Car-free in Lawrence? (Hope: housing, rental, work)

[ogre]

I'll be applying to graduate school this fall. I'm trying to get the long list of possibilities down to a short list, and I'm seriously considering KU (U of K?) for that short list. Most likely I will not own a car (it's not in the student budget). I'm sure many students do not own cars and get around just fine, but I'm also older than even the typical graduate student, so I need to live somewher that's affordable on a typical student budget, but also away from noisy areas that have large student populations. Is it possible to find this, as well as the basic businesses needed to keep oneself fed, scrubbed, and entertained in an everyday kind of way, within walking distance of the campus? I'm physically active, so for me "walking distance" can be more than a couple of blocks. I'm not looking for my perfect place to live the rest of my life, just trying to learn whether it would be practically feasible for someone in my situation to meet the basic needs in Lawrence while attending KU for a couple of years. Thanks for any insight anyone can offer.

[redbird4848]

When I lived in Larrysville back in the late 80's, I thought the bus system was pretty effecient. Many of the apt complexes on all sides of KU (even far away from KU) seem to have a bus stop.

Just make sure you get there early enough to look for an apt. I got there on a friday and couldn't call anyplace because all the rental offices are closed until monday.

Its a good place to live IMO. But you would be even happier with a beat up $500 car.

[ogre]

Originally Posted by redbird4848

When I lived in Larrysville back in the late 80's, I thought the bus system was pretty effecient. Many of the apt complexes on all sides of KU (even far away from KU) seem to have a bus stop.

Just make sure you get there early enough to look for an apt. I got there on a friday and couldn't call anyplace because all the rental offices are closed until monday.

Its a good place to live IMO. But you would be even happier with a beat up $500 car.

Thanks for pointing out the bus system. Another option would be to live near a bus route, so I'd be interested in hearing about suitable areas near bus routes, even if they're not necessarily close to campus. I would still prefer to have businesses that provided the basic necessities within walking distance of the place I would live, so I'd need to take the bus only to campus. Riding the bus everywhere to serve every need would get time-consuming. Thanks for the info, Redbird.

[recycled]

College towns like Lawrence are pretty bicycle friendly too. Like most towns in Kansas, it's pretty flat terrain so you can do fine with a single speed city bike that is set up with a rack on the back so you could carry a pannier for your books, PC and other stuff. Simple single speed bikes are not as much as a theft target as high end fancy machines, but you'll still want a real good lock. A bike you cover a lot of ground in a pretty short time, sure beats sitting around for buses or spending a lot of time walking. I live in CA and use a bicycle every day to commute to work 30 miles round trip that includes some hills. Riding around a flat town like Lawrence would be a breeze.

[2005hawk]

Originally Posted by ogre

Thanks for pointing out the bus system. Another option would be to live near a bus route, so I'd be interested in hearing about suitable areas near bus routes, even if they're not necessarily close to campus. I would still prefer to have businesses that provided the basic necessities within walking distance of the place I would live, so I'd need to take the bus only to campus. Riding the bus everywhere to serve every need would get time-consuming. Thanks for the info, Redbird.

Ogre,

I would check City of Lawrence, KS : Lawrence Transit System - Home for route maps of the City's bus system. Lawrence has two bus systems, KU's and the City's (lawrencetransit.org). The KU system (http://www.kuonwheels.ku.edu/)primarily serves campus and student apartment complexes and does have a few routes that go off campus to other city destinations. The City system has a route or two that go on campus, but most do not serve campus. Nearly all apartment complexes are adjacent to or very near either of the bus systems.

In regards to your preference to taking the bus primarily for transportation to campus - but not for other destinations, I would recommend you live near downtown. You could aim to find a place south of downtown along Massachusetts, Kentucky or Tennessee. There are a lot of apartments available here and the area is within easy walking distance of both campus and downtown and a supermarket. You could also try the area south of campus near 23rd & Naismith, which is an easy walk to campus and daily needs in terms of distance, but this are is more suburban in character and is thus, less pedestrian friendly.

