University of Texas

I just found out that I got accepted to the University of Texas at Austin for Civil Engineering. I'm excited and nervous at the same time because I'm used to a small community college and this is obviously going to be much harder academically. Also, I need to figure out where I'm going to live and make the move down there all before January. I'm 25 and I'm not living on campus so if anyone in Austin has any suggestions as to where to look for an apartment please speak up.

 

Congrats dude! Good luck finding an apartment.

 

Congrats to you, your going to love UT! There is so much great live music down there it is ridiculous.

 

If you're actually worried about the level of academics, you're going to be just fine. Not that UT isn't challenging, but most people who actually give a crap about their education come out quite all right.

Good luck and enjoy the college life. Austin's a great town.

 

thanks guys...now if their football team could just get their shit together everything would be great.

 

congratulations! man hopefully we will be able to do a meet there next year....thats if i get in haha...but my cousin goes there and he loves it, he's an electrical engineering major, i can ask him if he has any recommendations on a good place to live if you would like me to?

 

Congrats! Great school. I'm from College Station and half of my buddies went to A&M and the othe half went to UT .

 

Good luck on finding a place to live in town. The good news is that there is no shortage of apartments/duplexes/houses to rent in town. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

 

I want to live close to the school but not directly in the city. Also do you have a rough idea on what a new/nice 1 bedroom usually goes for around the school? I would imagine there is plenty of apartment complexes that cater to commuting students.

 

Are you going to be looking at apartments or houses, or what? How long of a commute are you willing to deal with? Will you be using public transportation or driving to school? Driving to school can be frustrating and/or expensive. My fiance pays $600 a year for a spot in a parking garage near campus. Trying to park without a permit is frustrating and sometimes just not doable. There are 50k students on 40 acres of land so space is tight. Students ride city buses for "free" so if you are interested in taking a bus to school it can be easier if you're near a stop or park and ride location.

Basically, these are the first factors I think you should consider. They will play a part in where you should look to live and therefore how much a place will cost.

 

congrats!! i wanted to go to UT but i didnt wanna pay for an apartment. i go to UTSA. Still pretty awesome for half the price.

 

I'm looking for an apartment/condo/duplex type rental, I would like to keep the commute around 20 mins and I would like to drive but it seems like that might not be realistic. When I was there I noticed two huge parking garages on campus, do you know what the deal is with them? I'll be on the GI Bill getting roughly $1700 per month for living expenses so I would like to keep my rent under $900. I'll be flying down in December to try to figure all of this out but any information in advance would help. I guess the most important factor of where I live is the ease of commute, whether it's me driving or public transportation. Thanks for your input by the way.

 

I guess I missed your reply for some reason.....sorry about that.

I saw that you are coming (or already came in December). If you still need information about places to live, please let me know & I'll get back to you ASAP. There are definitely some areas which would be a 20 minute commute or less that you could afford.

As for the parking garages, they usually have a free-for-all at the end of July/early August. Essentially, any open spots go on sale at this time. I know my fiancée managed to get a spot at the San Antonio garage, which was less than half a mile from her building. You should easily be able to get a spot in that garage. San Jacinto may also be possible. Speedway and 27th Street (and maybe one other) are the hardest garages to get into. Over the winter, she was awarded a spot in the Speedway garage which is right next to her building (she basically put her name into a lottery).

The cheapest option is to get a surface lot permit. Those are around $100. Most of those spots are on the other side of I-35. They have shuttle buses that run from those lots to campus though. Its not terribly convenient, but if you really want to drive and don't want to spend the $600 for a garage spot its a decent option.

A LOT of students just use public transportation buses to get to and from campus. My fiancée did that up until the summer when her bus route got cancelled. I can recommend some bus routes if you'd like.

Sorry again for the late response!

 

No worries, I ended up getting a place about 5 miles south of the river right off of S. Congress. I'm going to get a surface lot pass and see whether or not I prefer the drive or the bus during the first few weeks.

 

We're just south of the river off of South Lamar. When are you moving?

 

I'm heading down after New Years so I imagine I'll be getting into town on the 4th or 5th.

 

Yeah..Austin..

Good state school, in Texas, and the most pot you'll ever smoke.

Congrats, it's a good school (as much as I hate to say it) just watch out for the extracurricular activities.

That being said, WHOOP! AGGIELAND FOREVER MOTHERTRUCKERS!

 

If you make it into town on a weekend or late afternoon (ie when I'm not at work), let me know if you need any help unloading or anything like that.

 

i dont smoke pot

thanks, i'll think i'll be ok being that all i own is a bed, desk and a tv...haha. i will be buying a lot of furniture down there.

 

Not that I do either, but it's one of the things that'll get you in trouble down here. I was just letting you know to watchout for it bub.