Postdoc at UC, need to find and apartment (Cincinnati, Clifton: 2013, renters)

[mathiscool]

Hi everyone,

I just got a job as a postdoc at UC for fall 2013 and need to find an apartment. I've gotten a few suggestions of where to look (Gaslight district, Hyde Park), but it's still really daunting just looking through craigslist listings. Any suggestions of where to look and what/who I should avoid?

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by mathiscool

Hi everyone,

I just got a job as a postdoc at UC for fall 2013 and need to find an apartment. I've gotten a few suggestions of where to look (Gaslight district, Hyde Park), but it's still really daunting just looking through craigslist listings. Any suggestions of where to look and what/who I should avoid?

Gaslight, CUF, Corryville should be on your radar, since these are all neighborhoods that have student housing and are close to UC. What are you looking for?

[t45209]

Are you here for just a semester, ie in need of a short term lease, or are you able to commit to something longer?

[Arctic_6]

If you're looking for a population heavy with graduate students and newly professional academics, I think Gaslight Clifton is the best. I've lived here for three years while enrolled at UC and I have no complaints except that a closer grocery store would be nice.

If you'll be here for some time, I'd suggest Gaslight Property. I've never had a bad experience with them. I've heard some minor complaints from other friends, but I've always found them to be quick, efficient, and friendly when dealing with any issues.

In Gaslight Clifton you'll be near a lot of Indian restaurants, two great coffee shops, two neighborhood bars with very different vibes, an art theater, and a lot of other great shops like Ludlow Wines and La Poste eatery. It's also less than one mile from the university, which means it's always within walking distance and the UC shuttle stops near a lot of its big intersections anyway. I tend to think of it as a sort of academic paradise, really.

[mathiscool]

I'll be in Cincinnati for 1-2 years. I'm just looking for a one bedroom apartment for myself, preferably near UC, with parking available, and not too undergrad heavy. I've been getting a lot of recommendations for the Clifton Gaslight area, but every time I find a rental company I encounter terrible reviews, and I found one that had even been taken to court several times. I'll take a good look at Gaslight Property.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by mathiscool

I'll be in Cincinnati for 1-2 years. I'm just looking for a one bedroom apartment for myself, preferably near UC, with parking available, and not too undergrad heavy. I've been getting a lot of recommendations for the Clifton Gaslight area, but every time I find a rental company I encounter terrible reviews, and I found one that had even been taken to court several times. I'll take a good look at Gaslight Property.

Gaslight is a good rec. because it's doesn't have the house parties, and other crap, that you find in CUF. There are def. a lot of graduate students, but you also have a lot of everyone else mixed in. Families, empty nesters, hospital and university workers, etc. It's a more mature, diverse area. I really can't recommend any rental companies in that area. I know a lot of rental companies that are in CUF and Corryville, so if either of those areas strike your fancy, then let me know. Best of luck.

[Arctic_6]

It's worth noting that in my experience the rental companies aren't nearly as bad as the reviews would make them out to be. I know people renting from most of the major renters in Gaslight, and I've read reviews for many of them. It seems people often go online to review companies if they had a bad experience, but not if they had a good one. I can vouch for Gaslight Property, but I have friends who have had other experiences. I don't think my standards are unreasonably low, though, and I think it's quite common among the grad student crowd to complain about everything, housing included. Some of my friends' complaints are quite entitled (GP not showing up the day they file a maintenance complaint, for example).

They've never been anything but courteous and professional with me in the two places I've lived with them. Once, an upstairs neighbor let a plugged pipe go for so long it burst and the entire ceiling collapsed in my bedroom. They sent a person to my apartment at 1AM on New Year's Day to take a look and patched it back up within a week and a half.