Student Housing Survey 2013

Transcription

1 Student Housing Survey In which area or neighborhood do you live? Downtown Minneapolis 15.0% 3 Loring Park 20.0% 4 Lakes/Uptown 10.0% 2 Other Minneapolis Neighborhood 15.0% 3 St. Paul 15.0% 3 East Metro Suburb (i.e., Woodbury, Inver Grove Heights, etc.) 10.0% 2 West Metro Suburb (i.e., Hopkins, Plymouth, etc.) 10.0% 2 North Metro Suburb (i.e., Anoka, Fridley, etc.) 0.0% 0 South Metro Suburb (i.e., Richfield, Eden Prairie, Burnsville) 5.0% 1 Other (please specify) 9 1 of 13

2 2. What is your monthly housing payment? % % % % 3 > % 8 Other (please specify) 4 3. Besides rent or mortgage, what does your housing payment include? Heat 70.0% 14 Electric 30.0% 6 Water 85.0% 17 Insurance 5.0% 1 Cable 35.0% 7 Phone 10.0% 2 Garage 15.0% 3 Other (please specify) 4 2 of 13

3 4. Do you share housing costs with a roommate, partner or family member? Yes 75.0% 15 No 25.0% 5 Other (please specify) 2 5. If you are sharing living expenses, do you share living expenses with another law student? Yes 18.8% 3 No 81.3% 13 answered question 16 skipped question 4 6. Are you living with any young children? Yes 11.1% 2 No 88.9% 16 If so, please indicate how this impacted your housing search and selection 2 answered question 18 skipped question 2 3 of 13

4 7. Are you living with a pet (or pets)? Yes 36.8% 7 No 63.2% 12 If so, please indicate how this impacted your housing search/selection. 6 answered question 19 skipped question 1 8. How do you commute to UST Law? I drive and park in the ramp 40.0% 8 I carpool and we park in the ramp 0.0% 0 I walk to/from school 40.0% 8 I bike to/from school 15.0% 3 I take public transportation 30.0% 6 Other (please specify) 3 4 of 13

5 9. How did you find your current housing? St. Thomas Commuter Website 5.0% 1 Craigslist 30.0% 6 Visit 10.0% 2 Newspaper 0.0% 0 Realtor 5.0% 1 Apartment Search provider 35.0% 7 Family member 20.0% 4 I was living here before I was admitted to UST Law 15.0% 3 Other (please specify) Please provide any comments you think would be helpful for incoming students regarding your current housing/neighborhood, or other housing options you think they should explore. 18 answered question 18 skipped question 2 5 of 13

6 11. Are you a UST Law student ambassador? Yes 15.0% 3 No 85.0% 17 6 of 13

7 Q1. In which area or neighborhood do you live? 1 Whittier Feb 19, :08 AM 2 Laurel Village Apartments Feb 13, :25 AM 3 Technically right on the edge of Uptown Minneapolis (in St. Louis Park) Feb 12, :39 PM 4 Grand Avenue Feb 12, :29 PM 5 south of Eau Claire, WI Feb 12, :52 PM 6 Northeast Minneapolis Feb 12, :26 AM 7 Bloomington, right off 494 and 35W Feb 12, :50 AM 8 Robbinsdale Feb 12, :46 AM 9 Whittier / Uptown Feb 12, :45 AM Q2. What is your monthly housing payment? 1 $1105 (split b/w 2 people) Feb 19, :08 AM Feb 13, :20 AM , but split between two people. Feb 12, :39 PM 4 I pay $425/month, but the 2br unit costs $850/month Feb 12, :50 AM Q3. Besides rent or mortgage, what does your housing payment include? 1 I Feb 12, :39 PM 2 also includes 1 off street parking place Feb 12, :29 PM 3 Internet Feb 12, :10 PM 4 Cooking gas Feb 12, :14 AM Q4. Do you share housing costs with a roommate, partner or family member? 1 Husband Feb 13, :20 AM 7 of 13

