URI...new to the east and excited (Providence, Warwick: apartments, to rent)

[Her]

Hello all! I originally was moving to Boston for a year but plans changed and I have been situated in Rhode Island at URI for the upcoming year. It's only 80 miles from Boston so I can still go there sometimes.

I'm 23, finishing up school and just wanted some information. I'm from the midwest. Never even seen a body of water aside from a ditch. I'm nervous and excited. Does anyone have any opinions of areas around the school or where to look for reasonable housing? Any tidbits will do! In the meantime, I will be trolling past threads. The pictures are gorgeous!!

[Hollytree]

You'll love URI- it has a beautiful campus in a lovely area. You can also take Amtrak from there to Boston very easily if you don't want to drive.

Start by checking Craigslist- put URI in the search- that will get you into the right area.

Also, here's URI's commuter housing dept. http://www.uri.edu/commuter_housing/

[CoventryDude]

And you will be minutes from some of the nicest beaches in New England!

[GermanSpy]

URI has a nice campus but it's nevertheless a commuter school. Prepare to deal with parking issues if you have classes at the main campus and choose to commute. While there's dormspace available most students go and rent a house close to the beach with a couple of others. Rents for these places are pretty horrendous during the season but it becomes bearable when you stuff four or five kids in one house.

It's not for everybody though. Also, keep in mind that URI has a Providence satellite campus which is located in Downtown Providence which offers quite a few classes, too. There's a bus connecting Downtown Providence with the main campus in Kingston.

It's a little difficult to give you good advice about where to live since that depends largely on what you're looking for in your URI education. Do you want to go and party a lot? Do you want to be very serious about your studies? Do you want to try and save money when it comes to renting or do you have a large budget? Give us something more to work with and we'll take it from there.

[Her]

Originally Posted by GermanSpy

URI has a nice campus but it's nevertheless a commuter school. Prepare to deal with parking issues if you have classes at the main campus and choose to commute. While there's dormspace available most students go and rent a house close to the beach with a couple of others. Rents for these places are pretty horrendous during the season but it becomes bearable when you stuff four or five kids in one house.

It's not for everybody though. Also, keep in mind that URI has a Providence satellite campus which is located in Downtown Providence which offers quite a few classes, too. There's a bus connecting Downtown Providence with the main campus in Kingston.

It's a little difficult to give you good advice about where to live since that depends largely on what you're looking for in your URI education. Do you want to go and party a lot? Do you want to be very serious about your studies? Do you want to try and save money when it comes to renting or do you have a large budget? Give us something more to work with and we'll take it from there.

Sorry it took so long to reply. Thanks for all the help! I'm not much of a party person at all. I will be focused on my studies. I would like to save money as my budget will not be that big. I will have 10K when I get there and thats before any initial rent and without a job lined up. I will be at the main campus and I'm okay with it being a commuter school. I'm just not sure where to look for less expensive housing that isn't in a "bad part of town." I'm very niave. I've never been there before. Any help is great.

[terrasurf]

There aren't really any 'bad' areas in Southern RI- its all very nice. In fact, the area around Wakefield and Peacedale has a special, sleepy kind of charm. The coastal areas can be a little more busy and developed. I knew plenty of URI students who lived in Newport perhaps because of the employment opps in the off season, however anywhere along the coast from Sauderstown, Bonnet Shores to Matunuck or Charlestown are all nice. You might want to be more choosy about your roommates, as it is a party school, which is what I think some other posters were getting at. The water is still swimmable in September, in case you want to baptize yourself in the Atlantic. Be sure to take the ferry and a bike to Block Island, it is very beautiful.

[GermanSpy]

If commuting to campus isn't an issue for you I'd suggest you move somewhere which might offer a couple job opportunities while being reasonably close to campus. As mentioned, Newport isn't bad for off season jobs but you'll have to go over the toll bridge to get to URI which of course doesn't help when you're on a budget. You might want to consider moving a little bit north of campus, closer to the Warwick area. Parts of Warwick are pretty saturated with retail where you might find a job while in school. Meanwhile, the commute to URI isn't absolutely horrible unless it's beach traffic time. There are a couple areas in Warwick which aren't quite as desirable as others though so if you want to move into a perfectly safe area then South County, the greater area where URI main campus is located, will be your best bet.

[Her]

Thanks a bunch for the replies.

I'm nearing my wits end on the apartment search. It's a lot of research and calling and emailing to find something I can afford, etc. Each search I do usually results in apartments in Middltown or Cranston. These are about 30 minutes away from URI to my understanding. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm very used to that commute and already do a longer one than that every day. I'm from a really small town with no public transport or anything so I'm flustered. Are Cranston and Middletown good areas to be looking in?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance to those with any advice to offer.

[Hollytree]

What is your budget and did you look at the link I offered? These are places near to URI
http://www.uri.edu/commuter_housing/...category2.html

[Her]

My budget is currently $1100 a month. Hopefully I will be able to get a job somewhere when I move. I've been really looking into which utilities are included at the different properties. I did look at the link but most of the places I've been in contact with are either already taken or not available until much later than I need. I hope to be moved by mid July at the very latest. I would have started looking much earlier but my originial exchange city got changed at the last minute. Now I am back to square one. I spoke with the coordinator and that was the link I was given through the university as well.