Rudy’s in La Crosse | Flickr
With all the money you’re spending on textbooks, rent, notebooks and everything else that matters to a college student beer, you need to find a place to save somewhere else. Food is that place. It’s crazy how much food costs, even in a smaller college town like La Crosse. Well, we’re here to help. We scoured Yelp and found the best places to eat near UWL off-campus housing food on a budget. Continue reading
At IU, there’s plenty for you to do.
We know Hoosiers have the same problem as everyone else, just in their city. It’s the age old question for a college kid at Indiana University: What are things to do in Bloomington? Summer. Winter. Fall. Spring. It’s a question for all seasons. We’re here to give you a guide. Indiana Unversity and the surrounding Bloomington area has plenty to do all year long. Continue reading
We know every college campus is different. We also know students may have very specific questions when they are researching potential colleges. So we’ve prepared a guide to Indiana University specifically for students.
We want to focus on what we know matters most to students. What’s the weather like? Is there a way I can make this experience cost any less? Where can I get a good drink? WHERE DO I DO MY DANCING!?
So here is the Rent College Pads Unofficial Guide to Indiana University: Continue reading
Travel doesn’t have to be a pain at UW-Oshkosh (image source: Wikipedia)
In a college town like Oshkosh, there’s plenty of exploring you can do while you’re at school. But what if you don’t have a car? You might be thinking you’ll never be able to get out there, but don’t panic. UW-Oshkosh has their students in mind and provides several options of transportation for those students who don’t have a car, or who want to reduce their carbon footprint.
We read the transportation reviews on College Niche to see which options students thought were the best way to get around town.  Continue reading
Buses line up all winter long at Marquette. (Photo: Jeramey Jannene | Flickr)
Going away to college is probably the first taste of freedom for many students, but problems may arise if you don’t have a car to bring to school with you. This can seem like a big deal when heading to college, but luckily for you, there are ways to get around without a vehicle. And apartments near Marquette University have plenty of options to get you from Point A to Point B.
We checked the transportation reviews on College Niche to see what students said were the best ways to get around. Continue reading
Gyro. Delicious.
The Milwaukee area is home to a diverse group of neighborhoods and restaurants. In Walker’s Point, you’ll find a bevy of Mexican restaurants. The bar scene on Water Street and North Avenue is also home to national chains and local eateries galore. And when we zero in on East Side of Milwaukee, the UWM area, we see that it’s no slouch when it comes to food people claim as their favorite either.
We scoured Yelp and found the best places to eat UW-Milwaukee food on a budget. You’ll want to make sure to browse our UWM off-campus housing so you can live as close as possible to these favored food joints. Continue reading
Ian’s in Madison (John Fischer : Flickr)
We know money is tight for students at UW-Madison. That’s the one big negative that comes alongside all the great things about being in college. We also know that students love food. Especially in a town like Madison with so many great dining options. So we’ve scoured the internet (mainly Yelp, honestly) and found the best options for UW-Madison food that won’t ruin your budget.
Being (almost) broke doesn’t mean you can’t occasionally enjoy a quality meal. Continue reading
As an undergraduate, or graduate, finding housing can be a worrisome task. International students, especially first year international students, have an even more difficult time. Coming to a completely new area, many not speaking or reading English very well, makes things difficult. On top of that, most schools no longer can guarantee that first-year students have a place on campus. Here are some things to consider as an international student when looking for housing:
If you’re traveling to campus alone, use any resource you can find to find somebody to help you. There are all sorts of resources available to help international students find a place, and find a roommate that will fit well with them. You can check out our roommates section here. Many of these, including our roommates feature, allow students to connect via Facebook so they can learn about someone they’re considering living with before they commit to meet them. Most of all, know that it is always easier to find a good place with help. Don’t be afraid to use it, you won’t regret it.
Landlords can sometimes be pushy people. Know that this is actually a pretty big decision for you, and it will affect the next year of your life. You need to find the right pad that fits you. There are all sorts of places to consider, and it all depends on what YOU like. If you want to be surrounded by lots of new people, look for a big complex (like this one – for example). A place like that will allow you to make lots of new friends in a short manner, and will likely have lots of fun amenities. But if you’re more interested in a personal area, try looking for a house or small apartment. You’re likely to get closer to campus with one of these, making walking to class and throughout campus easier. Take your time, consider all options, and talk to landlords multiple times. You want to be sure that you’re dealing with someone who will give you a positive experience over the next year, not the other way around.
You’re new to this area. You don’t know where to live and where not to live. There may be neighborhoods or areas to avoid. There may be areas that are sought after highly. Most likely, you’re unaware completely. When you’re searching online for a place to live, know that proximity is important. Sometimes the schools will point you in the direction of a website that displays all rentals in the city. You don’t want that. It will end up being a waste of your time trying to figure out which ones are student rentals and which ones are not. Try your best to learn about the areas of campus ahead of time (see our blog on neighborhoods in Bloomington) so that you make the right decision. Generally speaking, you’re better off looking closer to campus. It’ll make your life easier, that’s for sure.
If you’re an international student, and you’re looking for a place, use these tips to make your search as easy as possible. Take your time, think a lot, use every resource you can. The next time you look, it will only become easier. Need more help? Reach out to us directly for one on one assistance! Email us here or search for available IU apartments now!
