UTHSC at San Antonio housing (Center, China: apartment complexes, for rent, high crime)

[cathycat]

Hello,

I am going to the US this summer, for the first time, to start my PhD at UTHSC at San Antonio. Can anyone recommend any specific apartments or neighborhoods nearby that are safe for a single female student because this university does not offer any student housing. Thank you very much.

[LindaGrace]

Hi Cathy! First, (a slightly premature) welcome to the neighborhood!

I've lived in the medical center area of San Antonio since 1999. There are many apartment complexes in the area.

To narrow down your choices, think about things like:

• Will you have a car?
• If you don't have a car, will you have a bike?
• Do you want to live in a complex with a bunch of students, or are you looking for a quieter, less student-oriented place?

There are several apartment locator services in the neighborhood that could probably help you. It's a free service, which is nice, and they know the complexes very well.

My husband and I live in Las Cimas apartments - we've been here four and a half years, and have had absolutely no issues with noise or crime or anything. The people in the office are not overly bright but we don't have much to do with them, frankly. We rarely have to call them for anything.

I will warn you that Las Cimas is an older complex, so they aren't your modern luxury apartments, BUT they're in good shape and there are fabulous big shade trees throughout the complex, which is a rarity in San Antonio!

Good luck!

[Chaka]

Congratulations and welcome to SA.

There are many many apartments near UTHSCSA, but it's not a real walking area. Some apartments would be walkable/bikable, but not many. There's a range of older places and brand new.

Most apartment complexes (well, the newer ones) in the area will be large resort-like places. By that I mean they usually have multiple buildings with multiple units, a pool, jacuzzi, small fitness center. The older ones usually have a pool, but maybe not the other stuff.

Not sure where you're coming from...I just throw that out there because apartments in the US - esp. here - are very different from most other countries I've lived!

In addition to LindaGrace's questions - how much space do you want? Studio, 1 bedroom, more?

Also, the medical center is a fairly large area, but even if you have a car I'd recommend staying west of I-10...traffic to the other side can be a real bear.

[cathycat]

Thank you, LindaGrace and Chaka, for your replies! I am coming from Canada where I have lived most of my life but I have also lived a short time in China too when I was younger. I have read many posts on this forum about the safety issues in San Antonio, including some places near UTHSC, so I was very worried about living there by myself. Especially since I have never lived in the US before so I don't know what it's like to live there. LindaGrace your comments have somewhat relieved my apprehension about living there so thank you. As for both your questions, I will have a bike and I would prefer not to get a car but it seems that both of you recommend it so I will look into buying one once I get there. Concerning space and other apartment amenities, I am not very picky so I can live in a studio or 1-bedroom, and it doesn't matter to me if the place has a gym and/or pool either. I would only like a place that is safe and very close to the university because my supervisor expects me to work almost everyday until 10-11pm (like all the rest of his current lab members) to finish my research and I would like to be able to enter and leave my residence without worrying about being robbed or worse. Thanks again for all your help.

[Chaka]

I think you'll be reasonably safe in most of the apartment complexes in the area. In general the Medical Center is not a high crime area. There's a little booklet put out for free that has most of the complexes and all the amenities, as well as price range and location. See if your prospective advisor can send you one (that's how I got my first place here) or I'd be happy to if you want to DM me your address. After I picked a few I just asked him if he knew anything about them and he kindly went by to check out the general area.

Good luck on the research. I did a science PhD (not here), and had many many many late nights....glad those days are over!

[cathycat]

Thank you Chaka for your response and for the tip about the apartment booklet. I will contact my research advisor about this matter.

[TexHwyMan]

Originally Posted by cathycat

Thank you Chaka for your response and for the tip about the apartment booklet. I will contact my research advisor about this matter.

It's online as well:
Apartments for rent: Apartment Guide, your free apartment finder

Search Zip Code 78229.

[cathycat]

Thanks for the link TexHwyMan!

[Inventurous]

Apartment Ratings - Apartments for Rent with Ratings and Reviews from Actual Renters

[zjanet]

i live very close to the medical center in oak hills and am thinking of renting out 1 bedroom. it is large with its own bathroom in an extremely safe neighborhood, you would have access to the kitchen. i am thinking of $500 a month.