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Prospective Students - General AdviceWhere do you live and why did you choose this area? Based on your experience, what is the best way to move in? How much do you spend monthly including rent, utilities, and other services? Do I need a car? What other issues do I need to consider? Ask your significant other to give her/his experience during the first year in Austin?
Where do you live and why did you choose this area?
Ernesto Fernandez I live in South East Austin. Alexan Cityview Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Jefferson Ganoza I have stayed in Austin once before. During the first time I lived in Austin, I stayed in South Eastern part of Austin (Riverside area). The apartments were really good but expensive (that was 3 years ago). This time I decided to live in the North Western part of Austin called Far West. Though it is a little bit far from the campus, is has beautiful green areas and is very close (by car) to the HEB and Costco. I live with my fiancée. The rent for our apartment is $ 660 per month. It is around 15 minutes (without traffic) by car to the campus. However the UT Shuttle can take me up to 45 minutes in rush hours. My suggestion is take time to do your research when looking for an apartment. It can be really frustrating once you decide without doing so because you need to get rid of non-MBA issues.
Alfred Herman I live in the “West Campus” area. The advantages are that: § It is located in walking distance of the Business School, § It is on a bus route to the Business School for those rainy days § It is close to downtown for the weekends § Located near both major highways in the area MoPac and Interstate 35 The disadvantages are: § It is more expensive than areas that are further out § It is located in the middle of most of the undergraduate college housing § It can be noisy at times. 1 bedroom can range from about $600 - $800 per month 2 BR’s can be attained for about $900 per month It is recommended that you arrive a few weeks before school starts in order to find cheaper housing. Sometimes you can get lucky and rent an apartment from a current student that may own a place or need a roommate. Other recommended areas near school: Hyde Park – A bit further, but cheaper and more quiet.
Claudia Roncagliolo I live in West Campus. I choose this area because it is very close to campus; you can walk to UT and do not depend on the buses although you have free buses all day. I didn’t want to buy a car, so I decided that I have to live the closest to campus I could. Furthermore, you can enjoy all the UT facilities: the Gym, the Texas Union, the library, among others at any time you want. The price is a little bit higher than in other areas but it is offset by the closeness to campus. The downsides are that the apartments are older than in other places (but not in bad shape) and that there are a lot of undergrads around the area.
Andres Vallejo I live in a complex called Timbercreek, which is three blocks away from Town Lake, very close to Downtown and 10 minutes away from UT campus in a Metro Shuttle. 614 South First, Austin, TX 78704 (so you can look it up in MapQuest.com) I chose this area because I wanted to live relatively close to school, in a place where transportation was easy, even during the weekends, and where the rent was reasonable. So far the area has been excellent, and I'm planning on negotiating next year's rent in the same place. Pros and cons of the area/place: Pros:
Cons:
Overall, I would strongly recommend this area. I found it by using an apartment locator called Dara McLoughlin; his (yes, Dara is a man's name) cell phone is: (512) 567-1681.
Diego Silva My wife and I live in Tanglewood North apartments in Hyde Park. You can find more info at: http://www.tanglewoodnorth.com Advantages:
Disadvantages: § No gym § A bit more expensive than other areas with the same sq. ft. § The barbecue is small if you want to do a real barbecue J
Based on your experience, what is the best way to move in?
Tomas Salcedo. I came to Austin early July and subleased the apartment of a 2nd year student. That was the best way to have enough time to look for apartments and analyze different possibilities regarding prices and services. I would recommend incoming students to be very careful if they decide to rent an apartment before checking it because you can find out very unpleasant surprises when you get here. At last, decide if you are going to buy a car as soon as possible. Looking for a car demands a lot of effort and could get complicated when classes start. In my experience I will recommend to buy a quiet new car from a dealer that has a guarantee for the next two years. The car will be more expensive (however you can find different alternatives regarding your budget) but you will free of headaches.
Rafael Hurtado What I did was bought one the complete package that a 2nd year that was ending sold me. This package was guarded in a store (Public Storage). I had to rent a truck U-Haul to be able to bring the things to my house. I remember that I paid about 60 dollars for the service. I also bought a car from a 2nd year. It seems to me that to buy things from a 2nd year student who ends is super practically and probably suitable for the fact that it does not take a lot of time trying to buy new or second-hand things. It is a confidence topic in any case with the person who sells you the things. On the other hand, I live in Austin's south zone which generates me lots of benefits, not only in the economic area (I am paying $470 a month for a comfortable apartment) but also in time since I am to only 10 minutes of the university. The zone is not bad.
