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Hi,
I am considering to transfer to UMASS Amherst in near future. As a non-traditional out-of-state student, I am searching for an apartment/townhouse in a quiet neighborhood in surrounding area of Amherst. I don't mind commuting for maybe 15 -20min. (like someone had mentioned in other posts about commuting on winter days...have no idea what to expect, coming from TX...will 20min commute be really bad???)
From searching online, it seems like apartment complex in a typical college town does not exist.... I am looking very hard for a place with two bedrooms with 1 - 1+1/2 bath which accepts small dogs. (the budget for rent is pretty flexible)
I would appreciate any suggestions for this from anyone.(where to look, who to call, etc,.)
Thank you very much in advance...
Even though I am not a college student, I began looking for apts in the same general area as you over a year ago, and was successful using craigslist. There were a few apt complexes listed in Amherst that did seem to cater to college students, so don't lose heart. There were also lots of duplexes. What I found was that you have to check the site every day, because sometimes places last only a day.
We ended up living close to Northampton (rental prices seemed similar in Northampton and Amherst) and renting a great townhouse. Persistence is the key.
Good luck!
VT - welcome to MA! Competition for housing is fierce - though looking for something mid-year may play in your favor. If you have not done so already, read up on the PVTA which operates the free bus system between the five colleges. My time at UMAss was back in the early 90s...it's a long-shot but here's the contact info for Shumway RE - they own a ton of RE in Amherst:
Robert L Shumway Properties
196 N Pleasant St
Amherst, MA, 01002
Hampshire County
(413) 253-2120 - Phone
The small dogs thing is a tough one - alot of places don't take dogs. That being said, there are a number of apartment complexes in neighboring towns.
When I was in school there, I lived at Sugarloaf Estates in Sunderland. Sunderland is a quiet town about a 10-15 min drive from campus. The Dove's Nest was THE place for breakfast back then. Not sure if it's still there (I graduated in '02).
Also in Sunderland is Cliffside Apartments. I had friends that lived there and it was decent.
ALOT of UMass folks live in Puffton Village and Brandywine - those are not likely "quiet".
If you're willing to drive that 20 minutes, you can find a nice house for rent out in a place like South Deerfield. That is really a quiet community. I don't know for sure, but have you checked Craigslist for rentals? I imagine that's where you'd find alot of your homes for rent vs apt complexes.
Scanz,
Oh, thank you for your input!
Yeah...the dog thing is pretty hard, I saw it on the apt rent sites...majority of them say "no pets."
I am wondering...more than 20min drive part, how bad is it in winter? (road condition+traffic wise)
I prefer the "quiet" neighborhood and so I will check out the South Deerfield area and Craigslist as
well.
I did not know about UMassWiki!
Thanks a lot!
Winter driving isn't that bad. Alot of days when the snow is bad, classes get cancelled because the professors don't want to drive in that junk either. Most of the roads are 40mph max roads leading out of town. If you take your time, it shouldn't be a problem. They do plow and such. The one thing that can be a challenge is if you are leaving the Amherst area totally (like to go back to VT, or if you are heading to NY or eastern MA because Amherst sits in a valley. I got in an accident one night coming home from Rte 202 because the hills are long and relatively steep. With fresh snow on them, it was perilous.
All in all, I'd say if you were 15-20 min out, it's not too bad. Plenty of people do it. Oh, and another thing - depending on where you live, there is a free bus line that goes all the way out to Sunderland, Hadley, etc. for UMass students, that was driven by UMass students last I knew.
Good info by Scanz. Some good advice would be to pay attention to the distinction Scanz made between the apartment complexes in Sunderland and those in closer to Amherst which were "not likely quiet." Being a non-traditional student, you most likely would prefer to avoid having a lot of noise around you. You need to do some checking about any apartment complex or neighborhood where you are looking, and make sure the area is not a student ghetto. There are such neighborhoods and apartment complexes in and near Amherst, and I hear that they can get quite noisy.
Unfortunately, being that I too was an older student at UMass, I did not seriously make the rounds to the partying locales, so I can't really clue you in about where the big student areas are. I was there about ten years ago, and at that time I did used to hear that the vicinity of Hobart Lane was a noisy student party area in Amherst. At the time, that neighborhood had a widespread reputation for being pretty wild. Other than that, I'm not sure which places to recommend that you avoid, but you would want to check on the student population in any area you're considering.
A second note of caution is to watch out about getting into a situation where you would be heavily dependent on the local bus system. Again, with your being an older student, and moving from another state, I'm guessing there is a good chance you would be living in the area year-round. The bus service is cut back a lot during summer, January, etc. If you would be there during those times, you could be kind of limited in getting around if you lived in a situation that had you depending significantly on taking the bus.
Stay away from apartment complexes in Amherst -- noise, drugs, student ghettos. Probably stay away from anything in Amherst if you want peace and quiet.
Sunderland is good, as someone already said. They have apartment complexes. Northampton and Hadley have apartments in houses and can be nice.
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a couple of words of caution . . .
