<p>So I've been looking for an apt in Rochester from afar without much luck. I'm looking for a cheap 1 bedroom in the Park Ave/East Ave area. Are there any apartment finding services in Rochester? I remember in Chicago there were services hired by landlords that would help match up people looking for apts with the apts. Is there anything like that here? I would feel a lot more comfortable dealing with a company since I'm going to have to put down a deposit long distance, etc. But at the same time I'd rather live in a smaller building which is why I'm not looking at big buildings that might be owned by companies. </p>
<p>I've looked at the Off campus housing search on the U of R website and it's pretty unhelpful. Some ads have been up there for months and I'm not getting any responses from the ones I've contacted.</p>
<p>Also, is there a place to buy cheap stuff there? I had pretty much assumed that when I got up there I'd make a trip to the local Ikea for any furniture/housewares I needed. I was dumbfounded to find out there is NO local Ikea. I don't remember life before Ikea. ;) So what do people do for cheap things for the house without Ikea?</p>
<p>Any other tips about moving to Rochester?</p>
<p>D2 and her roomies used a rental broker last year when they needed a summer house. Can’t remember her name, though, or the agency she worked for. But they do exist in Rochester. You might try googling ‘rental brokers + Rochester, NY’ and see what pops up. Make a few phone calls and ask. </p>
<p>As for the furniture–there’s Craig’s list and some decent used furniture/consignment stores in the city/'burbs. Unless you want new, then there’s Target, Home Depot, WalMart etc. near Marketplace Mall. IIRC there’s also a discount mattress store along the route to Marketplace on W. Henrietta. And Futons & More on Mt Hope Ave.</p>
<p>If you have your UR ID and password, you might also try the UR grad student message board. Sometimes apts and furniture gets listed on there.</p>
<p>Thanks wowm, I’d searched for ‘rental agency’ but not ‘broker’. Sometimes a little change in vocab helps. I’ll try that next. </p>
<p>I’ve never really had used furniture before and all the media around bed bugs is kind of scaring me so I’d just feel safer with cheap new stuff even if it isn’t the best quality. Maybe I’m being too picky.</p>
<p>I’ll check out that grad student message board as well. :)</p>
<p>Hmmm… did my own googling and didn’t find much useful. I’d ask D2 for you, but she’s out of the country.</p>
<p>I know when DH and I had to move to Boston in hurry and needed a apartment, he called a couple of Boston realtors and one realtor gave him the name of a rental agent who specialized in apartment rentals. You might try the same.</p>
<p>An awful lot of student apartments get passed down by word of mouth.</p>
<p>EDIT TO ADD–<a href=“http://www.rentrochester.com/”>http://www.rentrochester.com/</a></p>
<p>You can search by neighborhood.</p>
<p>Thanks wowm, your suggestions have been helpful.</p>
<p>I have another related question. What are the ramifications of not having off street parking? Judging from apt ads I gather parking is an issue in Rochester. If you dont have off street parking what is the street parking like? In the snow? I have heard something about alternate side parking but I am not sure what that means. Any idea? When I lived in Chicago most people parked on the street and it wasn’t a big thing unless you lived downtown. The snow really only affected major streets which needed to be plowed.</p>
<p>Parking! Ai!</p>
<p>In some neighborhoods on-street parking can be very problematic since many houses don’t have driveways and all residents have to park on the street. Lots of competition for street spaces. You may end parking several blocks (6 or more) away from your address, esp if there are many apartments in the area. </p>
<p>Add in the fact that in certain areas, neighborhood businesses (bars, club, restaurants) are cheek by jowl with houses and you have to add in the demand for on-street parking by customers, esp in the evening. </p>
<p>Many residential streets only allow parking on one side of the street (streets are narrow) which further restricts parking availability.</p>
<p>Also depending on the neighborhood there may be other on-street parking restrictions–like no parking between certain hours (e.g. 8 am and 7 pm), cars must be moved at least once every 24 hours, which side of the street parking is allowed on changes according to the day (alternate side parking), no street parking on trash pickup days.</p>
<p>Lastly some neighborhoods require residents to register their cars, sometimes pay a fee and receive a parking permit sticker. (Note having the sticker doesn’t guarantee you’ll find on-street parking, but not having a sticker will get your car towed PDQ.)</p>
<p>I don’t know about winter parking issues. D2 doesn’t have a car and I have only visited (and parked in residential neighborhoods) during the summer when snow–thankfully-- wasn’t an issue.</p>
<p>BTW, if I sound alarmist–I’m from the SW where free off street parking is considered a birthright!</p>
<p>D2 lived in South Wedge. There were few or no driveways, one side of street parking, alternate side parking, no parking on trash day. And there was a bar at the end of the block. During the day finding a parking spot within a block or three was no problem. Finding a space after 6 pm…took lots of cruising in ever widening circles.</p>