UVA Class of 2014 Forum

[billyez]

I really liked some of the places on Wertland, but for all the reasons given by joe, I wouldn't live there.

[bluecrab5448]

Is there a bus service that runs from the Charlottesville Amtrak station to the law school (or around there)? I'm thinking of taking the train down for ASW.

[Cavalier]

Is there a bus service that runs from the Charlottesville Amtrak station to the law school (or around there)? I'm thinking of taking the train down for ASW.

I don't think there's a direct route, but you could probably make the trip on a couple of UVA busses: http://www.virginia.edu/parking/documen ... rs_Web.pdf. That said, a cab from the train station should be $10 at the most, so I would just do that.

[ClayDavis]

Has anyone here had any success negotiating for more scholarship money with UVA?

[bluecrab5448]

Is there a bus service that runs from the Charlottesville Amtrak station to the law school (or around there)? I'm thinking of taking the train down for ASW.

I don't think there's a direct route, but you could probably make the trip on a couple of UVA busses: http://www.virginia.edu/parking/documen ... rs_Web.pdf. That said, a cab from the train station should be $10 at the most, so I would just do that.

Thanks Cavalier!

[ClayDavis]

Is there an easy way to get to DC from Charlottesville if I don't have a car? Also, do most people have cars?

[Cavalier]

Is there an easy way to get to DC from Charlottesville if I don't have a car? Also, do most people have cars?

Amtrak goes from Union Station to Charlottesville, which is your best option. Most people do have cars, but you can certainly manage without one if you live on Arlington. I don't have a car myself and haven't had any problems.

[ClayDavis]

Is there an easy way to get to DC from Charlottesville if I don't have a car? Also, do most people have cars?

Amtrak goes from Union Station to Charlottesville, which is your best option. Most people do have cars, but you can certainly manage without one if you live on Arlington. I don't have a car myself and haven't had any problems.

Gotcha, thanks. You have no problems doing grocery shopping/going out/getting to class in winter sans car? I don't have a car but I'm debating buying a crappy one in the hopes it could last me 3 years.

[Cavalier]

Is there an easy way to get to DC from Charlottesville if I don't have a car? Also, do most people have cars?

Amtrak goes from Union Station to Charlottesville, which is your best option. Most people do have cars, but you can certainly manage without one if you live on Arlington. I don't have a car myself and haven't had any problems.

Gotcha, thanks. You have no problems doing grocery shopping/going out/getting to class in winter sans car? I don't have a car but I'm debating buying a crappy one in the hopes it could last me 3 years.

The walk to the law school from an Arlington residence is basically no further than a walk from the cheapest parking spots, so it really isn't a big deal. It takes ten minutes at a leisurely pace, nearly five at a swift pace. Harris Teeter (a major grocery store) is at most a five minute walk from any residence on Arlington. The Corner is also within walking distance, and a cab there doesn't cost very much.

I do feel a bit constrained to the area near the law school, but since the vast majority of my time is spent there anyway, it's not a big deal.

[albanach]

The #7 bus I mentioned goes from the main road in front of Amtrak to Barracks Road. Still, if you don't know the area, a cab is probably easier. Greyhound also run a service from DC direct to Charlottesville.

Given there's no early Greyhound or Amtrak from DC to Charlottesville, you may need to travel to Charlottesville the night before.

[Doritos]

Is there an easy way to get to DC from Charlottesville if I don't have a car? Also, do most people have cars?

Amtrak goes from Union Station to Charlottesville, which is your best option. Most people do have cars, but you can certainly manage without one if you live on Arlington. I don't have a car myself and haven't had any problems.

Gotcha, thanks. You have no problems doing grocery shopping/going out/getting to class in winter sans car? I don't have a car but I'm debating buying a crappy one in the hopes it could last me 3 years.

I think you would appreciate having a car in Charlottesville. You don't need one but its nice.

[arism87]

Is there an easy way to get to DC from Charlottesville if I don't have a car? Also, do most people have cars?

Amtrak goes from Union Station to Charlottesville, which is your best option. Most people do have cars, but you can certainly manage without one if you live on Arlington. I don't have a car myself and haven't had any problems.

