Arbiter213 wrote:mths wrote:southernsnapp wrote:I'm kinda confused about housing. I've been looking online for a 1bdr apt and the only ones I can find are in what looks like houses. Do these apts have everything separate, or are you sharing things like a kitchen and laundry room? Are there any regular apartment complexes in Ithaca?
collegetown plaza
collegetown center
312 collegetown
Eddy Gate
^ actual apartment complexes
On that note, are the houses nice? They seem MUCH more cost effective- I need a 1BR because I'll be sharing with my girlfriend and her puppy and a studio would be ridiculous. (Could be entirely moot, but curious).
Just got back from the ASW, but my wife and I stayed till Tuesday to look for housing. Pretty disappointing options, IMO, but not terrible. Here are my opinions:
Commuter apartments-Solomon ManagementI don't know what your situation is, but if you don't mind living ~2 miles away, there are Northwood, Warenwood, Gaslight, etc., that are all owned by the same management company and pretty much the run-of-the mill apartment complexes for post-grads.--LinkRemoved-- Prices are pretty average (~$1100 for a 2 br 1000 sq ft). Pretty nice inside, lots of room, some have fitness centers/pools. Grounds seem pretty well kept up, ample parking, management seems a little smoozy, but I guess that's to be expected. Probably where we'll live, maybe.
Cayuga View--LinkRemoved--
These are income based properties, but we were actually pleased with how nice the units were, for the price. So, if you have a wife or gf or something and she is working and not making over 50k, it might be a good choice. I think a 2 br with a decent kitchen (DW, W/D, etc.) was about $900/mo. Again, a couple miles away. Smoking is allowed because it's partially federally funded, so that was pretty much a deal-breaker for us.
In-town Houses All the houses we checked out we're definitely rentals, as in, clearly lived in by nonchalant college students - not that well kept up on the outside or inside, pretty spidery, old appliances, creaky floors (should be considered especially if you have 1 or more renters above you). Rates vary greatly depending on the apartment size in the house, of course. I was not impressed with any of the ones we viewed. Pro of course is you get some funky old house charm. Con is you're in a funky old house. Off-street parking usually included. Also, sometimes when you rent from a house you're dealing with 1 single landlord, which, to me, can be a great thing. You can get to know the person before you sign the lease as opposed to getting squashed by some massive housing conglomerate (see Solomon above).
ApartmentsThere are a few larger apartment complexes downtown Ithaca.
Center Ithaca- Right in the middle of the commons, usually unfurnished, somewhat reasonable(~900 for 1br).
http://centerithaca.com/component/content/article/25.htmlGateway Commons - I don't know who the heck can afford these, but if that's you, brah, have fun (~1600+ for 1br!!)
http://www.gatewayithaca.com/index.htmCollegetown Plaza, and others - Typically furnished, seems like a lot of undergrads live in these places...
http://www.ithacarenting.com/Hope this helps someone. Again, we aren't too in love with our options, but we're also kind of picky when it comes to housing. Pretty much any place that was furnished (most of the collegtown apartments) wasn't an option for us, so we didn't even look.
Good luck!
