City girl moving to Flag for NAU's Physical Therapy program -- where to live? (Phoenix: apartment complexes, rental)

[op631]

Greetings!

I'll be moving to Flag this summer for NAU's awesome physical therapy (PT) program, and I'm wondering if I can get some advice on apartments.

I currently live in a LA neighborhood that's quite densely populated -- my address's "walk score" on walkscore.com is 88 out of 100. I'm used to walking for groceries, shopping, entertainment, and nightlife. I own a car but only use it when necessary.

So ideally I'd like to live in a place in Flag where I can walk to everything. NAU's PT school is in the south part of campus. I know the apartment complexes south of NAU (examples I've looked at online are Bear Ridge and Place at Forest Ridge) are generally cheaper than those west or north of campus, but they also seem quite isolated -- bike-able to everything, perhaps, but not quite walkable.

West of campus, I'm looking at University West, Forest Meadows, Aspen Leaf...? That part of town looks suburban-like on google map's street view, but looks like some markets and restaurants are near enough to walk to?

North of campus, there's the historic downtown neighborhood, and I'm thinking up there would be more my style, but I'm concerned about nightlife noise -- would this mostly be on weekends? Every night? Also looks like the grocery store (Basha's) is quite far away? As for buildings, looks like LIPS manages a few properties up there -- Downtowner, Kinlani, Brannen Homes, St. Anne's?

If anyone has the inside scoop on any of the apartments mentioned above or any general advice about these neighborhoods in general, I'd really appreciate it! Coming from LA, prices strike me as very reasonable -- for the first year, since it'll be a big lifestyle adjustment and my main goal is to gain my footing there, I'm willing to splurge a bit on housing -- I'd ideally like to stick to $800-ish and under for a studio or 1-bedroom, but anything under $1K is fine.

[CodyW]

First of all - Good choice on picking NAU!

If you're looking to stay walkable - Stay as close to Milton Rd as possible. Your life in Flagstaff will revolve around this part of town, and you can generally walk to everything you need. University West is very popular with the student crowd, and it can be pretty hard to get into an apartment there as they fill very quickly. (Same goes with University Square, Aspen Leaf, etc).

In this part of town, you can still walk to Downtown if you like, as well as campus. You can also walk to Harkins (the theater in town). There is a Safeway on Milton, as well as a Barnes and Noble, Target, and a Walmart not too far off the main road. The bulk of the restaurants in town are either on this corridor or in downtown. So you're pretty well situated.

The area north of downtown is very nice, and very unique. Though it's a bit more of a jaunt to get to the chain stores if you need something.

I envy you as far as not having sticker shock. Coming from Phoenix where you can get a one bedroom for $500 to Flagstaff where a studio will cost you $800 has not been pleasant, hah!

[op631]

Originally Posted by CodyW

First of all - Good choice on picking NAU!

If you're looking to stay walkable - Stay as close to Milton Rd as possible. Your life in Flagstaff will revolve around this part of town, and you can generally walk to everything you need. University West is very popular with the student crowd, and it can be pretty hard to get into an apartment there as they fill very quickly. (Same goes with University Square, Aspen Leaf, etc).

In this part of town, you can still walk to Downtown if you like, as well as campus. You can also walk to Harkins (the theater in town). There is a Safeway on Milton, as well as a Barnes and Noble, Target, and a Walmart not too far off the main road. The bulk of the restaurants in town are either on this corridor or in downtown. So you're pretty well situated.

The area north of downtown is very nice, and very unique. Though it's a bit more of a jaunt to get to the chain stores if you need something.

I envy you as far as not having sticker shock. Coming from Phoenix where you can get a one bedroom for $500 to Flagstaff where a studio will cost you $800 has not been pleasant, hah!

Thanks for the advice, CodyW! I really appreciate it.

I'm very excited about NAU -- everyone I've met there has been so nice and informative. I had to interview for my program in March, so I took the Amtrak, stayed in the hostel, and took the shuttle bus from Beaver St. to the SBS stop in south campus (I wanted to walk from downtown, but everyone was like, no! There's a hill! And you're still reacting to the altitude!).

When I got off the bus, I asked a guy who looked like a student if he know where my building is. Instead of just telling me where it was, he walked me there, even though it was out of his way. Such a great introduction to the school and the student population!

Your sticker shock for Flag prices reminds me of my sticker shock of moving to NYC, where I did my undergrad after living all my life in SoCal -- their rental prices are unbelievable! So after getting used to that for four years, moving to San Francisco afterwards was relatively cheaper, and LA was a downright bargain compared to both those places.

So I'll be going up to Flag later this month or in May to actually look at places and sign a lease, and looks like I'll stick to Milton Rd. places and maybe downtown.

When I go, I can either drive or take Amtrak again. Would you recommend taking the train so I'd be forced to walk everywhere and really see what it's like to walk from the places I'm interested in?

By any chance do you know if University West and Aspen Leaf are noisy?

