Student Moving From NJ to Phoenix (Mesa, Tempe: transporting, transfer, buy)

[spuddymcgee]

Hi all,

I'm moving from NJ to Phoenix to attend ASU. I am planning to live in the student housing they have, which is located at 120 E. Taylor St. I am currently under the impression that all of my classes will be located on the ASU Phoenix campus, as will my job for my first year. Would it be necessary for me to have a car? If not, how difficult would it be to get around? Your help is greatly appreciated.

[ReadyFreddy]

Do you have that address right? Is it several miles north of the school?

If it's on campus housing and you have on campus dining and you don't expect to want to get around much, you should be ok. Between walking, biking, the free local shuttle and light rail, you should be able to get mostly where you need to go.

[khuntrevor]

We have car-less ASU students on my street, and I am 2 miles from DT Campus.

[cab591]

If you're living in student housing, you should be fine. Even if you happen to have some classes on the Tempe campus, there's a light rail line that goes from downtown to campus -- it's about a 30 minute ride. You can buy a semester pass if you're a full-time student at ASU.

Between Mill Ave in Tempe, and downtown Phoenix, you should find everything you'll need. Definitely get a Valley Metro semester pass, though. If you're 21+, you'll love to be able to take the light rail to Mill Ave, and drink with other ASU students. If drinking's not your thing, there's still more going on at the Tempe campus than the downtown campus. Between a student meal plan, and the CVS downtown, all of your food and shopping needs should be taken care of.

Sounds like you'll be fine.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by ReadyFreddy

Do you have that address right? Is it several miles north of the school?

If it's on campus housing and you have on campus dining and you don't expect to want to get around much, you should be ok. Between walking, biking, the free local shuttle and light rail, you should be able to get mostly where you need to go.

The OP is talking about the downtown campus. That housing is right in the midst of the downtown campus.

To the OP-- you can use the light rail to get out to the main campus and to downtown Tempe. If all your classes are downtown (and they may or may not be) you should be okay without a car.

[sablebaby]

Actually ASU has their own "bus" for students who go to other campuses. I'm a student at the Downtown campus and found that out.

[observer53]

I forgot about the buses. Between that and the light rail, not a problem getting to Tempe (or the other campuses for that matter).

[spuddymcgee]

Thank you all, I appreciate your input. Saved me the cost of transporting my car cross country. However, I do plan on traveling to Las Vegas with some frequency as I have family there. Is it easy to get to Sky Harbor from the downtown campus?

[khuntrevor]

Light Rail to the airport....quite a bit easier than driving.

[cab591]

As khuntrevor said, the Light Rail has indirect access to the airport. Hop off at the 44th/Washington St stop, and transfer onto the airport shuttle. There's a free shuttle bus in place right now, however construction is nearing completion on the "Phoenix Skytrain", which is basically an elevated rail line going from the Light Rail station to the airport. Nearly impossible to miss. I'd say from downtown, it's about 15-20 minutes to the 44th/Washington stop. Depending on transfer times, you could get to the airport in about 30-45 minutes, which isn't too bad.

Though, it's a shame there's no easy access to the Mesa Gateway airport (unless there's a Rapid Transit bus that goes there). Mesa Gateway offers unbelievably cheap flights to Vegas, especially if you don't have baggage. My roommate flew there back in January, and got a round-trip ticket for about $90!

If only your classes were at ASU Polytech Campus.