Apartment Search (Memphis, Bristol, Midtown: apartments, lease, home)

[dsetterl]

I am a young female graduate student planning to move to Memphis for the Fall school year. I was wondering what apartments are good places to live for graduate students of the UT Med Center area. I was wondering about the Sanabel Apartments in particular. Are these an okay place to live? If not, where are some other places that are safe and affordable? Thanks!

[ElleT]

I don't know anything about those apartments. But I just moved here a month ago and I live at The Bristol on Union which is probably no more than a mile from UT...I pass it every day on my way to work. I love my apt, although it is a little pricey(def. paying for the location). They are pretty new and I feel safe in them, which was important to me since I'm a 23 year old woman living alone in a city I don't know much about!

[unc_ajb]

My boyfriend and I are relocating to Memphis this summer so he can start pharmacy school there in the fall. Just this weekend we signed a lease at The Gilmore, an high-rise apartment building in midtown. We are in love with it and so excited about our move. Built in the 1930s (read: thick solid walls = quiet units), residents are a group of diverse and young professionals and students, walking distance to restaurants, bars, and coffee shops, and less than a 10 minute drive from the med.

Our lease is for one of their large one bedroom units for $695/month. A bit more than we were wanting to spend, but worth it for the location and vibe in my opinion. They also have studio apartments for much cheaper. Just google "gilmore + apartment + memphis" and you'll find their website.

Good luck!

[Dr Who]

The main problem with those older apartment in Mid-town is that you might end up paying more for your gas bill than your rent

[unc_ajb]

Originally Posted by Dr Who

The main problem with those older apartment in Mid-town is that you might end up paying more for your gas bill than your rent

I'll second that. Spoke with some of the residents at the Gilmore and they said that their avg. gas/electricity bill (depending on the season) is about $100. That's more than the averages at other places I looked. And the way it works at the Gilmore is the utilities are divided up amongst all the units, so if you are someone who never uses your a/c, you would end up paying more than at other places because you're helping pay for everyone else's comfort.

However, sometimes you have to pinch the pennies in another part of your budget (hello beans and rice for dinner!) to live in a neighborhood you love. All depends on your priorities.

[Tunky]

I don't know about the apartments you mentioned. My husband and I live in one of the apartment communities on Mud Island and it's full of grad students like yourself.

I'm glad we chose to rent here...despite the fact that we don't like Memphis and are leaving soon, our apartment is nice and we've had no serious complaints about the complex. We've lived here for almost a year and there's only been about 5 or 6 times that we were notified about any robberies.

In Memphis you will definitely get what you pay for.

[MissLindseyT]

As far as the Gilmore, the above is correct. What I didn't see mentioned was regarding the vagrants in Mid-town. In my experience they are actually more aggressive in Mid-town than just about anywhere else in Memphis. My suggestion would actually be to live downtown, and drive east to the hospital district. It would be against the primary flow of traffic and downtown apartments right now are nice and not too expensive. Downtown is actually a really safe place, as I have worked down here for 4 years. The only problem I have ever had was my car was broken into last Christmas, but I was parked down an alley, so I was kinda asking for it. I actually live out in Cordova, which is a pain-in-the-butt drive everyday, but it's also relatively safe and nice.

[unc_ajb]

Originally Posted by MissLindseyT

As far as the Gilmore, the above is correct. What I didn't see mentioned was regarding the vagrants in Mid-town. In my experience they are actually more aggressive in Mid-town than just about anywhere else in Memphis.

If by vagrants you mean people asking for money on the street, then yeah, you definitely get that in Midtown--just like in any urban area. I'm personally not bothered by that, so it didn't affect my decision, but if you are not comfortable assertively telling folks asking for money to back off, then Midtown's not the place for you. Downtown seems like a lot of fun, and a lot of students go with Mud Island. Drive around and find what feels right! That's what we did.

[sea697]

I'm a female grad student as well, and we chose to live in the Gilmore. We actually live in the Garden Court part, it's a smaller building with all 2-bdrm's, and we don't share our utility bills. That's only in the tower. The "vagrants" are pretty much what the last person posted, harmless people asking for money. I walk my dogs several times a day and hardly ever come into contact with these "vagrants" though. It's really not a big deal, I'd rather have them than gangsters or something. Midtown seems to be the most peaceful area to me, everyone is a little more laid back. Believe me, I am paranoid about the crime, especially b/c I am a small female, but I feel pretty safe here. BUT, I have to say that the area you're talking about looks way more sketchy to me than over here, b/c it's really not Midtown, it's like between Midtown and Downtown. If you came here you'd see the difference. The Bristol on Union is super nice, but I don't think there are really any other nice places to live right around that area. I could be wrong, but that's just my impression from living here so far. Maybe you should consider living a little further east than that area, unless you can afford the Bristol, b/c apts. in Midtown are really cheap, and most don't make you share utilities like the Gilmore tower.

[ElleT]

When I was looking, I looked at The Gilmore and loved it, but at the time they only had a studio(i'm messy---no way I could confine myself to that space) and a 2 bedroom. It was a cute building in a good area though. I don't remember them talking about utilities sharing---that was my main complaint about apartments in Midtown. If I'm good about my usage, I don't want to pay the price for people who are a bit looser with theirs!

Kimbrough Towers is similar to The Gilmore. I looked at a 1 bedroom there...I believe it was $655..again, gas utilities. Your bill is determined by square usage. She said they were between $100-120.

I live at The Bristol. I pay $775 which includes basic cable and water. I had to get internet through Comcast and since it was $60, I went ahead and paid $69 to get more cable. I haven't gotten my first MLGW bill, but everything here is electric so you can be frugal(i.e. I don't turn on my A.C. until I get home and since my windows face the west, I barely have to use my lights.)