Gotcha, thanks. You have no problems doing grocery shopping/going out/getting to class in winter sans car? I don't have a car but I'm debating buying a crappy one in the hopes it could last me 3 years.

I think you would appreciate having a car in Charlottesville. You don't need one but its nice.

+1, if it doesn't cause you hardship, it's nice to have. I was in Cville for a year without a car and you can definitely get along just fine, but it is occasionally really annoying (if you want to go to the mall, movies, a farmer's market/Whole Foods, etc). I was relieved to finally bring my car to town, even though I probably drove it once a week at most.

[dailygrind]

Is there an easy way to get to DC from Charlottesville if I don't have a car? Also, do most people have cars?

Amtrak goes from Union Station to Charlottesville, which is your best option. Most people do have cars, but you can certainly manage without one if you live on Arlington. I don't have a car myself and haven't had any problems.

Gotcha, thanks. You have no problems doing grocery shopping/going out/getting to class in winter sans car? I don't have a car but I'm debating buying a crappy one in the hopes it could last me 3 years.

I think you would appreciate having a car in Charlottesville. You don't need one but its nice.

i think i ended up using like 2 tanks of gas my entire first semester. meanwhile i'm paying like 500 bucks for year long insurance. it's possible that i could have saved money by using a taxi in lieu of owning a car...though tbf i don't expect to continue driving so little throughout my entire uva career.

[Doritos]

People say cabs are cheap but I dunno. They aren't driving you terribly far and it always seems like its at least 10 bucks each way. Factor in tip and you are paying like 4 bucks for a one way trip. Do that a few times a week and it doesn't seem that much cheaper than having a cheap car w/ minimum coverage (unless of course you have to buy said car then that initial investment may make it more expensive).

[sundance95]

i think i ended up using like 2 tanks of gas my entire first semester. meanwhile i'm paying like 500 bucks for year long insurance. it's possible that i could have saved money by using a taxi in lieu of owning a car...though tbf i don't expect to continue driving so little throughout my entire uva career.

$500 for insurance in Charlottesville? Are you driving a Cadillac? I don't pay that much, even living in Alexandria.

[DeeCee]

i think i ended up using like 2 tanks of gas my entire first semester. meanwhile i'm paying like 500 bucks for year long insurance. it's possible that i could have saved money by using a taxi in lieu of owning a car...though tbf i don't expect to continue driving so little throughout my entire uva career.

$500 for insurance in Charlottesville? Are you driving a Cadillac? I don't pay that much, even living in Alexandria.

I pay $425 every six months and I live in a city of similar size as Charlottesville.

Wait, what type of coverage are we talkin here?

[sundance95]

I have collision, comprehensive, and uninsured motorist insurance-and I pay about half that in Alexandria. However, I am married and over 25 so perhaps that's why. I'd expect C'ville rates to be lower.

[albanach]

I have collision, comprehensive, and uninsured motorist insurance-and I pay about half that in Alexandria. However, I am married and over 25 so perhaps that's why. I'd expect C'ville rates to be lower.

They did say $500 for year long insurance - $250 per 6 months is pretty cheap.

[joeshmo39]

I think you would appreciate having a car in Charlottesville. You don't need one but its nice.

Says the guy who has a ballin' ass car... (I loled, no one else? Maybe it's an inside joke).

If you live on Arlington having a car is really not necessary, I know a lot of people who don't and none show signs of early starvation. I do not have a car and live further than Arlington and still stay alive. However, if you live in Ivy, it may be more of a concern. One thing I will say about cabs is that if you are using them, you are probably not driving or at least should not be driving so the two are always mutually excusive in my book. I only take cabs out at night and probably would not want to drive anyway so I think cabs are for weekends and cars are for errands and I would not take a cab for errands anyway. That was poorly explained but that's fine.

P.S. Dorito - The girlfriend and I spent like 6 hours this weekend playing Angry Birds. I'm surprised no one told me about this before.

[sundance95]

I have collision, comprehensive, and uninsured motorist insurance-and I pay about half that in Alexandria. However, I am married and over 25 so perhaps that's why. I'd expect C'ville rates to be lower.

They did say $500 for year long insurance - $250 per 6 months is pretty cheap.

Hmm I might be paying for 6 months. Thx.

