically an extra $20-40 a person. The cable alone is $15 each. </p>
<p>My apartment next year, all utilities are included…probably because its a worse apartment and needed to throw in something to get people to sign leases.</p>