All in all, its difficult to live close to campus, or in an apartment building served by KU's bus system and not be near or in any way annoyed by college students and their behavior. In other words, there are very few desirable neighborhoods close to campus with apartments available which will not have large amounts of student population. I would highly recommend you take a look at several specific apartment communities and management companies in each of the areas I've suggested. I think you'll find that on a case by case basis, some apartments and management companies are better than others at controlling their student tenant's behaviors.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask any more questions.

[ogre]

Originally Posted by 2005hawk

Ogre,

I would check City of Lawrence, KS : Lawrence Transit System - Home for route maps of the City's bus system. Lawrence has two bus systems, KU's and the City's (lawrencetransit.org). The KU system (http://www.kuonwheels.ku.edu/)primarily serves campus and student apartment complexes and does have a few routes that go off campus to other city destinations. The City system has a route or two that go on campus, but most do not serve campus. Nearly all apartment complexes are adjacent to or very near either of the bus systems.

In regards to your preference to taking the bus primarily for transportation to campus - but not for other destinations, I would recommend you live near downtown. You could aim to find a place south of downtown along Massachusetts, Kentucky or Tennessee. There are a lot of apartments available here and the area is within easy walking distance of both campus and downtown and a supermarket. You could also try the area south of campus near 23rd & Naismith, which is an easy walk to campus and daily needs in terms of distance, but this are is more suburban in character and is thus, less pedestrian friendly.

All in all, its difficult to live close to campus, or in an apartment building served by KU's bus system and not be near or in any way annoyed by college students and their behavior. In other words, there are very few desirable neighborhoods close to campus with apartments available which will not have large amounts of student population. I would highly recommend you take a look at several specific apartment communities and management companies in each of the areas I've suggested. I think you'll find that on a case by case basis, some apartments and management companies are better than others at controlling their student tenant's behaviors.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask any more questions.

2005hawk, thanks very much for the info. This kind of detail about specific neighborhoods is very helpful. I checked out the bus routes, with mapquest open in another screen, so I've gotten a pretty good picture of the system. Though, as you pointed out, not many city routes go right onto the campus, there do appear to be a couple within striking distance. It looks as if Lawrence is pretty well covered, between the city system and the KU system. I think what you said about some apartment complexes having more rowdy student behavior than others is probably true of most college towns. I wonder whether anyone has any word on which areas tend to be less noisy. Thanks again for the detailed info. Take care.

[2005hawk]

Ogre,

Most of the "quieter" apartment complexes are far away from campus and are not really in a pedestrian-friendly area. So in other words, they are not in locations where you could walk for daily needs easily. Generally, the farther west you go, the fewer students. There are a lot of apartment buildings (as opposed to apartment complexes) along Massachusetts, Kentucky, and Teneessee Streets. Since they are smaller and may only have a few units in them, these buildings may attract less students. But you have to be careful, the further west you go in this area (Tennessee Street and westward) the more student housing there is. I still strongly suggest the area just south of downtown because its very walkable, close to campus, on the bus routes, and close to downtown (entertainment, resturants, etc) and daily needs. Its also an affordable area if you're willing to shop around.

[ogre]

Thanks for all the good, detailed info. Lawrence sounds very do-able. It's very helpful to get this kind of detail about what the town is like, and what various neighborhoods are like. Thanks again.

[straw hat]

Bicycles are a good way to get around however they don’t call it Mt. Oared for nothing. It is a quite a steep climb to the top especially on 13th - 15th streets. Some buses are equipped with bicycle racks.

[rubato]

I live about 5 blocks directly south of campus. I'm right by the grocery store and still within walking distance of campus. Less students this way. I ride everywhere. But the statement about Lawrence being flat is incorrect. It's full of hills. I have a 21 speed and use a lot of them. Good luck!