<p>I'm an incoming freshman from out of state. In order to save money, I was thinking about housing off-campus. Can someone please give me more information on this?</p>
<p>The co-ops are a cheap housing option and quite close to campus. There are two main co-op groups: College Houses and ICC Coops.
<a href="http://www.austincooperatives.coop/%5B/url%5D">http://www.austincooperatives.coop/</a></p>
<p>You will find older students in the co-ops. Freshmen are more likely to be dorm-dwellers. But this is definitely a way to save money!</p>
<p>Thank you. I really would like to save money and forgo the dorms. Can anyone help me w/ any connections? Anyone here have AIM?</p>
<p>Coops are cheap but you have to put in labor...you could just work a real job and earn money instead.</p>
<p>The off-campus dorms are as or more expensive than the on-campus dorms.</p>
<p>And apartments are going to be iffy now too. You an get a really expensive unit close to campus, or you can get a cheap unit far away and have to drve or take the bus. If it's near a campus shuttle stop, go for it, otherwise I'd be wary. And you get no meal plan, so you'd have to pay a lot to eat out or eat at a dorm cafeteria at non-resident rates.</p>
<p>On campus is $7500 and includes a room and $1200 Dine-in dollars with a discount at the on-campus eateries, and $300 in Bevo Bucks which can be used throughout Austin. I really don't think you'll be able to do much better this late. Most kids start looking for housing off-campus around the middle of the first semester of the previous year.</p>
<p>Plus you'll want to stay on or near campus so you can get to know the folks better. Being far away and saving money may either A) make you socially isolated or B) make your pad a party-central every weekend.</p>
<p>If you really want to save money, co ops are a good deal. You work about four hours per week and pay $525 per month for room and board for a room with a roommate. $525 per month for nine months is $4725. The cheapest double dorm room is about $7500 for nine months. That's a savings of $2775. I think you can look at it as if are getting "paid" (with a discount) over $20 per hour for your four hours a week of work, with no transportation expenses and no taxes. You really do save money at a co op. </p>
<p>These are not ideal places for a freshman who wants it to be very easy to meet other freshman. Dorms are better for that. But co ops are cheaper and many people find them to be a lot of fun.</p>
<p>I've heard lots of people who stay in coops love them. But usually these are creepy hippie sorts. If the idea of "Keeping Austin Weird" is something that particularly appeals to you, a co-op may be a great fit. Otherwise, maybe not.</p>
<p>Taos Co-Op is literally across the street from Duren, Kinsolving, Fiji, and SRD, so it may be a little more normal just based on its location. But I'm not positive.</p>
<p>Most co-op students tend to be upperclassmen and grad students (and sometimes random non-students) looking to save money on rent and food by staying in a cheap environment. The time commitment is a good return for what you pay, and you can get leadership positions which can look good on a resume.</p>
<p>But if you want a traditional freshman experience, stay in an on-campus dorm or one of the off-campus dormitories such as University Towers, Castilian, Dobie Center, or the Goodall-Wooten. They may not be as cost effective, but you will meet lots of people and have a great time from everything I've heard.</p>
<p>If you do a search in cc history on co-op dorms there was a mom who wrote about her son's experience last year. It was much as loneranger described. It was not a pleasant experience. Her descriptions were detailed, so you might want to look it up and pm her for information.</p>
<p>The freshman girl who showed us around UT during our first visit was planning a move to one of the co-op houses for her sophomore year to save money. She was in the process of visiting houses to see which one she thought felt most comfortable to her. There are what, 18 different houses? I will find and read that post to see if the comments would apply to the general concept of co-op housing at UT or if there was something unusual about the particular house he chose or the particular residents there that year.</p>
<p>One of my best friends lived in co-op housing at U of Michigan when she was in school and she absolutely loved it. I thought that co-op housing was a viable option, especially nice for vegetarians.</p>
<p>ag54, is this what you mean? I agree, stick with the co-ops that only allow students!</p>
<p>Posted 8/30/07 by lealdragon:
"Well I haven't even had time to check the forum the last few days, because there was a lot of upheaval. Just when he was starting to do better and get acclimated, the roommate started running a wood sander IN THE ROOM!!! It put up a cloud of dust, and my son got a cough and a headache. Not good for the lungs to be breathing that fine dust. Not to mention not good for his computer or his cat.. Outrageous! I leased a ROOM for my son, living quarters, not a workshop! So...I complained. And guess what? When the guy came to check out the equipment in place of where the bed should be, they found a GUN!!! Yikes! It was a 'Civil War era artifact' but still a weapon, and there was ammo too belonging to a modern weapon. These things were obviously against the coop policy. Turns out the guy had had a previous transgression with weapons before. He's now been given a notice to get rid of the contraband or face eviction, but I sure wasn't going to let my son stay in that environment, especially now that the guy's probably not too happy with getting ratted on. But also it was because it was so obvious he has a complete disregard for the rules and for the wellbeing of others. He never would lock the door either. I was not happy with the fact that he was not immediately evicted, being that it was a repeat transgression, and no longer felt that my son was in a safe environment or that the roommate was trustworthy.</p>
<p>So, 1 day before classes started, he got uprooted again...very stressful! But, the good news is that I think it's all for the best. We just got him settled into a nice private dorm that is being remodeled. They don't have the amenities yet - no washers/dryers or kitchen equipment, but all is on the way. They just installed a plasma tv. So far there are only about 12 students living there, but hopefully there will be more soon. It's coed and since it only opened last week, many of the students are foreign exchanges students. Everyone has been very friendly so far. I'm hoping that it will develop into a tight-knit group with lots of interesting people and diversity. 2 of the students are from Germany and my son is taking 4th semester German, so that's a plus.</p>
<p>This whole situation has been a horrendous nightmare that went beyond mere anxiety about classes. That's not to say that co-ops are bad. I've heard many wonderful things about them and I am very disappointed that it didn't work out. I had looked forward to him having an instant social circle. And as far as I know, this is the only co-op in that group that allows non-student tenants, something I didn't think would be an issue, but my son just happened to get the non-student as a roommate."</p>
<p>That is probably a smart idea - certainly, they are not all the same and I'm sure there are some that are better than others, just like dorms. I wish I could remember the name of the poster, it would make it easier to look up. I just remember that she posted alot, starting with their search for the right co op and the ensuing experience. I think he was a vegetarian too! That might help with the search:)</p>
<p>Cross posted - Wow, you're good!! If you search back through her previous posts, she talks about how they went about looking for the right one - that obviously turned out to not be right;) It could be a roadmap on what not to do (jk). I really don't know much about the coops, but there are some that are in really good locations, close to campus and in the thick of things.</p>