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Old 04-13-2007, 08:44 AM
 
Location: Seattle
39 posts, read 171,793 times
Reputation: 31

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Thanks for the details on the location. We've done a lot more research since the last postings and figured out that Mapquest wasn't doing a very good job!

Anyone out there live off campus? We're looking at three options - either rentals by Advantage realty NE of campus in Urbana near the engineering campus, or by HMH Realty and Faron Properties NW of campus in Champaign. Is it too early to be looking at committing to something for August? Any thoughts on either of these two areas as far as surroundings, access, bus service etc.? Thanks.
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Old 04-13-2007, 04:38 PM
 
Location: Midwest
1,903 posts, read 7,877,636 times
Reputation: 474
Quote:
Originally Posted by marksind View Post
Thanks for the details on the location. We've done a lot more research since the last postings and figured out that Mapquest wasn't doing a very good job!

Anyone out there live off campus? We're looking at three options - either rentals by Advantage realty NE of campus in Urbana near the engineering campus, or by HMH Realty and Faron Properties NW of campus in Champaign. Is it too early to be looking at committing to something for August? Any thoughts on either of these two areas as far as surroundings, access, bus service etc.? Thanks.
You don't want to live off campus and commute by bus. Call JSM Management and see if they have anything open in Gregory Place [SE side of campus]. They are building a second building, on the east side of South Gregory, to be opened next year.

The area west of campus in Champaign sucks ("Campustown") and much of Champaign and Urbana are either mediocre or are for married couples or professoriate types. The goal is to find a nice place near campus but one that works for graduate or professional students.
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Old 04-13-2007, 09:40 PM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,219,944 times
Reputation: 35920
Well, considering one can drive from west Champaign to east Urbana in approximately 20 minutes, nothing in town is too far from anywhere else. The campus is in the center of the town(s), and as you go farther from campus there are more married couples, families, etc. The students tend to live closer to campus. However, this is but a generalization.

Back to the point, you won't be too far from the law school wherever you live. Many of the apt complexes a little farther from campus have groups of students living in them as well as married couples.
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Old 04-13-2007, 10:38 PM
 
Location: Chicago
65 posts, read 289,116 times
Reputation: 80
Most undergrads live very close to campus so they can take advantage of the campus buses which run every 5-10 minutes or just walk to class. The buses that go off campus usually runs every 20-30 minutes.
I don't know if everyone will agree with me, but i consider anywhere north of University Avenue, west of Neil street, and 5-6 streets east of LIncoln ave as off campus

It is actually quite "late" in the season for signing leases. Many students sign their leases as early as october to snatch up favorable apartments and most students sign their leases by the end of fall semester. My roomates and I were lazy and usually signed in spring, so you shouldn't have a problem, just less options.

Some areas north of university avenue i would feel uncomfortable living at, not alll, but just some spotty areas. So i would need you to be more specific on where you are living.

Very few undergrad students live west of Neil Street, just becuase its more family oriented. No partying cause the neighbors will be bitchin.
Many students live within the 6-7 streets east of lincoln avenue, but then it turns to townies as you head more east.
I used to live by the engineering campus, by gregory and stoughton. Lots of students, safe.

To makes things short, if you live far off campus make sure you are close to a bus line or two and know the schedules. If you miss your bus, you will freeze you ass waiting 20-30 mintues for the next one.
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Old 04-14-2007, 10:42 AM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,219,944 times
Reputation: 35920
Seems like not much has changed since I left many yrs ago. I would agree about the north areas, but emphasize that it is the north-central areas that are the sketchiest for students. Northeast and northwest are fine, but more family/married oriented.
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Old 04-14-2007, 11:04 AM
 
Location: Midwest
1,903 posts, read 7,877,636 times
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I know some guys living in a dumpy student-oriented apartment west of downtown along State Street.

The law school has an adjacent parking lot, but I don't know how difficult it is to get permits.
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Old 04-14-2007, 11:42 AM
 
Location: Seattle
39 posts, read 171,793 times
Reputation: 31
Default Trains

Gotta love this site! I wish I could find out more about who "City-Data" is, because this is one of the coolest sites on the web. Tons of info, great forums and participation, and no annoying pop-ups or excessive advertising. How long can it last? I see "subscribe for $9.95 a month" somewhere in the future, but hey, as the saying goes, "don't look a gift horse in the mouth"!

Thanks for all the helpful insight. One last question to any current or recent residents - how bad is it living close to the north-south train tracks through Champaign? This appears to be the main Illinois Central line that goes all the way to New Orleans, and some of the rentals we've seen listed are pretty close to it. Is there a lot of traffic? How much at night, and do they make a lot of noise? Our son's a light sleeper. Thanks
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Old 04-14-2007, 12:03 PM
 
Location: Chicago
38,707 posts, read 102,751,145 times
Reputation: 29967
My brother used to live half a block from that line. It wasn't bad at all. All of the nearby crossings are gated, meaning the trains don't have to whistle when they're rolling through that area. (In fact, I'm not totally sure but they may be prohibited from doing so except in an emergency.) The only time you even notice is when the locomotive rumbles by. After that, you hardly notice the train is rolling by unless you're standing outside or have all your windows flung open.
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Old 04-14-2007, 12:45 PM
 
169 posts, read 776,683 times
Reputation: 74
I agree that it's probably actually late for signing for August-- signing begins in November and many apartments are "handed down." Apartments in Champaign are expensive and hard to come by, so your best bet would be in Urbana or off campus.

There is a parking lot right next to the law school-- but you won't be able to get a parking space there until third year, maybe second if you're very lucky. They do it by seniority.

I also disagree with what others have said about Champaign being mostly university-focused-- obviously that's a factor, but Champaign in itself has many opportunities that are not directly related to the university. Wolfram Research, for example, creators of Mathematica, has headquarters there, as do many other pretty large companies. The opportunity for some great jobs and things to un-University-related there is very much available.

Quote:
Originally Posted by M TYPE X View Post
1) yes and 2) and you better really wanna get out of town, because it's a long way from here to anywhere else.
I would ignore negative comments like these As someone else pointed out, Champaign is 2-3 hours to Chicago (third largest city in the country), St. Louis (one of the best cities in the country) and Indianapolis. It's between all of them, which also means it has a great selection for flights in and out of all those airports (along with its own airport, although the flights are usually pretty expensive). I personally would LOVE to still be around that-- I live in Chapel Hill, NC and there is not as much big city-type culture here as there was in Champaign. I would love to have all those big cities around me again. I hope your son enjoys it
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Old 04-14-2007, 06:09 PM
 
Location: Chicago
38,707 posts, read 102,751,145 times
Reputation: 29967
Quote:
Originally Posted by Drover View Post
My brother used to live half a block from that line. It wasn't bad at all. All of the nearby crossings are gated, meaning the trains don't have to whistle when they're rolling through that area. (In fact, I'm not totally sure but they may be prohibited from doing so except in an emergency.) The only time you even notice is when the locomotive rumbles by. After that, you hardly notice the train is rolling by unless you're standing outside or have all your windows flung open.
Come to think of it, there really aren't any crossings along that line. Streets either dead-end near it or the major ones have viaducts under the track. So there really aren't any crossings near there.
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