<p>Does anybody have any recommendations about grad housing? Are there any neighborhoods to stay away from? Any apartment buildings that are particularly good? Any other advice?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Find housing either in Squirrel Hill or Shadyside - don’t bother with downtown Oakland (super sketchy and gross). Most grad students live in one of the 2 aforementioned neighborhoods.</p>
<p>Oakland is generally considered to be anything west of campus; squirrel hill is southeast of campus (past schenley park) and shadyside is northeast of campus (up until baum blvd). </p>
<p>I live in Squirrel Hill with my boyfriend (grad student) and it’s great. The area is extremely Jewish so everyone’s very friendly and there’s little crime. Shadyside is a little bit more upscale and a little more expensive. Both areas have several bus routes that go straight to campus.</p>
<p>I highly recommend padmapper ([Apartments</a> for Rent - PadMapper Apartment Search for Oodle, Apartments.com, Rent.com, Kijiji, and Craigslist Apartments](<a href=“http://www.padmapper.com%5DApartments”>http://www.padmapper.com)) for finding affordable but nice apartments. Don’t fall for Fairfax or Webster – though it’s possible to rent there as a non-undergrad, the prices are really absurd for what you’re getting. Furthermore, the area around campus is really crap in terms of finding good decent food, grocery stores, parking, et cetera. I think it’s worth the 10 minute bus ride every day to live somewhere much nicer and cheaper. If you have a car, even better.</p>
<p>Thanks! I was thinking about a place in Oakland located at Oakland Square & Dawson St – is that no good? I’m not sure if by “downtown Oakland” you mean any area in Oakland or a specific area.</p>
<p>I do have a car – is parking a problem?</p>
<p>When you look for apartments, some charge for parking and some don’t. Parking is something you will want to ask about.</p>
<p>My daughter lives in North Oakland and it is definitely student housing.</p>
<p>Another question: When is the best time to find an apartment? I’m from SoCal and I’m planning on getting there early August. Should I lock something down now (not sure how difficult that would be given that I’m not currently living there)? Or is it best to wait until I get there?</p>
<p>I would start looking ASAP. My daughter has her lease for next year. Because you are across the country, you might talk to someone in the housing office.</p>
<p>Many of the leases seem to run from mid-August to mid-August.</p>
<p>Yeah you should absolutely start looking now, or as soon as possible. My current lease is from the start of August through the following year.</p>
<p>I know the corner you mentioned, ComtriS, and it’s fine. Not great but ok. Kinda towards ghetto area (South of Boulevard of the Allies there it gets pretty sketchy… I wouldn’t walk alone at night for sure) but it’s not as bad as some other areas.</p>
<p>On the plus side, it’s very close to campus. On the minus side, most grad students don’t live in that direction and there’s no real food/grocery/parking around. The streets there are super narrow and aren’t really good for walking, either.</p>
<p>You mentioned Fairfax and Webster are no good. Are there any apartment communities you recommend? I found some other places between Fifth/Neville and Fifth/Negley – I’m assuming these areas would be fine?</p>
<p>Also, what about North Oakland?</p>
<p>North Oakland isn’t bad, but it really depends on the type of community you want to be living in. Squirrel Hill is a great, quiet area with lots of families and nice houses that are available to be rented by a couple of students. It’s really a nice area for living quietly versus what you’d be more likely to see in the Oakland communities.</p>
<p>I’ve also heard stories of married grad students buying a house out in Edgewood/Swissvale area since it’s a pretty decent bus ride out, so things are cheap. Looking on zillow.com right now, there are houses for about $55k. That’s five years worth of rent (in a small 1 bedroom apartment in Los Angeles) to OWN the place. :(</p>