A Few Notes on Housing (Or Rather, a Whole Bunch of Links To Stuff About Housing)

If you're any kind of rational creature, you've already had more than a few thoughts which went something like "But where will I liiiiiiiiiive?" Moving is scary, expensive, and un-fun. I myself love looking at houses (house museums are one of my favorite things in the world - I'd totally be a fan of them if they got a Facebook page), but when it comes to actually packing up and moving? Forget it. I'm about to sign a two-year extension on my lease out of what amounts to complacency.

A few of you all will be living in the Divinity School Apartments, which is awesome for you. You'll be literally steps from campus, and all of your utilities will be included in your rent. One of the few downsides I can see to this arrangement is that these buildings are nothing short of butt-ugly, but you don't need to look at the outside of a structure if you're inside.

For the rest of us (including those of us, like me, who were waitlisted for Div School Apartments and might be a little bitter), here are a few tips:

- There are a LOT of on-campus (or rather, Yale-operated) housing options. You can do dorm-style accommodations through the Grad Student Housing Office. These include the Hall of Graduate Studies, which is very dorm-like (I'm told), but on Yale's main campus. Closer to our campus and similarly dorm-like is 276 Prospect Street. (You'll note that we have a really creative staff when it comes to naming buildings.)

- Then there are a lot of apartment-style options, also run by Yale. The "Science Hill Properties" are the ones which are closest to YDS's campus, and Prospect Gardens is right across the street. I'm sorry that I don't have a whole lot to say about these ... I frankly have very little idea of how they work.

- For those who aren't into renting from mother Yale, you're probably going to want to go the Craigslist route. Search for apartments in "East Rock" and "Mansfield." I pay $1190 (split two ways with the roommate, at $595 apiece) for a large 2-BRDM without heat or electric included. I get the feeling that's a little more than some of my peers are paying, but mine is a new remodel and really very large. (I'd kill for a dishwasher and central A/C in here, for serious.) I will also note that my roommate didn't let us seriously consider any apartments with electric stoves.

- While you're on Craigslist, you'll probably notice a lot of properties put up by Seabury Hill Rentals. They're as close as you can get to an apartment-finding service here, in that they manage a ton of properties, and will make multiple appointments. They were very nice to us during our search, but didn't have much at that moment. A thing called Vacancy Busters exists, but I don't know of anyone who's used them successfully.

And yes, heat is pretty pricey. The opinion of people who have been living in Connecticut longer than me is that the best option for heating is gas, the next-best electric, and oil a dismal third.

Also: PAY ATTENTION to Melissa Pucci's emails! Melissa is a) really fabulous and b) really helpful. Her forwarded apartments didn't pan out for me, but they did for several people. What I really have to thank her for is hooking me up with my roommate - the same one I'm about to sign on for another TWO years with. Melissa sent around a list of other people who'd been waitlisted for Div School Apartments, and after some lengthy email exchanges, D and I were a love match.

The more I write here, the more I think I'm not being very helpful. Sadly, one of the best things you can do to get acclimated is what I did - pick a random weekend and come to New Haven, see a few places, and get a feel for the rental market. My general comments are that I'm surprised at how pricey things are (though we only looked in East Rock, and if you're OK with not being able to walk to campus, your options are greater) - I thought that since I was moving away from a major city I'd be able to get much more bang for my buck.* (I realize in retrospect that I was mostly just spoiled by Chicago; my roommate, moving up from Manhattan, was astounded at how cheap stuff was.)

As per uzh, I welcome all comments and questions; if there's something specific I can help answer, please ask away.

-Kate

* I was also irrationally terrified at the prospect of living in a wooden house - and they're all wooden around here - because we have long memories in the Midwest. So far we have not managed to burn the house down, although today I set a piece of toast on fire in the toaster oven.