Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hey guys. Well I'm from India and I'm going to be attending FSU starting this fall as a grad student. I've spent literally months upon months looking for an apartment in Tallahassee. The problem is that because Tally is so populated with students, I've been told that I should get an apartment asap, but I won't be arriving in Tally till mid-August. As such I don't have the luxury of checking out any part of Tally in person.
I see a lot of great apartment websites online, then I look up their reviews and ratings and most of them turn out to be utter crap. I finally felt like I found THE place when I found The Park at Midtown (1600, Old Bainbridge Road) but now I just found out that it's in a "run down" area of Tally and saw a video (The Park at Midtown - YouTube) and the comments that followed about how the area around TPaM is actually quite unsafe. I'm not able to get in touch with ANYONE who has actually lived there. So I'm really back to square one now.
The sad part is that I won't be owning a car and getting one will take time (I don't even know how to drive) so I was looking at apartments close to FSU. But I came across this forum and people here have written that the area around FSU is generally quite bad. So I'm in quite a dilemma now.
I've been looking at apartments north of campus and as of now the places I'm considering are TPaM, Seminole Ridge (a former resident of this place told me there was a gang rape here while she was living there), The Park at Forest Ridge (~4miles from campus but has a free shuttle, so fairly manageable), Heritage Park (it had a 100% recommendation rate on apartmentratings.com, which has been my main guide) and Polo Club (which has good ratings too, though it is somewhat out of my budget and I read one person had written on this forum that he didn't like the place at all).
I'm really very confused guys. Please give me some advice. Any information. Any at all. I really need to make a decision soon.
If you're not going to have a car in Tallahassee, you're going to be at somewhat of a disadvantage. My advice would be to study the bus route maps (www.talgov.com), and try to find an apartment within walking distance of the bus. If you live in an apartment complex that provides a shuttle to FSU, that's nice for going to school (if you can rely on it -- I have no way of knowing if the shuttle services are reliable), but what do you do about going to the super market, drug store, etc.?
Personally, I'd want to avoid living in places near campus. If you can find an apartment in the northeast quadrant that's close to a bus line, I think you'd be safer and happier.
I have studied the bus routes but how frequent are the buses? It makes no sense if I have to spend a long time waiting at a bus stop.
I do intend to get a car, but it will take time. Not being a US citizen there will be a lot of formalities, not to mention actually learning to drive, what with all the other challenges I'm going to face being a grad student in a new country, settling down and what not. Even if I make the driving thing my top priority, it will take me at least a couple of months to get everything sorted.
A couple of questions: Is it true that you have to be 25 years or older to be able to rent a car? Also, would you recommend waiting till I arrive in Tally in mid-August to sign a lease or would it be difficult to find good accommodation that late?
Take a second look at the bus routes. If you look at a particular route, the same page gives you the schedule. The schedule varies depending on what day it is and what time of day, but the buses that go nearest to my house (the "E" route) seem pretty frequent to me. Anyway, do you have a reasonable alternative?
I have heard that you do need to be over age 25 to rent a car, but I have no first-hand knowledge of this. I'd suggest checking with several car rental agencies to find out. Car rental seems to me to be very expensive, however.
I would not wait until August to find a place. Have you looked at Craigslist? Hotpads.com? How about renting a room in someone's house? Have you called the department where you'll be doing your graduate work? I'd give them a call and ask for suggestions.
And just because one person gives a place a bad review is no reason not to look further at that place. If you found that there were several people complaining about a particular issue (e.g., landlord's failure to make repairs) then I would avoid that place.
Have you considered the graduate school on-campus housing? I believe there are a couple of dorms for graduate students. I would avoid Alumni Village (off-campus), however.
If I didn't have a car, I would probably look for a place within walking/biking distance of campus. Even though there are some crime issues nearby the campus, it likely doesn't outweigh the benefits of a quick commute w/o a car (or waiting for public transportation). Criminals will not pounce on you or break into your place every day when you leave your apartment if you're in a complex that is not in the heart of a bad neighborhood - just use "common sense", and you will be fine.
Take a second look at the bus routes. If you look at a particular route, the same page gives you the schedule. The schedule varies depending on what day it is and what time of day, but the buses that go nearest to my house (the "E" route) seem pretty frequent to me. Anyway, do you have a reasonable alternative?
I have heard that you do need to be over age 25 to rent a car, but I have no first-hand knowledge of this. I'd suggest checking with several car rental agencies to find out. Car rental seems to me to be very expensive, however.