8 Q4. Do you share housing costs with a roommate, partner or family member? 2 I live with my fiancee, but we still split bills. Feb 12, :50 AM Q6. Are you living with any young children? 1 Well, I have a baby, so I live with my fiance and his family. We are there because his mother provides free childcare. There was no option to move closer. It's simply not affordable to pay rent and childcare in Minneapolis on our budget. 2 Needed a 3+ bedroom house or condo for two young children, wife and myself.we ended up having to stay a little ways outside of downtown Minneapolis to find a child-friendly, large place. We settled on a 3 bed condo in St Paul minute drive depending on traffic. Feb 12, :52 PM Feb 12, :11 AM Q7. Are you living with a pet (or pets)? 1 2 dogs, 2 cats. Clearly, we need help (and room). Feb 13, :20 AM 2 2 cats, a lot of places allow pets with a deposit (most often it is refundable if there isn't significant damage when you move out) 3 We have 1 50 lb. dog. It limited the housing choices close to campus-mant have no pet policies or only allow small pets. Feb 12, :29 PM Feb 12, :17 AM 4 Needed a place that allowed cats. Feb 12, :27 AM 5 My wife and I have a dog, and even at a massive 4 lbs, he significantly limited the apartments available for us to live in. 6 It seems like cats are allowed at the majority of apartments, but it did automatically exclude some buildings. Feb 12, :26 AM Feb 12, :14 AM Q8. How do you commute to UST Law? 1 The number 11 bus has a stop 1 block from my building and takes me to a stop 2 blocks away from the law school. Feb 19, :08 AM 2 I take the free UST shuttle between campuses Feb 12, :29 PM 3 UST Shuttle Feb 12, :42 AM 8 of 13

9 Q9. How did you find your current housing? 1 Walking around UST Feb 23, :43 PM 2 Friend from college Feb 12, :05 PM 3 Amy Halverson Feb 12, :10 PM 4 Friend from college. I had lived in a different property owned by same landlord in the past. Feb 12, :45 AM 9 of 13

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11 Q10. Please provide any comments you think would be helpful for incoming students regarding your current housing/neighborhood, or other housing options you think they should explore. 1 You should walk around the school if you want to live downtown there are lots of for rent signs 2 A lot of 1L's live downtown or in Loring Park. I personally need a little more distance than that, and after a long day at school I need a change of scenery. I also like living in a neighborhood setting, so I live out by the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts. I only live a mile away from school, so the commune is only 8 minutes. I like that the area is more diverse. The rent is also cheaper and there is always plenty of street parking. The neighborhood gets a bit of a bad rap. I never feel unsafe in my building or the immediate area. It does get a little dicey a few blocks away, and I do not walk alone in that area at night. That sort of goes with the territory of living in a densely populated area, though. 3 Laurel Village is a very nice place for first year law students. The apartments are nice although fairly expensive. The best thing about living at Laurel Village is the proximity to school. When it is extremely cold outside, it's nice to have school only a block away. Living so close also allows me to go to the library at hours when those who commute from surrounding areas would not be able to. 4 The most involved students are those who live close to school. Think about how well you are able to study with other students around, whether being in the library is helpful for you, whether working alone is better. If working alone is better, from home, then think about the space you're considering. Is there a space that is conducive to being at least a quasi-office? With significant others/roommates who are not in law school, it can be difficult to get things done if you can't get any alone time! 5 I live in an apartment complex called The Edge of Uptown, which is (hence the name) situated right on the edge of Uptown Minneapolis in St. Louis Park. It is an ideal neighborhood - safe, nice, and quite beautiful. It is also ideally located, since it is technically out of the city, but a 5 minute drive away from Uptown and about a minute drive away from Downtown. Our apartment includes a fitness center, laundry, and underground, heated parking (which you have to pay $60 per month for). Living with another law student is great as well. 6 Living in St. Paul by the undergraduate campus is, in general, cheaper than living in downtown Minneapolis. Rent for a 1-2 bedroom apartment (good size) in St. Paul is between 800 and 1000 dollars a month, depending on how close to the undergraduate campus you are. I live on Grand Ave. near Cretin and it takes me approximately 4 minutes to walk to the UST shuttle to commute downtown. I don't have to pay for gas or parking, and I really like my apartment. I am able to afford my apartment without a roommate which is nice for studying. I recommend checking out all of your options. I went to St. Thomas for undergrad so it was easy because I was able to stay in the apartment I lived in Senior year. Apartments fill up quickly near the undergrad campus for the fall semester, most leases are 6 months or 12 months. I would recommend starting the search in June for an August move in, most places require 1-2 month notice if you don't wish to resign the lease. Feb 23, :43 PM Feb 19, :08 AM Feb 13, :25 AM Feb 13, :20 AM Feb 12, :39 PM Feb 12, :29 PM 7 Commuting is very hard. Live close. You'll be happier. Feb 12, :52 PM 8 Living downtown is very convenient especially with late nights in the library. Feb 12, :50 AM 11 of 13

