<p>I'm a freshman at UCF in the friendly off-white brick wall, tiny rooms in Lake Claire now, but I'm looking into apartments for next year. So far I've checked out Jefferson Village, Northgate and I have friends who's apartment at Village at Science Drive I'm at frequently, so those are the 3 I'm familiar with. Any opinions on these places or any other recommendations for apartments? </p>
<p>I really like the model at jefferson, and the clubhouse/amenities are great, but I'm worried the beautiful model wont be anything near the real deal. The price there is great at about $570/month with the premium added on for the bigger room. But I'm crazy about the location. Its a tad further from UCF and the traffic right by E. Colonial/50th is just horrendous.</p>
<p>I love the location of northgate. Much less traffic in that direction on alafaya. Way closer to campus. But the rooms were smaller than jeffersons, the amenities werent as nice and the rent was $609/month, I'm assuming because of the locale. I would love to live there but I'm just struggling with the idea of paying more money for a smaller, less nice and new place for the location. </p>
<p>Science drive is kinda in between both the two. The rooms are very big, the apartment itself isnt that nice, but not bad by any means. The location is a bit closer to campus than jefferson but not anywhere near northgate. The price is about $600/month, but at least I'm getting a bigger room, unlike northgate.</p>
<p>Any opinions on places, preferably jefferson because thats where I'm leaning, or personal experiences/stories would be greatly appreciated. Any other suggestions on where to live is greatly appreciated as well! Thanks</p>
<p>PS: Please dont tell me about the crime or anything. I've accepted that this is a college town and a high crime area so I'm not choosing anywhere based off of one robbery or mugging.</p>
<p>My son lives in Jefferson Village now. I can try to answer questions if you have any specifics. I can’t compare it to the other places you’ve seen, but I can try to answer questions about JV.</p>
<p>My daughter lives in Northgate. She loves the location but feels the apartments need updating. She also spent her freshman year at Lake Claire and moved to Northgate as a sophmore. Next year she plans on renting a house with 3 other girls in Oveido, or north of campus. We chose Northgate because of it’s proximity to campus, price, and the fact that it is not on Alafaya or anywhere near Colonial, which I agree is horrendous traffic-wise.</p>
<p>Northgate quoted you $609 a month? She’s paying $545 right now, is $609 a month the rent will be for a 4/2 for Fall 2011?</p>
<p>As far as crime, I haven’t heard any complaints from her about Northgate. She loves not having to even drive onto Alafaya to get to campus.</p>
<p>sorry, i shudda clarified, I’m looking at 4/4’s not 4/2’s, in which case you are correct those are still $545. Yea I love the northgate side of alafaya, and the LA fitness i go to is in that direction and i notice everyday how much more calm the roads are, but the apartments certainly need updating and i feel the rooms are too small for what i would be paying, in comparison to jefferson which has bigger, newer rooms for $570, and that is with the $15 premium added on for the larger room. thank you for your input!</p>
<p>I’ve heard good things about Jefferson Village, and the couple of units I’ve seen in person were nice, if a bit small (not the rooms, but the living quarters). Of course no apartment looks like the model unit, but it’s realistic as far as the layout and floor plan go. It’s nice that JV is still pretty fresh and new. I have a friend that lives in Northgate Lakes and I like it a lot too. Her apartment is a little bit on the older side, but still nice compared to some of the other places I’ve seen (Pegasus Landing/Pointe, The Edge). The location of Northgate is a lot nicer too; McCulloch has much less traffic than Alafaya.</p>
<p>How much will you be driving to UCF? That would be one of the biggest determining factors for me, since it takes a few minutes longer to get to UCF from Jefferson Village. Wherever you end up I hope you’ll take advantage of the shuttles that run to campus. I live at Sterling now and try to use the shuttle as much as I can–it’s so much more convenient than driving and trying to find a parking space.</p>
<p>It sounds like you’re leaning towards Jefferson Village. I think you should go with your gut; I don’t think you’ll be disappointed there.</p>
<p>Thanks. I have actually just signed my lease with JV. Three of my friends I was considering rooming with decided on there so that swung me in JV’s favor. I will definitely use the shuttles, cuz that parking is a JOKE.</p>