<p>Are cars allowed for freshmen? If not, do you know of any off-campus places to rent spaces during the year. My "S" needs a car for and internship.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Freshman cannot have cars on campus. I don’t know much about off-campus places to rent, but I’m pretty sure the availability of that kind of thing is limited, as is parking through UNC. My cousin had a similar dilemma as your son, but our great aunt lived in Chapel Hill just off Franklin Street at the time so she just parked her car at our aunt’s.</p>
<p>You can’t have a car as a freshmen, but I know of several freshmen now that have rented spots not far from their dorms for around $500 a year.</p>
<p>^
That’s not bad at all. I’m definitely going to do that. There is no way I am going to college without a car.</p>
<p>Ryan, it’s really not a big deal in Chapel Hill if you don’t have a car. There’s buses to Southpoint and Durham, and it’s not hard to get to Raleigh. There’s some colleges, like Appalachian State for instance where it’s really difficult if you don’t have a car, but UNC isn’t really one those. Most people I know who keep their cars on campus don’t use them very much, except for internships and such.</p>
<p>You can have a car if you live in Granville, or you can find a place off campus. There are plenty of places to keep a car here if you really want to. Personally, I would recommend bringing the car-it will win you a lot of friends your first few weeks here.</p>
<p>Appreciate the feedback - since my “S” will need a car we can splurge for the off-campus parking space rental since Chapel Hill is the best bang for the buck in the country.</p>
<p>I didn’t have my car until this semester, my second semester of my junior year. It was never a big issue.</p>
<p>I heard from a senior at UNC that some upperclassmen rent spaces and then re-rent them to freshmen…you can do do that too.</p>
<p>Many freshmen don’t see the need for a car. If you have a bike and know the bus system, it is fairly easy to get around Chapel Hill. The entire town of Chapel Hill has a free transit system, with maps on the town’s website:</p>
<p>[Town</a> of Chapel Hill : All Routes & Schedules](<a href=“http://www.ci.chapel-hill.nc.us/index.aspx?page=706]Town”>http://www.ci.chapel-hill.nc.us/index.aspx?page=706)</p>
<p>I can’t say enough how much a car is unnecessary for being on campus. Indeed it can be a hassle because you have to move your car around for events like basketball and football games. The bus system in Chapel Hill is really good as the above poster mentioned, and there are bus lines that go to both Harris-Teeter (a grocery store chain for those OOS people like me that have never heard of it) and Whole Foods. At the beginning of the year, there is a late night Target run with Charter buses where the store is open just for UNC students. </p>
<p>Your friends that you make that are upper-classmen are usually more than willing to take you on random shopping escapades. And if you ever really need a car, UNC has zipcars, a program where you can rent cars by the hour. </p>
<p>Really, the only reason I can think of for having a car on campus your freshman year is if you really wanted/needed to go home often or something like that or to work within driving distance.</p>
<p>There are several development projects slated for downtown Chapel Hill that will result in the loss of some of the spaces that were previously available for rent. Some of the churches rent parking spaces as do some small businesses but in every case the cars have to be moved on football weekends and in some lots for basketball games as well which is really a hassle.</p>
<p>Some rental houses near campus have more parking spaces than needed by those living there. In some cases the students renting the houses offer the additional parking spaces for lease to help offset their rent.</p>
<p>I do think that having a bike is a good thing especially for someone living on south campus. My son had a bike from second semester freshman year until he graduated and it made life much easier for him. He lived in one of the newer dorms on south campus for two years and then in a house off Rosemary St the last two.</p>
<p>Bikes have the additional benefit of combating the freshman 15 ;)</p>
<p>For anyone who is interested in biking at UNC, there is a lot of information available about registration, etc. on UNC’s website:</p>
<p>[UNC</a> Chapel Hill Police](<a href=“http://www.dps.unc.edu/Police/communityassistance/services/bikeregistrationandpolicy.cfm]UNC”>http://www.dps.unc.edu/Police/communityassistance/services/bikeregistrationandpolicy.cfm)</p>
<p>About the car-</p>
<p>You don’t NEED it your freshman year, but it can definitely come in handy. Driving over to southpoint, going out to dinner, going to the grocery store, picking up a friend from RDU, running errands, etc. My advice is bring it if you want to, and you won’t regret it. I used my car probably every day my first year here.</p>
<p>Cuse0507: are you coming from in state or out of state?</p>
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<p>I’m an in-state junior at UNC.</p>
<p>They have plenty of transportation at UNC the buses are free i think.</p>