Moving to Bloomington (Ellettsville, Hope: apartment, rentals, daycare)

[mezman]

Hello all,

My wife accepted a position in Bloomington and it looks like we'll be moving at the end of Sept. We're wanting to rent for at least a year (probably 2) and I have some questions.

It looks like the IU fall semester starts in mid-August and we won't be able to get out there until Labor Day weekend or so to look for rentals. How much of a problem is this if any? Not sure how robust the rental market is after the semester begins.

I've been looking for rentals on realtor and zillow any other places that are worth checking? Also, is Bloomington the type of place where landlords just put a sign out in the front yard?

My wife would like an attached garage but it's not looking promising from what we've seen... guessing we're SOL on that one unless we get lucky?

She'll be working in the far NW corner of Bloomington (off of N Prow Rd) and would like to keep her commute to 15-20 minutes or so. It looks like that limits us to about as far south and east as Bryan Park, does that sound right to you? I'll be working from home so my commute is not a consideration at this point.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[rrah]

First, at certain times of day commuting from the Bryan Park area to Prow Rd can take more than 20 minutes. It's not the distance but the traffic patterns. I've done a similar drive many times during the late afternoon and spent 30 minutes in the car. It just depends. I'd focus on the north side of Bloomington--probably near Bloomington High School North. There are a couple small neighborhoods near the high school that may have an attached garage if there is anything available there.

You didn't mention your budget which will also be a factor or what you want besides an attached garage.

You are correct in your idea about the overall rental market in Bloomngton. Things tend to be rented from August-August, but it's not impossible to find things away from campus at other times of the year. There won't be as many rentals near campus available at that time, but there will be things available in other areas. Given what you've said here, you don't want/need to be near campus anyway. It can be a bit of a headache to do so UNLESS you are a student.

Yes, people do place signs in yards, but again, that tends to be near campus. realtor.com is the last place I would look. Some rentals will show up there, but not a lot. Few landlords tend to list properties with agents in Bloomington. I'd suggest looking at rentbloomington.net, craigslist, and the classifieds in the local paper: the Herald Times. I think you can look at the classifieds without a subscription. If you're able to access the classifieds look at the ads from the small property management companies. They will still have properties available.

[mezman]

Originally Posted by rrah

First, at certain times of day commuting from the Bryan Park area to Prow Rd can take more than 20 minutes. It's not the distance but the traffic patterns. I've done a similar drive many times during the late afternoon and spent 30 minutes in the car. It just depends. I'd focus on the north side of Bloomington--probably near Bloomington High School North. There are a couple small neighborhoods near the high school that may have an attached garage if there is anything available there.

You didn't mention your budget which will also be a factor or what you want besides an attached garage.

You are correct in your idea about the overall rental market in Bloomngton. Things tend to be rented from August-August, but it's not impossible to find things away from campus at other times of the year. There won't be as many rentals near campus available at that time, but there will be things available in other areas. Given what you've said here, you don't want/need to be near campus anyway. It can be a bit of a headache to do so UNLESS you are a student.

Yes, people do place signs in yards, but again, that tends to be near campus. realtor.com is the last place I would look. Some rentals will show up there, but not a lot. Few landlords tend to list properties with agents in Bloomington. I'd suggest looking at rentbloomington.net, craigslist, and the classifieds in the local paper: the Herald Times. I think you can look at the classifieds without a subscription. If you're able to access the classifieds look at the ads from the small property management companies. They will still have properties available.

Thanks for the tips. We're currently paying $2,200 for a 3BR 2BA apartment in Dallas. We're hoping to rent for a bit less than that in Bloomington but we can pay more if we need to as we'll be making more in Bloomington. We'd just like to be in a single family home or a townhome vs. apartment (I really miss my grill). We'd be fine in something as small as 1,250 sqft but we'd like to have 3BR for when my mother comes to visit and for an office for me to work out of when no one is visiting.

