Hi, I am starting to look for off campus housing, I am entering UA transfer oos sophomore (also in honors college and planning on rushing), and have no one that I know coming. Since I am a transfer I have to live off campus, where are the best places I should look? I wont have a car down here, so I really would like some where really close to campus so I can walk and I am thinking of getting a bike. Thanks!
What is your budget? Do you want to live with others or alone?
General guidelines: avoid areas south of Skyland blvd and west of Martin Luther King blvd. Take traffic/cloggy intersections into consideration, even if you don’t plan on driving (at first, you may change your mind), also a shuttle still has to deal with traffic. The midtown area (around midtown village mall) has a lot of construction and resultant dust in the air. This area is largely devoid of shade and trees (due to the tornado) and is a concrete jungle.
@BethsMom Not sure of a particular budget, not too expensive & I want to live with others
You may want to try calling one of the larger property companies (HA Edwards comes to mind) - some of them have a number of units that are close to campus. The Crimson Ride goes to some of the larger apartment complexes (East Edge, the Lofts, Crimson Student Living, the Bluffs, the Retreat, Campus Evolution, University House are some of them) - I think they contract with UA for the service. Others have their own shuttles that run to campus. That gives you more options than just within walking distance, but you’ll want to check the start and end times for the shuttles to make sure that works for you. You may want to join one of the FB groups for Alabama students (or have your parent join one for Alabama parents) - there tend to be discussions of housing, available sublets and the like on there.
DS is at the Retreat, as he does not have a car and it is on the UA apartment shuttle route.
http://crimsonride.ua.edu/apartmentroutes/ This list does change but is the current one.
He has friends that have cars, but don’t want him to depend on that. This complex is north of the railroad tracks. I understand that can be a problem getting to class on time if you are south of the tracks.
Agree with @beth’s mom about joining the FB groups. I know on the parent groups, there are often parents looking for students to fill and empty spot in their kids’ housing.
Check out this FaceBook group . . . You should pretty easily find many offers of folks looking for roommates. You can also put on your own post and will likely get 1001 responses. Good luck!! https://www.facebook.com/groups/339680159562676/
^^ You’ll need to substitute facebook dot com for the asterisks in the above link.
There are a lot of very popular options around UA including The Lofts at City Center, Campus Evolution Villages, Old Row At Cloverdale, The Grand at Rum Creek & more. Most of these apartments are popular because they are larger and cater to students with unreal amounts of amenities.
It’s really all about finding the right fit for you though, which is totally possible with the amount of options around UA.
Important: You really need to begin your search for next year well before winter break (most students have already signed leases before December). We have seen students really begin searching during September & October for the next August Move In. I hope this helps you out more for next year!
If you want to compare more options around UA that will cater to students, I’d check out our UA Off-Campus Housing | Rent College Pads page. Easily filter, compare, and contact landlords.
As more complexes have been built in Tuscaloosa over the past few years, the market has changed. It no longer seems to be necessary, except for some rare circumtances where one wants a specific popular unit in a popular complex, to sign a lease early. In fact, that is often a poor choice, especially for freshmen who really haven’t solidified their friend groups early in the first semester. There’s no harm in looking, but I’d think long and hard before signing anything early. I know of several people who ran into problems when they no longer liked the people they had signed leases with by fall of sophomore year. I also saw a number of people have issues with at least one of the complexes listed in the prior post during this year’s move-in (one of the local TV stations even did a piece on the conditions students found there), and they were finding very desirable new places to live in a day. So there is really no need to feel pressured to sign a lease early.