off campus housing

<p>so ive decided to live off campus with some friends instead of in the dorms because i think it might be easier for me. also, in the long-term the dorm rooms are more expensive than the rent (~450-500 a month). i lost my 650 prepayment UGHHHHHHHH which i had as back up. i am kind of stressed because its hard to sign a lease/get a cosigner/ do all the paperwork from out of state. i am getting frustrated with the process... but i want to know from people, is it worth it if i think apartment livign will suit me better? i have been pretty irritated since i lost that prepayment!!
thanks and sorry if this is a rant</p>

<p>Hey Sarah!
I'm also going to be living off campus w/ some friends as a freshman...the dorms at Sixth College are way too cramped for my taste, and although I don't want to be missing out on the full dorm experience, I'm sure it can't be that bad.</p>

<p>We're going down on Tuesday to sign the lease and everything.</p>

<p>Living off campus isnt that big of a deal, im living really close to campus /w my parents, just be outgoing and join clubs and do activities. you should be fine. </p>

<p>i agree /w u the dorms are pretty nasty.</p>

<p>A place me and my roommates want to lease needs a co-signer that makes 4x the monthly rent, which is about 90k a year for my lease. My parents don't even make half that much so were kind of screwed.</p>

<p>why not just craigslist/facebook-marketplace up a potential roommate? make sure it's a ucsd student, and if on craigslist, try and check out and make sure they're legit. call too.</p>

<p>yay thanks for the responses!
i was feeling pretty down about losing the 650 prepayment, but i guess it was like insurance money in case the apt thing fell through. i tried to save money so badly but i just ended up losing it uggh. i def agree that you get more for your money in an apt, because although dorms provide food, how much of it are you really gonna like? ahhaha
yeah we are havign a problem too because we need a cosigner on our lease and they only allow one so we are trying to figure out whose parents should do it..its a big responsibility for one person!
i agree, i think it is okay to miss out on dorm life, i just want to KNOW that i will have a quiet place to eat, sleep, and study!</p>

<p>Where are the apartments you guys are living in, and how close to the campus are they?</p>

<p>I'm a winter admit so my search doesn't begin until a little later, and I have the Warren Orientation in September to go to still..</p>

<p>Can anyone give insight on popular apartments, distances, and costs near campus? I read that two-thirds of the undergrad body actually live off-campus, so there must be a lot of options.</p>

<p>we were thinking of La Regencia or Costa Verde...</p>

<p>My daughter lived in La Regencia. It's a pretty nice place and the apartment for the price was bigger than some others. It's right next door to Vons so no car is needed for shopping. The UCSD shuttle stops right at it as well. If you're energetic, it's only a couple of miles from campus for walking or biking but the shuttle is what you'd likely use even if you have a car since it saves you parking fees and hassle. The city bus stops there also. </p>

<p>If you do have a car beware that there's not much extra parking and the under building assigned parking can be extremely tight depending on which one you get.</p>

<p>how dd you guys work out the lease? did anyone have to co sign? whose parents had to take on the extra burden?</p>

<p>sarah:
I can't remember if I cosigned or not. I think La Regencia also had a requirement of seeing either a paycheck from a steady job indicating the ability to pay or a certain amount of money in the bank account of the people living there to indicate they had enough to pay for something like 6 months or so of rent. It was a little odd. </p>

<p>The different complexes will have different requirements so you really need to check with the particular ones you're interested in.</p>

<p>For those not familiar with the area, there are LOTS of nice apartment complexes and rental condos available within a close distance to UCSD. These are mostly in the vicinity of UTC and within a few miles around Regents/Nobel. There are also some on the west side of 5 just south of La Jolla Village Drive. These areas are served by the UCSD shuttle as well as the city bus. You can get an idea of where the shuttle goes here -
UCSD</a> Shuttles</p>

<p>Also, use the following site to zoom in on the area and get a bird's-eye view of the area -
Live</a> Maps</p>

<p>wow the map helps a lot, thank you!</p>

<p>another question..did your daughter live there as a freshman?</p>

<p>^^ No - she lived in the on-campus (Muir) res-hall first year, on-campus apartment second year, and then La Regencia third/fourth years.</p>

<p>For anyone looking - don't wait until the last minute since they can fill up. They tend to have the most vacancies when the UCSD spring quarter ends and the least as students start back in the fall.</p>