We already have our daughter set up for daycare just north of downtown so I'm guessing the northern area would be best anyway but was trying to get an idea of how far south and/or east we could go. I was wondering if traffic would cause issues from the Bryan Park area. Thanks again.

[Rbbi1]

If you'd check out the nearest small burg from you need to be, the rent would probably be about half that. Smaller areas in Indiana are a lot cheaper than the big cities and since we don't have massive traffic problems, commuting is not that big a deal.

[mezman]

Originally Posted by Rbbi1

If you'd check out the nearest small burg from you need to be, the rent would probably be about half that. Smaller areas in Indiana are a lot cheaper than the big cities and since we don't have massive traffic problems, commuting is not that big a deal.

Yeah, the only problem with that is that I'll be working from home and would like to be in at least somewhat walkable area so I can get out of the house every once and awhile. I'm guessing Bloomington is the only place in the area where I can find that but let me know if I'm mistaken.

The wife and I grew up in NWI and are now living in Dallas so I'm certainly hoping traffic is going to be demonstrably better than either of those areas

[ion475]

Thanks for the tips. We're currently paying $2,200 for a 3BR 2BA apartment in Dallas. We're hoping to rent for a bit less than that in Bloomington but we can pay more if we need to as we'll be making more in Bloomington. We'd just like to be in a single family home or a townhome vs. apartment (I really miss my grill). We'd be fine in something as small as 1,250 sqft but we'd like to have 3BR for when my mother comes to visit and for an office for me to work out of when no one is visiting.

Are you looking for apartment or houses?


If you're looking for houses and walkability, then maybe Elm Heights or Bryan Park area. Other close-by area would be the like of Near West Side or McDoel Garden (Both are sort-of blue-collar-ish "townie" neighborhood). If you're willing to drive (a little bit) you can also try Ellettsville up north (Not too familiar with that area myself, though).

[mezman]

Originally Posted by ion475

Are you looking for apartment or houses?


If you're looking for houses and walkability, then maybe Elm Heights or Bryan Park area. Other close-by area would be the like of Near West Side or McDoel Garden (Both are sort-of blue-collar-ish "townie" neighborhood). If you're willing to drive (a little bit) you can also try Ellettsville up north (Not too familiar with that area myself, though).

Prefer house or townhouse but we know beggars can't be choosers in a college town. We're hoping for attached garage, walkable, etc... but we're well aware we might not be able to get it. It looks like the close in housing stock is older and attached garages are hard to come by so we'll see what we can find when we come in town over Labor Day. Just going to have to hope for the best.

[ion475]

Prefer house or townhouse but we know beggars can't be choosers in a college town. We're hoping for attached garage, walkable, etc... but we're well aware we might not be able to get it. It looks like the close in housing stock is older and attached garages are hard to come by so we'll see what we can find when we come in town over Labor Day. Just going to have to hope for the best.

For townhouse there's City Flats at Renwick, which does have attached garage. I believe Meadowcreek have attached garage also (Not sure...it has been awhile since I last went Apartment hunting). Both are straight up 45/46 Bypass to N Prow, so it's not really too far (Bloomington is not that big, just can be frustrating with zero fast route across town). Somewhat "walkable" and is close to all the shoppings.


Some townhouses around Woolery Mill/Adams Hill area also (Up Adams from Tapp) and near Batchelor MS (Cramer Cir). Neither are exactly "walkable", though. And I-69 construction make that area somewhat inaccessible for now.


Rental houses are scattered, so not much pointer from me, sadly.

[mezman]

Thanks everyone found a nice historic home west of downtown on rentbloomington.net. I really appreciate that tip because we wouldn't have found it otherwise. Only 1 bathroom and no attached garage but we're happy.

[rrah]

Glad the suggestion of rentbloomington.net helped. One of those sites that's not really advertised a lot, but a lot of small landlords use.

Hope you enjoy Bloomington. Lots of stuff going on near the west side and close to lots of things to do. Look into a subscription for Wonder Lab. Kids seem to like it.