12 Q10. Please provide any comments you think would be helpful for incoming students regarding your current housing/neighborhood, or other housing options you think they should explore. 9 Loring Park neighborhood is easily walking distance to and from campus (or you can bike and get to campus even quicker). I am a female and typically walk/bike alone and have never felt unsafe. 10 Northeast Minneapolis is a great area. It's not as ritzy as living downtown or as trendy as uptown, but it's also cheaper than both, and offers some great bars, ethnic restaurants, and neighborhood parks. Public transportation is readily available as well (I walk two blocks to catch the bus on Central Ave, and it lets me off three blocks from school), and your basic shopping needs - supermarket, Target, Home Depot - can be met nearby at the Quarry. I moved into NE as a 1L, and I have no intention of budging until I'm finished with law school. 11 Northeast Minneapolis, or "Nordeast" is a nice, quiet neighborhood with a lot of entertainment and dining options. Housing across the river from downtown seems to be less expensive than the downtown options. It only takes me about 5-10 minutes to drive in for class. 12 I live in "Parkone" apartments in St Louis Park. It's not the greatest, but it's not awful. Public transit is very convenient for my building and those nearby. St Louis Park in general is great to live in. For our apartment search, we used every online search we could think of (apartments.com, Craig's List, Angie's List, Star Tribune, google,) and visited several buildings. We had a few things in mind for what we needed (close to public transportation, allows cats) and most search tools let you filter results. One problem I found was that the people listing buildings have no idea what "close to public transportation" means. Sometimes they'll not include that as a feature when the building is right on a bus line, and sometimes they will include it when they're 20 blocks away. What I ended up doing was just doing a google maps search for how long it would take to get to school from each building. I'd strongly recommend really being nosy when you're looking at an apartment. Furniture can hide a lot of problems! I'd also say look early and only apply where you're really interested. You pay more in application fees for apartments than for law school! There's a lot of appeal to living downtown, but it usually costs more. Don't be afraid to look in the suburbs! 13 Oak Grove Towers is a great place to live while in law school. Many UST Law students live in the building. It is about a minute walk to school. I live in a 1 bedroom by myself. For living downtown, rent is a decent price considering heat, electric and water is included. The building is very secure and up-to-date. Maintenance is always available and helpful. My only complaint is that laundry is communal and costs additional money. 14 There are a lot of really great family-friendly areas around Minneapolis and St. Paul, but I would recommend staying away from the immediate law school vicinity if you have young children - most apartments are <2 bedrooms and square footage will be tight for what you pay. Houses are a great option, but do your homework on the neighborhood. I moved from out-of-state and did my best using only online resources and with more than a little help from the UST law admissions staff, but in retrospect I wish that I had rented a house near the undergrad campus in St. Paul and used the free St. Thomas inter-campus bus to school and back. The Summit Ave. area is beautiful (particularly around the undergrad campus) and you can't beat taking the bus with other St, Thomas students (getting some reading done instead of battling traffic). I will probably be Feb 12, :17 AM Feb 12, :27 AM Feb 12, :26 AM Feb 12, :14 AM Feb 12, :13 AM Feb 12, :11 AM 12 of 13

13 Q10. Please provide any comments you think would be helpful for incoming students regarding your current housing/neighborhood, or other housing options you think they should explore. moving into that area come summer. 15 I really love my apartment. The landlord is great, and there are many other young adults (college or just out of college) in the building, as well as a few families. The drive was not bad, even in rush hour, until the snow hit. Not it's hit and miss, but my 20 minute drive sometimes takes 45 minutes or more with no predictability. 16 Craigslist is a great resource to find cheap housing. Additionally, feel free to reach out to any current UST-law students. I found a student who went to my undergrad and asked him about some of the neighborhoods which helped since I was from out-of-state. 17 If you are a follower of Jesus and you want to live in a Christian community that is also challenging and uplifting, then check out the Urban Neighbor Program with Urban Homeworks. 18 The St. Paul area around St. Thomas' undergraduate campus is a fantastic neighborhood. It's highly residential where I live, and close enough to walk to campus to catch the shuttle to Minneapolis. The only drawback is how far it is, but parking is much better on the street, and the area is quiet and safe. Feb 12, :50 AM Feb 12, :46 AM Feb 12, :45 AM Feb 12, :42 AM 13 of 13