UT Student looking for a safe, quiet place (Austin, West: apartment complexes, rentals)

[FutureUT]

Hi all,
As the title suggests I'm going to be a UT student in the fall and want to find a safe, quiet place to live and study. I'm fine living removed from campus as long as it's near a shuttle line since I can't drive. Nightlife, etc. are not a priority. I'm looking for a studio/ 1 bedroom. Also, I'm used to rent which, as far as I've seen from looking around online, would be fairly high by Austin standards so there's no need to rule out the more expensive neighborhoods.

General area, neighborhood recommendations are great but advice on specific apartment complexes( you can correct me if I'm wrong but it seems that all the apartments are part of complexes) would be really appreciated-- I've seen some places get pretty negative reviews.

Thanks so much for your help!

[mayfair44]

Originally Posted by FutureUT

Hi all,
As the title suggests I'm going to be a UT student in the fall and want to find a safe, quiet place to live and study. I'm fine living removed from campus as long as it's near a shuttle line since I can't drive. Nightlife, etc. are not a priority. I'm looking for a studio/ 1 bedroom. Also, I'm used to rent which, as far as I've seen from looking around online, would be fairly high by Austin standards so there's no need to rule out the more expensive neighborhoods.

General area, neighborhood recommendations are great but advice on specific apartment complexes( you can correct me if I'm wrong but it seems that all the apartments are part of complexes) would be really appreciated-- I've seen some places get pretty negative reviews.

Thanks so much for your help!

No need to limit yourself to just the UT shuttle routes. University of Texas students, faculty and staff ride at no charge on bus and rail services through a paid agreement with Capital Metro. UT riders must have a valid UT ID to ride free. Get to know the routes that take you not only to UT, but also what street(s) the stops are on, relative to what area(s) of campus your classes are.

Capital Metro Transit - Austin, Texas

Most, if not all, places in Austin are pretty safe. Quiet? West Campus will probably be the noisiest, although it can get loud at any heavily student-populated apt. You could live anywhere nearby, including downtown, if your budget permits. I'd consider walking distance to a grocery store myself, if I had no car.

Good luck and hook 'em!

[AustinEdge]

my advise would be if you do get a studio apartment, take the top floor. i live in a very quiet building, except for my upstairs neighbors who do not work or leave their apartment. One of them must have OCD, because they never stop pacing and vacuuming and rearranging furniture. i can't exactly... politely ask them to stop moving around

[sanmiguel]

I think that, given your criteria, you might want to consider an apartment at the Triangle development. It is convenient to the campus shuttle, very safe and has its own convenient local shops and dining spots. If it is within your budget, I think that it would be a good fit for your needs.

Austin Apartments | Triangle Apartments in Hyde Park, Austin, TX

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by mayfair44

No need to limit yourself to just the UT shuttle routes. University of Texas students, faculty and staff ride at no charge on bus and rail services through a paid agreement with Capital Metro. UT riders must have a valid UT ID to ride free. Get to know the routes that take you not only to UT, but also what street(s) the stops are on, relative to what area(s) of campus your classes are.

Good points, but as an offset, for the most part UT Shuttles run more frequently than regular Cap Metro buses and are faster. For instance, look at the Far West area which is served by the #19 as well as the FW Shuttle.

The #19 is a "local" which runs every 30 minutes during busiest times of the day, every 60 minutes during slower times, stops running inbound about 9:30 and outbound about 10:30 pm and takes about 30 minutes to get to UT.

The 661 FW shuttle is an "express" which runs every 15 minutes during the day, then every 30 minutes at night, with the last outbound bus at 11:30 pm, and a 15 minute run to campus.

The only two downsides I see to the shuttles are that they tend to be more crowded, and they typically don't run on Saturdays.

[stan4]

My advice...honestly...is to stay on campus the first couple of years.

[mayfair44]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Good points, but as an offset, for the most part UT Shuttles run more frequently than regular Cap Metro buses and are faster. For instance, look at the Far West area which is served by the #19 as well as the FW Shuttle.

The #19 is a "local" which runs every 30 minutes during busiest times of the day, every 60 minutes during slower times, stops running inbound about 9:30 and outbound about 10:30 pm and takes about 30 minutes to get to UT.

The 661 FW shuttle is an "express" which runs every 15 minutes during the day, then every 30 minutes at night, with the last outbound bus at 11:30 pm, and a 15 minute run to campus.

The only two downsides I see to the shuttles are that they tend to be more crowded, and they typically don't run on Saturdays.

Good points. The shuttle routes are more frequent with less stops. I'm thinking for example, of those students who live in a area, say Hyde Park, near Duval, where the RR shuttle doesn't go, and you can take the #7 instead, for free. To your point, the further out you go, unless it's an express route, the longer (more stops) it'll take to get to campus. Close in, the city routes that go to campus are often overlooked.

[FutureUT]

Many thanks to all of you for your advice. The information about all the buses being free to UT students is especially welcome =)

sanmiguel: the Triangle development looks interesting, I'll check into it further.

stan4: I understand completely but since I'm really looking for a place to relax and study I don't want to be constantly at odds with people who're looking to party. Bad for everyone( but mostly me since clearly in this scenario there'd be a lot of them and just the one of me )

[mayfair44]

Search tools:

Apartments and Rentals - Find a Walkable Place to Live
Austin Apartments for Rent - PadMapper Map-Based Apartment Search

Second that on Triangle being a good/popular location. Another spot that comes to mind, if you like the idea of living right next to a nice grocery store (Central Market), the Gables on 38th is a sweet location.

There are lots of places to look at, especially just north of campus, off the main streets like Lamar, Guadalupe, Speedway, Duval and Red River and surrounding side streets. If my budget permitted, I'd start with this area, over other further out neighborhoods north, or south of downtown. Quicker commutes to campus. Walkable and bikeable with plenty of restaurants and retail nearby, that cater to students.

Having a bicycle makes getting around these parts easy too.

If you're enrolled this fall, you better start looking (pre-lease) NOW. Properties in these areas go pretty quickly on leases starting in August.

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by FutureUT

Many thanks to all of you for your advice. The information about all the buses being free to UT students is especially welcome =)

sanmiguel: the Triangle development looks interesting, I'll check into it further.

stan4: I understand completely but since I'm really looking for a place to relax and study I don't want to be constantly at odds with people who're looking to party. Bad for everyone( but mostly me since clearly in this scenario there'd be a lot of them and just the one of me )

I was under the impression you were a non-traditional student, but if you're going to UT straight out of high school, you really do need to either live on campus or just off campus in a place like Dobie or the Castilian for your freshman year, unless you're fine with not meeting people. As long as you aren't in Jester, the dorms are actually quiet and small (the buildings, not the rooms necessarily), but if you haven't signed up for on-campus housing yet, you're going to be stuck with Jester if it's not too late to get anything at all, so that's likely off the plate. Look into Dobie or the Castilian. Dobie is known for attracting focused, science-y majors, and the Castilian has designated quiet floors. They should both still have room.