<p>DD is going to look at this place tomorrow with 3 sorority sisters. She seems to think the girls want to live in this particular complex next year because there are a lot of other sisters living there now. Aphimommy has said the area is a bit sketchy, and I did hear about the young man killed by a stray bullet. I am not familiar with the area, so I am soliciting impressions from any of you who are. My DD will have a car. I would say she is not street smart. Should I discourage this choice? I would really rather let her make her own decisions unless it is obviously a bad one.</p>
<p>Tell your D to look at The Retreat. Many Bama kids there including some Greeks. The price is reasonable and the place is like a vacation resort…seriously.</p>
<p>My son is loving it there.</p>
<p>[Tuscaloosa</a> Student Housing | The Retreat Clubhouse at Lake Tamaha](<a href=“http://www.retreatalabama.com/]Tuscaloosa”>http://www.retreatalabama.com/)</p>
<p>Bama has a tram that picks the kids up and brings them to campus.</p>
<p>lots of my DDs sisters live in the retreat or the woodlands.</p>
<p>Thanks. I would like her to explore all the options, but I expect the desire to live with certain friends will be a deciding factor. That’s why I would like to know if the Sterling location is something I should strongly resist. I sure don’t want to agree to something and later find out I’m uncomfortable with it. I may try to fly down next month. Southwest has some $100 fares.</p>
<p>When I look at the map of where Sterling is, it is just bordering a more sketchy area of town.</p>
<p>My son and his pals looked over there, but once they looked at The Retreat, it was a no-brainer. It’s kind of “off the beaten path” and away from that older sketchy area. </p>
<p>If you can get your D and her friends to look at The Retreat, they may all decide that they like it better.</p>
<p>The Retreat has cottages. My son has a 5 bedroom, 5 bathroom cottage - each kid has his own bedroom and bathroom. </p>
<p>The living room is huge…HUGE!!! They call the living room 2 rooms (activity room and social room), but it’s one big room. Each cottage has its own laundry room…very convenient. It also has a nice patio for a BBQ or outdoor furniture. It also has a big covered southern front porch to sit and relax on.</p>
<p>Here’s the floorplan…</p>
<p>[The</a> Retreat at Lake Tamaha](<a href=“http://www.retreatalabama.com/cottages/magnolia.php]The”>http://www.retreatalabama.com/cottages/magnolia.php)</p>
<p>Oh yeah, I want to live there. The Bluffs and Crimson Way look nice, too. I know my daughter, though, and it is way more important to her to be with friends than I would like. This could blind her to the negatives. Her sense is that these other girls specifically want to be at Sterling. I have asked her to try to get them to look around before they make up their minds. It is hard to land this helicopter!</p>