If a place is available now, would landlords be cool about letting me start my lease in August? Could they rent to a summer student, perhaps, for the in-between period?

[azdr0710]

my comments are that South Campus to downtown is a bit of a walk (~two miles?) and, as Cody said, everything you need to live your entire life is on Milton, but it, too, is stretched out over about the same two miles.....so not quite "around the corner" for everything, but not bad....Milton is crowded at rush hour, too....

I'd love to live up there....

[CodyW]

Originally Posted by azdr0710

my comments are that South Campus to downtown is a bit of a walk (~two miles?)

It's doable, though. Once you hit north campus you can just take the shuttle to south campus to avoid walking.

[Orlynn]

Is the PT program still on south campus? I was under the impression they were moving everything Health Professions into the new Fronske on north campus... I graduated a few years ago though, so you'd probably know better

Flagstaff Village is just off 1-17, like two minutes from south campus, fairly quiet-- considering mostly students live there. Walking distance to Target, Bookmans, etc., biking distance elsewhere. Really depends on what you're looking for/what you can handle. LIPS-owned property. I highly recommend renting through them. (Hope I'm allowed to say that.) If you want to be closer to downtown, probably live north of campus and rely on the shuttle.

Just a warning though, I did my first six months in Flagstaff with no car and no bike-- it's not easy getting around everywhere on foot, especially when the snow hits.

[op631]

Originally Posted by Orlynn

Is the PT program still on south campus? I was under the impression they were moving everything Health Professions into the new Fronske on north campus... I graduated a few years ago though, so you'd probably know better

Flagstaff Village is just off 1-17, like two minutes from south campus, fairly quiet-- considering mostly students live there. Walking distance to Target, Bookmans, etc., biking distance elsewhere. Really depends on what you're looking for/what you can handle. LIPS-owned property. I highly recommend renting through them. (Hope I'm allowed to say that.) If you want to be closer to downtown, probably live north of campus and rely on the shuttle.

Just a warning though, I did my first six months in Flagstaff with no car and no bike-- it's not easy getting around everywhere on foot, especially when the snow hits.

Yup, the PT program in Flag is still in Health Professions on south campus, but NAU is also starting a PT program in downtown PHX -- the inaugural class starts this fall.

I drove up to Flag at the end of April and looked at a condo in University Heights and the apartments at University West and Aspen Leaf on the Westside. The U. Heights condo had a remodeled look and a very retreat-like, peaceful vibe, but it also felt so far away from everything.

U. West and Aspen Leaf were also nice, not quite as "posh" as the condo and loaded with students. I felt like I could live there if I had to, but overall the westside felt too suburban for my taste with all the big box stores and mini malls.

Downtown was much more my speed. I like being able to walk to get a properly-pulled espresso in the morning... the ideal plan is to live downtown and take the shuttle down to south campus if I felt too tired or lazy to walk, or if the weather makes walking difficult. I'll also have my trusty mountain bike and my car, which I can use as a last resort. Since I'm studying to be a PT, I feel like I should be walking, should be trying to set a good example, ha ha.

Thanks for everyone's help and advice on this board. Very excited to move to Flag!

[enigmadsm]

How did you hear about the PT program opening in downtown phoenix as well? Do you happen to know if the ATC program will be available in PHX also?

Definitely keep the thread updated when you find a place to stay!!! and G/L in the program. I'm undecided on which I would like to pursue right now. ATC or PT. they are similar, yet so different! lol

[op631]

Originally Posted by enigmadsm

How did you hear about the PT program opening in downtown phoenix as well? Do you happen to know if the ATC program will be available in PHX also?

Definitely keep the thread updated when you find a place to stay!!! and G/L in the program. I'm undecided on which I would like to pursue right now. ATC or PT. they are similar, yet so different! lol

Thanks, enigmadsm!

The PT department coordinator called us the first week of May because the PHX program had just been approved, and she wanted to find out which campus we preferred to attend (48 were admitted to the Flag program, and there were 24 spots open in the new PHX program). So at least 24 peeps will get off the wait list, which is awesome for them since NAU is sooo much cheaper than any of the other programs in AZ, which are all private.

I believe ATC is staying in Flag. The PT program in PHX will be housed in the yet-to-be-opened Phoenix Biomedical Campus, which will also house the UA med school and pharmacy school, the NAU physician assistant (PA) program, and I believe also an occupational therapy (OT) program? I imagine the new building will be swanky with all the latest technology, but I know I can't hang with the PHX spring/summer heat, so it wasn't an option I was actually considering.

As far as ATC vs. PT, why not major in ATC and then see if you wanna pursue PT afterwards? Since ATC is a bachelor's and PT is grad degree, you can totally explore both, and if you stick with NAU, both will be quite (relatively) affordable!

[enigmadsm]

good idea, that was partially my ideas as well, i've read that some people use ATC as their 4 year prior to DPT.
enjoy studying there! seems like an amazing place to be. I should be down in flagstaff around the october time frame.