<p>Hey all!
This question may have been asked before but I couldn’t find it, so sorry for the inconvenience. My roommates and I have decided on living in honors housing, but we’re deciding between east, west, and south. What are the benefits in living in each and which one is closest to classes and dining halls? Is there any specific advantage that one hall has over the other?</p>
<p>They’re next to each other, so they’re all about equally close to classes. They’re on the northwest side of campus…so kids are going to classes either towards the east or towards the south of those Ridgecrest halls.</p>
<p>Lakeside Dining is probably closest to Ridgecrest East, but not enough to make it a choice. Besides, once you’re on campus for classes, Lakeside won’t likely be where you’d be eating anyway.</p>
<p>Check out the room plans on the Alabama site. I think South has the common room between the 4 bedrooms (2 bedrooms on one side/2 on the other) while I know East has the common room/kitchen and then 4 bedrooms down the same hallway. It depends on what you prefer. (S2 likes the 4 bedrooms down the same hallway.)</p>
<p>I lived at Lakeside last year, which has the same setup (L-shape) as East and West, and I live in RCS now. All of the Ridgecrests are basically the same distance from everything. South tends to be a bit louder than RCE and RCW at times. You’re more likely to get the occasional (yet still quite rare for a college campus) fire alarm in South. But there are bigger bathrooms! And I like the central living area, but that’s just a personal preference. The kitchens are pretty nice here, whereas last year (although this might not be the case in East/West) the appliances broke down sometimes. I feel like South also tends to be more of a central meeting area - but that really just depends on where your friends live. You can’t go wrong, regardless!</p>
<p>Room layouts are here: [Student</a> Affairs | Housing & Residential Communities](<a href=“http://housing.ua.edu/halls/ridgecrest/]Student”>Ridgecrest East and West Driving Directions - Housing and Residential Communities)</p>
<p>EDIT: I will add that when I said South was “louder,” that was applied as a relative term… I very rarely have troubles with noise here. I imagine that RCE students might also occasionally hear noise from the Lake… I got to experience that while living in Lakeside. It could get annoying.</p>
<p>I’ve lived at both South and West. </p>
<p>The overall layout of the room for South is nice, and a lot of events are held in the RCS building. It also has always a staff member at the front desk, which is very nice if you need help. When I lived there, the fire alarm was pulled 3 or 4 times very late at night. It also has a basketball court in the center of one of the towers, so if noise bothers you, I suggest selecting your room location carefully.</p>
<p>Ridgecrest West is a considerably smaller building, but the rooms in each suite are actually larger. I personally prefer the suite kitchen in RCW because they have more cabinet/storage space. Also, there is a storage room next to each suite that can be useful, especially for bicycles. I also prefer the furniture in RCW (which I think is more comfortable) and the sink/bathroom setup. </p>
<p>I think the closet setup in RCS was more accessible than West, but I didn’t like the tiling in RCS (it felt unsmooth and grainy, kind of like it was always dirty). I believe that the beds in RCS loft higher than those in RCW. If you don’t want your bed lofted, the lowest setting for the beds in RCS can be annoyingly high. But if you want to loft your bed, RCS will give you more space. </p>
<p>As I understand it, East and West are the same layout. Like other commenters have said, all three buildings are very close to each other. None really has an advantage of being closer to dining halls or classes.</p>
<p>S2 likes the 4 bedrooms down the same hallway.)</p>
<p>My older son like this as well. He chose Room D because that was located the furthest down the hall, which is what he wanted.</p>
<p>I have been in RCS many times and I liked several things about this residence house. There is always someone on duty in case you lock yourself out or forget your ACT card. The bedrooms are two on each side of the common area, so it seems more private. The bathrooms are large with storage shelving inside the bathroom where both the shower and toilet are located. A door seperates the toilet area from the sink/vanity area. Therefore, one student can be showering, while the other is washing up or shaving. The vanity/mirror is quite large with ample counter space for two but there is only one sink in the vanity area. I think I would have opted for two smaller sinks if I was designing this.</p>
<p>The bedrooms are relatively the same size with a slight variation based on door placement. The closet is really large and the doors open outwards, so you can utilize every inch of space inside. Since the closet doors do not slide, you can hang over the door storage bags for additional space.</p>
<p>In RCS, the beds can be lofted higher than in the other dorms giving you plenty of floor space beneath the bed. You can place furniture under the bed or some students have opted for a chair or a futon. The building is not the newest anymore. That distinction will go to the next phase of Presidential Village which should open in August 2014. But you wouldn’t know that by looking at it, the building is in great shape. There is a parking structure underneath RCS if you have a car, and plenty of bike racks in front of the building if you do not. The bike racks are not covered.</p>
<p>The common kitchens and laundry facilities are spacious and clean. I am not referring to the kitchens inside the suites. There are elevators,but they’re not the speediest. There are no storage closets in the hallways for each suite but I remember that there was a common storage unit on the top floor. I don’t know anyone who used it because I think any student could access it. It wasn’t private. I am not sure if it is even still in use.</p>
<p>When my student was in RCS there was an Honors and a Non-Honors Tower. Today, all the RC buildings are all honors. I don’t know if it will remain that way for next semester. The Honors Tower was very quiet, the other…not so.</p>
<p>RCS is close to Publix and The Strip.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the great replies! I’ll show my roomies the thread and let them decide. I think we’re leaning toward south, but we have till May to decide so nothing is set in stone yet.</p>
<p>I’ve been in each Ridgecrest building many, many times. While I originally wanted to live in Ridgecrest South because it was new, I ended up choosing a room in Ridgecrest West, where I ended up staying for 4 years, 3 of which were in the same room. Ridgecrest East was non-honors during my time at UA, but looks the same as Ridgecrest West.</p>
<p>Pros of Ridgecrest East/West (in no particular order):
- The buildings are typically very quiet.
- No front desk (East occasionally has a staffed front desk); the main front desk is in Ridgecrest South
- Furniture is of standard height and non-modular; this is especially beneficial when having guests
3.the sofas (they look like futons but don’t fold down) are comfortable to sleep on and the chairs are also comfortable - The dining room table has 4 chairs and the other tables are of a good height for using the living room
- There is wall space for a TV (usually on top of a shelving unit)
- The bedrooms are bigger; D is biggest, though C is the corner room with the best view
- One can quickly leave the building and be close to everything; there is rarely a need to use the elevator.
- The kitchenette is in its own separate area
- Palmer Lake views are available in even numbered and some odd numbered rooms (in West, only rooms ending in 18-20 have lake views). Some rooms might have obstructed river views.
- Each suite has a large storage closet in the hallway</p>
<p>Pros of Ridgecrest South (in no particular order):
- It’s clear which rooms typically take which bathroom (Room B in East/West opens to the bathroom typically used by spaces C and D). Bathrooms aren’t assigned, though it’s often easier for people to only have their stuff in one bathroom and sink area.
- Some people prefer the open concept kitchenette and living room
- Ridgecrest South is physically closer to the Ferguson Center, the Quad, and the Strip, though that depends on where one exits the building.
- The parking garage is underneath the residence hall.
- The beds loft higher (note that many students prefer to keep their beds unlofted).
- The common areas have TVs with HDMI hookups.
- Since the building is bigger, there are more people to meet and a larger number of dorm events. Note that residents of a Ridgecrest residence hall can attend dorm events at the other Ridgecrest residence halls as well.</p>