Apartment complexes close to ASU? (Tempe: lease, condos, neighborhoods)

[MCPioneer]

Hello all,

I'm from Ohio (there seems to be a lot of us here) and was just accepted into grad school at Arizona State and am wondering if someone can suggest some apartment complexes close to the Tempe campus? I prefer as close to campus as possible - or at least within a bike ride that caters more to quiet grad students and young professionals. I don't mind if the neighborhood is a bit loud, but would prefer the complex itself not be party central.

I'll probably come out immediately after graduation (mid to late May) to look for places and nail down a lease before the rush hits when everyone gets back in town.

Any thoughts/tips would be greatly appreciated!

[MCPioneer]

Update:

I'm told that apartments close to ASU are not the best idea. Anyone concur with that? I really don't want to be driving a car and looking for university parking everytime I want to come to campus - I've heard being on a flash bus line would be a benefit.

So, anyone know of any apartment complexes within a few miles of the Tempe campus on the flash line?

[scottie]

Your best shot is to go to rent.com and then you can look up all kinds of apartments, pircing, and location for any city (you would probably choose Tempe, AZ) or any zip code. Just curious, not be nosy but where did you do your undergrad in Ohio?

[MCPioneer]

Did my undergrad at Marietta College - small, private liberal arts college on the Ohio River.

Yeah, I have searched rent.com pretty exclusively, but that's not a great source for anecdotal information such as what neighborhood is nice, what to stay away from, what complex looks nice but sucks b/c of x, this complex is on the flash path, this one is not, etc, etc, etc.

I was hoping there would be people with personal experience of a complex that they would outright recommend or tell me to avoid at all costs.

[blondmom]

craigslist search for condos in tempe

[MovingSomewhere5]

Originally Posted by MCPioneer

Did my undergrad at Marietta College - small, private liberal arts college on the Ohio River.

Yeah, I have searched rent.com pretty exclusively, but that's not a great source for anecdotal information such as what neighborhood is nice, what to stay away from, what complex looks nice but sucks b/c of x, this complex is on the flash path, this one is not, etc, etc, etc.

I was hoping there would be people with personal experience of a complex that they would outright recommend or tell me to avoid at all costs.

I might be moving to Tempe for grad school this August as well and I have no idea where I'd live either! I definitely don't want to deal with traffic, so close to campus would be good. I don't mind a quick drive if necessary but I definitely do not want to be living with partying undergrads!

[HX_Guy]

Take a look at places along the light rail path as well. That will be a good way to get to campus without having to worry about finding parking or paying for ASU parking.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by MovingSomewhere5

I might be moving to Tempe for grad school this August as well and I have no idea where I'd live either! I definitely don't want to deal with traffic, so close to campus would be good. I don't mind a quick drive if necessary but I definitely do not want to be living with partying undergrads!

Talk about it!-- I'm in the process of apartment hunting around USC (it's in a bad part of LA), and it is a total nightmare. Renting around Tempe/ ASU is a breeze in comparison. Traffic is not really that big of an issue-- but parking is. If you're close enough where you can walk or bicycle to school you can save hundreds of dollars on parking (hundreds of bucks even for farflung lot 59 where you'd be a mile from your class). There are SO MANY apartment complexes in the area. Forget University Village (now called "Spectrum at Tempe" I believe) right off the bat-- it looks nice on the outside but it is party central with the cops there all the time. Exactly how close to campus do you want to be? What mode of transportation do you plan on using? Keep in mind, Tempe now has a free shuttle bus service that covers many neighborhoods, called the Orbit. Do you have any other special requirements-- like do you have to live in a new place, or is old okay?

[Climacus]

There are some apartments at the southeast corner of College and Curry along the Orbit-Earth and 66 bus routes (you can get a free bus pass as an ASU student); I haven't lived there to know what they're like, but they look quieter.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by Climacus

There are some apartments at the southeast corner of College and Curry along the Orbit-Earth and 66 bus routes (you can get a free bus pass as an ASU student); I haven't lived there to know what they're like, but they look quieter.

I know what you're talking about, it's called Papago Park Village. There's also a nearby one called La Mirage. Looks must be deceiving Climacus, because neither of these are remotely quiet-- they are major party centers, often with multiple loud parties going on at once! I know, because I used to go to parties there myself!