I have a daughter transferring to UK starting in the fall of 2017. Can anyone recommend good off campus housing. I am looking for details about the distance from campus (looking for walking distance), safety and affordability. I am also interested in the housing condition of the housing but I recognize that college housing can often be less than desirable so it is not my top priority.
@micawber … Our D2 lives in Red Mile Village Apartments. Walking distance depends on which part of campus you’re walking to. It’s about 3/4 mile to the edge of campus and just under 1.5 miles to the library. There is a bus stop immediately adjacent to the complex, and depending upon how well her class schedule synchs with the bus schedule (and the weather of course) she has both walked and taken the bus. No issues with either method.
We were very comfortable with the level of safety at those apartments. There’s always going to be a few instances of theft from cars, etc. but she’s been there since August and hasn’t had any issues and hasn’t heard of any major issues within the complex.
She’s in a furnished 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment. Basic rent for her half is $500/mo, plus a surcharge depending on how much electricity gets used. She has paid between $520 and $540 per month total. Washer/dryer are in each apartment, high speed internet is included (each apartment has it’s own network name and passcode), cable and cable box included in living room, microwave, refrigerator, and dishwasher are all included.
Condition of the apartment overall was pretty good when she moved in, and was as clean as we expected primarily student housing to be. No major deficiencies on anything, and minor issues were addressed promptly by management. Worst issue was some cat hair from the previous tenants pet that was on the living room sofa that her roommate had an allergic reaction to. Management had the sofa cleaned, but when that didn’t fully alleviate the problem they swapped it out for a new sofa.
Overall she/we have been pretty pleased with the overall value for the money. They’re certainly not the fanciest apartments available, but they’re more than adequate. It’s a 12 month lease, but we like the fact that she doesn’t have to haul all her stuff home for the summer, and if she finds internship or work opportunities and wants to stay in Lexington over a summer she’ll have a ready-made place to stay.
micawber, my daughter lives at 525 Angliana. Pretty nice. She shares a room. Each girl has a separate sleeping/bath area. with a common kitchenette/living area. 524 Angliana is across the street. It seems to be similar, although I’ve only been there once. It’s pretty close to Red Mile; they’re both off of S. Broadway. It’s gated and their always seems to be a police car in the parking lot. Only drawback is that maintenance people have no respect for privacy and will come walking in after announcing their presence. Full disclosure requires that someone should inform you that this isn’t far from where Tyson Gay’s daughter was murdered. In spite of which, my daughter’s had no problems and has seemingly never been scared. Other than by the maintenance people.