I would not wait until August to find a place. Have you looked at Craigslist? Hotpads.com? How about renting a room in someone's house? Have you called the department where you'll be doing your graduate work? I'd give them a call and ask for suggestions.
And just because one person gives a place a bad review is no reason not to look further at that place. If you found that there were several people complaining about a particular issue (e.g., landlord's failure to make repairs) then I would avoid that place.
Right now the only places I'm looking at are either The Park at Forest Ridge or Polo Club. Yes I have looked at every website possible, seen every apartment complex that has been listed online. Like I said, I've been at this for months. But something always goes wrong. Not just one person's review, but several. I have spoken to many people currently at FSU as well, they all have different suggestions, and when I check out those places myself, like I said, they're usually filled with horrible reviews.
Have you considered the graduate school on-campus housing? I believe there are a couple of dorms for graduate students. I would avoid Alumni Village (off-campus), however.
If I didn't have a car, I would probably look for a place within walking/biking distance of campus. Even though there are some crime issues nearby the campus, it likely doesn't outweigh the benefits of a quick commute w/o a car (or waiting for public transportation). Criminals will not pounce on you or break into your place every day when you leave your apartment if you're in a complex that is not in the heart of a bad neighborhood - just use "common sense", and you will be fine.
No I never really considered dorms. I'm put off at the thought of sharing a bedroom and community bathrooms and what not. Also with FSU being a party school I've read that the dorms tend to be quite noisy, which is hardly helpful considering I'm going there to study. Definitely an apartment for me.
2. Florida Towers. It's right on campus, directly across the street from the law school. The apartments aren't luxurious, but it is less expensive, and I've known many a law student who lived here and survived. (I used to teach at the law school.) Because of its location, it will be noisy, but if you get an apartment away from Potbelly's you should be ok. You could always buy a white-noise machine. Phoenix South Management | Student Apartments in the Heart of FSU's Campus | Student Housing at Great Locations | Tallahassee Florida
You said you're considering the Polo Club. I've known a number of law students who lived there as well, and it is on a bus line. Also within walking distance of a good Publix.
I think you'll find negative reviews of any place you look at. I doubt there is any place where everyone is happy -- and if there is such a place, it's probably prohibitively expensive. My advice is find a place that's in a convenient and relatively safe location considering you won't have a car for a while.
2. Florida Towers. It's right on campus, directly across the street from the law school. The apartments aren't luxurious, but it is less expensive, and I've known many a law student who lived here and survived. (I used to teach at the law school.) Because of its location, it will be noisy, but if you get an apartment away from Potbelly's you should be ok. You could always buy a white-noise machine. Phoenix South Management | Student Apartments in the Heart of FSU's Campus | Student Housing at Great Locations | Tallahassee Florida
You said you're considering the Polo Club. I've known a number of law students who lived there as well, and it is on a bus line. Also within walking distance of a good Publix.
I think you'll find negative reviews of any place you look at. I doubt there is any place where everyone is happy -- and if there is such a place, it's probably prohibitively expensive. My advice is find a place that's in a convenient and relatively safe location considering you won't have a car for a while.
I have already checked out #2 but I'll check both that and the first one again, so thanks. The issue with Polo Club is that I read that they tend to cheat you out of your money, not give you back your security deposit etc.. Also I read some really glowing reviews about it but then somebody wrote that Polo Club pays professionals to write good stuff about them on the internet. So again I began questioning everything I read. I think I have 2 criteria that I've come down to now: Safety and access to the FSU bus. Safety is something I will have a hard time gauging when I'm not actually there, but I've read on this forum that the areas north and west of the FSU campus are relatively safe. So I guess that'll be a good place to begin again.
Also, is it possible for you to maybe message me the names of some people you know who live/lived at Polo Club? I know it's asking a lot but I really could use reviews from people I know are genuine. It's okay if you don't, I just figured there was no harm in asking.
Thanks again everybody, much appreciated Any further input from anyone is always welcome.
No I never really considered dorms. I'm put off at the thought of sharing a bedroom and community bathrooms and what not. Also with FSU being a party school I've read that the dorms tend to be quite noisy, which is hardly helpful considering I'm going there to study. Definitely an apartment for me.
There used to be a dorm on the west side of campus that was reserved for grad students (I have no idea if that's still the case now), which I assume would be more serious than the typical dorm atmosphere. I also understand that dorm/community living isn't for everyone -- it wasn't for me, either.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Apartment hunt - super confused, please help :(
Any further input from anyone is always welcome.
