<p>I need to know about off campus apartment hunting. I need to book a flight to LA in August before classes start, and I need a place to live. I am trying to figure out when would be the best time to come in so I can get an acceptable room in an apartment. I know there are alot of international grad students coming in early august to get their apartments...and im wondering if i come after them, if there would be any good apartments left. I dont want to be screwed out a nice living place. Id like to live in the north side of the campus, if possible. </p>
<p>Also, if anyone has any recommendations for either how to find good housing or any landlords that would be great. I constantly look at craigslist and have been checking dailytrojan classifieds as well.</p>
<p>I suggest you contact USC housing and see if there are any apartments posted for off campus housing (i.e. people looking for roommates). Explain your situation and see what USC housing recommends. Also, be careful where you live off campus. My husband said there was an invisible line defining where it is o.k. to be off campus and where the area is less attractive.</p>
<p>the thing is that im going to be a grad student, at usc, without any aid. So obviously, im going to be on a really tight budget. I think the most i can afford would be one room in an apartment. So companies like CalStudent and Conquest are wayy too expensive for me</p>
<p>To be honest, I was a little shocked by the high prices of student housing. Los Angeles is very expensive in terms of real estate, even with the current downturn in the general real estate market in S. California. Try to find something close to USC. Car costs-gas is quite expensive.</p>
<p>A single room is the most expensive option. An alternative is to team up with another incoming grad student(s) and look for a multi-person situation. Two or three people can be much more cost efficient.</p>
<p>Craig's List has listings for rentals, rooms and roommates as separate categories. Try all three at once. You may be lucky and find someone local who can do the leg work to check places out, email photos, etc. You may also find more senior grad students, perhaps of your own nationality if you're international, who need to fill a vacancy left by a graduating roommate. </p>
<p>This site is mostly undergrads and parents. I think that you'll have better luck finding grads on Craig's List and maybe Facebook, which also has ads.</p>
<p>my main concern from the original post is, will there be apartments available whether I come closer to the first day of classes...or will I have to come really early in august to get the a decent apartment?</p>
<p>Well, to get a decent place, you probably should have been looking back in February or March ;) Honestly though, think about your question...what is the most logical solution? Should you come a month early and look for housing or come right before school starts and have to deal with the stress of finding a place to live not knowing if you'll be settled down before the first day of classes. </p>
<p>haha yea, i wish i had my acceptance in early february so I could look earlier. unfortunately, i have to wait till now to look. yea i know its pretty obvious, the only reason I asked is for financial reasons, its a bit cheaper to get to LA closer to classes starting. </p>
<p>anyways, i was wondering if you guys had an opinion on area. I seem to only be able to find apartments that are west of the campus, or north of adams. st. From what I hear, both areas are not good. I guess I have to go for the lesser of the two evils. The most recent crime alert had a mugging of a person on the west side of campus at 9pm...that scares me a bit. </p>
<p>Well, I'll be living west of campus next year (previous years being north of campus, before adams), and I think it'll be fine. I think you need to cautious no matter where you are. There's a lot of students, especially grads on both areas. </p>
<p>I suggest going as early as you possibly can so you can get an idea of the areas around campus are like, and how comfortable you feel because even if you hear certain suggestions, it's better to have your own opinion.</p>