Best of luck!
With next week being finals week, stress on campus and around IU apartments is at an all time high. Don’t fret – you’re not the only one! The pressure put on college students is immense; pressure from themselves, their families, and their friends to achieve success. As important as finals are to the success of students, they put students in a whole new level of stress. Cramming, staying up all night, downing can after can of Red Bull, finals are tough on the body and mind. The combination of mental and physical stress makes taking these comprehensive examinations MORE difficult, not less difficult. There are some things that students can do to limit this stress though. Here are some ideas:
Go Outside! Play/Exercise
Bloomington is a beautiful town to live in. Go outside and enjoy it. Whatever you like to do outside, carve out some time from studying and go do it. Throw the football, go for a run, play Frisbee golf, hike, anything! The beauty of physical activity is that will alter your thoughts from school. It will help take your mind off things for a short period of time. This will reduce your stress, and make it easier for you to remember things when studying. Not to mention it will help you get that beach bod going for the summer!
Cook a Good Meal
It’s very easy to get caught up in the craziness of finals week. Whether its breakfast, lunch, or dinner, try to spend 15-30 minutes preparing a healthy meal for yourself once a day during finals. Not only will the meal help fuel your physical energy and mental capacity, but the short time away from thinking about school can be soothing. Make a meal for your roommates too, if they’re around at the time. It’ll make you feel good about yourself. Confidence is the key to success.
Listen to Music/Sleep
There have been plenty of studies that show that music can relieve stress. Typically, it’s the slower, quieter music that demonstrates the best ability to relieve stress. Use the time when you’re walking from building to building, or walking home, to listen to some calming music. Here’s a great example of something to listen to, that will relax you:
It will help calm you down, and may actually encourage you to take a quick nap. Worried about napping too long? Check out the app “Power Nap” on your phone. It will track your sleep activity based on desired length, and wake you right back up when your body is most ready to awaken.
Try Not to Worry
I know it seems like a completely unreasonable thought process. From personal experience, though, you need to know that these exams are such a small part of your life. Whether you do great on every one, do mediocre on some, or you don’t do as well as you’d hoped, everything will be ok. Try to focus on the long term. Yeah, these exams are going to suck a little bit, as they always do, but in the grand scheme of things, they’re just a paper test. That’s it.
Keep these things in mind. Final exams are very important, and you should definitely focus a great deal of attention on them. However, keep your life in order when doing so. Don’t lose yourself in the midst. You’ll forget more information than you’ll remember. And you won’t remember that information for longer than a few days if you cram anyways. So just calm down, use these tips to help you relax, and go NAIL THOSE SUCKERS!
Chances are, if you’re an upperclassman at IU, you’re looking for a place for next year that is quiet, easy to get to, close enough to campus to make travelling to class easy, and reasonably priced. This combination isn’t always easy to find. Don’t worry though, it is not impossible. We’ve built a list for you of places to consider looking at. Most likely, one of them will fit your eye.
The Gateway
Managed by popular Bloomington Property Management company, 10th and College Management, The Gateway is a new luxury style apartment building that offers students anything from studio to three bedroom apartments. The Gateway is actually two separate buildings, which are to be connected via skybridge! There will be retail space and restaurants on the first level, with levels two and three housing the collegiate apartments. Amenities are plentiful at this new location. You’ve probably noticed it going up, it’s right off 17th Street and College Avenue, overlooking Miller Showers Park. Overall, The Gateway is awesome.
Walnut Place II
Geared towards graduate students at Indiana University, Walnut Place II is managed by OMEGA Properties. The team at OMEGA have been leasing in Bloomington since 1985. This is a great new building, on the south side of campus, right by the Chocolate Moose. Apartments are to include hardwood floors, high-end stainless steel appliances, and spacious floor plans. Walnut Place II is only two blocks from Kirkwood Avenue, but still is far enough away to provide a quiet location for students to get work done in.
Bloom and Millennium
These two sister properties aren’t quite as close to campus as some others, but they offer an unbelievable combination of amenities. Between the two of them, there is an incredibly awesome indoor pool area, a great dog park, walking and hiking trails, every internal apartment amenity you can dream of, and a lot more. For an upperclassman that doesn’t mind driving five minutes to get to campus, these two properties are what dreams are made of.
The Village at Muller Park
Do you not have a vehicle on campus? The Village at Miller Park is for you. The Village at Muller Park offers a shuttle service for their tenants to campus. Whether you do or you don’t have a car, this apartment complex is great for upperclassmen. Their clubhouse offers a wide array of games and common areas, as well as a phenomenal outdoor pool. Located just a few minutes west of town, these places are great for grad students. It’s quiet, offers the amenities that students and young professionals thrive on, and offers more than reasonable pricing.
Henderson Crossing
Henderson Crossing offers probably the most central location on this list. This is a much smaller apartment building, which is managed by TEMPO Properties. Located one block southwest of campus, everything is walkable in a matter of minutes. Henderson Crossing has everything that you’ll need to succeed, and offers seasonal discounts to grad students. It’s a quiet place to live, but still close enough to everything to make travelling throughout campus easy. Check out everything that Henderson Crossing has to offer.
There are many more places throughout campus that offer great places to live for older students. However, this ought to get you started. Reach out to us if you need any help finding IU apartments.