[YCrevolution]

..

[Heat]

i think i ended up using like 2 tanks of gas my entire first semester. meanwhile i'm paying like 500 bucks for year long insurance. it's possible that i could have saved money by using a taxi in lieu of owning a car...though tbf i don't expect to continue driving so little throughout my entire uva career.

$500 for insurance in Charlottesville? Are you driving a Cadillac? I don't pay that much, even living in Alexandria.

I'm from upstate New York. An hour outside the city. I pay insurance as if I live at school which is about 3 hours outside of Manhattan. I pay way more then that. Charlottesville is so cheap when you come from a horrible state like New York haha.

(I'm also not over 25 and married as you said and I drive a newish car. I anticipate my insurance being higher then anyone elses has been so far.)

[Apple Tree]

nm...

[LLB2JD]

So I've read all sort of stuff about Ivy Gardens about the management being terrible. Is it really that bad or could those folks be just disgruntled/random anomalies? I'm just trying to do my groundwork and hopefully find somewhere that I could potentially stay for my whole 3 years there, especially given that I most likely won't be able to visit before I sign a lease.

Thanks


Below are examples:

I've lived in Ivy for two years, and had nothing but problems. The apartments are mainly run down, and the management is terrible.

Had to move once because of water problems, both my dishwasher leaking and water coming through the ceiling from the apartment above. After 5 or 6 maintenance calls and repeated promises that things would be fixed, I finally had to change apartments, with a good deal of my things ruined. A friend had a similar problem and likewise had to change apartments, and then because the office didn't bother to take note of the fact that she had moved to a different section of the complex, they gave her the wrong parking sticker and then had her car towed. Of course, they told her it was her fault for not noticing. The units have no washer/dryer, and the laundry rooms are filthy. Half of the machines or more are either broker outright or barely work.

Which brings up another issue. Getting any problem fixed is like trying to ---- a pineapple. Unbelievably time consuming and painful if you can do it at all. Minor maintenance issues require two or three calls, during all of which the ladies in the office will be more rude, condescending, and dismissive than you can believe. At one point the wiring in my chandelier shorted out, and when I emailed to get it fixed I received a snotty reply telling me that all the light bulbs had probably burned out (simulatenously, of course) and that it was my responsibility to go buy more. It was a week before someone finally came to fix it, and they left the place trashed.

I know this may sound like a personal gripe list, but my problems are just a few of many. A lot of friends lived here when they first moved to town for school, and almost all moved out after a year, citing repeated maintenance issues and intransigent management. If you're looking for a place near the law or business school, there are plenty others within walking distance with better apartments, better amenities, lower rent, and management doesn't treat you like something undesirable they scraped off their shoe.

and this is another:

While Ivy Gardens is close to the law and business school, their rental office staff is so awful that it is not worth living here. They are incredibly rude and incompetent and I have never been so frustrated dealing with anyone in my life. There seems to be no accountability for anything that they do. If you do live here, make sure to get everything in writing. They consistently give out inaccurate information and say things like, "don't worry about it, we do this all the time" and when it comes time to move out, they deny ever saying those things and charge you for everything. I recently moved out and I called them to double check the day that I was to end my electricity and they told me it was the 12th. Knowing their poor track record, I said "are you sure it is the 12th -- I want to make sure I don't need to leave it on for any extra time for cleaning." They replied, annoyed at my question, "yes, it is the 12th." Stupidly, I believed them only to find out that I was being charged for turning off my electricity too early. When I called them, I (a generally level-headed person) was brought literally to tears when they insisted on the phone that they told me a different date. I sincerely hope that they are not so mean spirited as to blatantly lie to people just to get an extra few bucks, and are in fact just incredibly incompetent. However, after so many of these incidents throughout my time there, I am beginning to wonder. I read the poor reviews online before living there but thought the convenience to the law school would make it worthwhile. I can not even begin to tell you how much I regret living there. Avoid it if you can.

[kelc213]

I have serious anxiety about all the management issues regarding Ivy. After renting apartments from the dregs of society for 5 years in Boston, I'm not willing to do it again.

Anyone reasonably clean and non-crazy wanna live with me in Jefferson Ridge?

http://www.jeffersonridge.com