How much do you spend monthly including rent, utilities, and other services?
Helga Roth: Place: Arboretum area (Northeast) Minutes to campus: 25 minutes driving + 15 minutes to find free parking. More or less 40 minutes to get to Business School. I personally do not recommend paying for C permit. I can park in Nueces and walk the same distance. C permit is too far and it is also difficult to find a place to park. Note: I live with a roommate, she is from my hometown, I found she was looking for roommate through my brother. Costs: Housing: 475 Phone: 50 Cable: 45 (usually 90 / 2) Utilities: 40 Food: 200 Additional food (campus): 100 Weekend / miscellaneous: 200 If the person does not have a car, I suggest him/her a budget of $1,300 per month. If the person will have a car, I suggest him/her additional costs: 200 insurance and credit, 70 gas, 40 oil change every six weeks, 100 annual taxes and general revision. I suggest the person to buy a car, even if it is a very old one.
Mateus Almeida. Place: Savannah Apartments - Far West - 7205 Hart Ln Apartment: 2 rooms / 2 bathrooms Rent: $740/month ($370 each roommate) Other expenses: - Electricity+Local fixed phone+Water+Other apartment expenses=$100/month ($50 each roommate) - Cable TV (Basic) + Wireless Internet for 2 computers=$75 ($37.50 each roommate) Total living expenses per roommate per month: $457.50 + UT Shuttle: it is about 30 meters from the entrance of the apartment complex and the bus takes about 25 minutes to UT (average). This is the third stop of the shuttle in Far West and seldom passes through our bus stop due to excess number of passengers. There are also two other city bus routes that pass close to Savannah. + There's an HEB one block from here as well as restaurants, Blockbuster, and several other useful and convenient shops. + Far West is a residential environment. Many MBA students live both in Far West and Savannah. I live with a roommate from the MBA program. We met in the Yahoo website that is dedicated to incoming MBA students. We decided to lease the apartment after having arrived to Austin. We got here one month before classes started and we contacted two different real state agents. We visited about 15-20 different places in the whole Austin area and Savannah had the best trade off in our opinion. We are very satisfied with the apartment.
Weslley Bonifacio 1) Rent: US$ 480.00 2) Fixed Phone: US$ 9.00 3) Water: US$ 9.00 4) Energy: US $ 12.50 5) Cell Phone: US$ 50.00 Note that the first four items I’m sharing with my roommate and the prices that I’ve listed represents only what I pay.
Diego Silva 1) Rent: US$ 600.00 2) Fixed Phone: US$ 16.00 3) Water: US$ 20.00 4) Electricity: US$ 20.00 5) Internet (ADSL): US$ 30.00 6) Cell Phone: Pre-paid, minimum: US$20 every 3 months.
Do I need a car? What other issues do I need to consider?
Humberto De La Garza I drove from Monterrey. I didn't have any problem in the border. I really think that you need a car here in Austin. In my case, for example, the bus stop is 8 blocks from my apartment, and the supermarket is also very far. The transportation system in Austin is very good, but you have to live close to a bus stop. Once you are close to a bus stop you will be able to go any where. I didn't need to get an special permission in order to use my mexican car, the only thing I had to do was to process my driver's license.
Elena Espinel I live in West Campus and I do not have a car. Since I live close to campus (10 minutes walking and 5 minutes by car), I think it is not 100% necessary to have a car. However, it would be more comfortable to have one specially to go to the supermarket (because there is no supermarket close to West Campus). But, you can always use the bus or ask somebody to take you there.
Mathius Sersen You generally have three ways to buy a car: searching on the internet, reading the paper, or asking older students. Through the internet you might mostly find dealers rather than people selling their car. On the contrary, you can find more people announcing on papers. If you buy a car from any person, you must take care of all the documentation involved (property title, taxes). On the other hand, if you buy from a dealer, it generally takes care on behalf of you, which definitely makes things easier. Once you buy a car, you must take on an insurance, which is enforced by the State of Texas. Although there are different levels of insurance you could choose, the majority of people takes the basic one, which turns out to be the cheapest. This insurance fetches for nearly $600 for six months. However, as happened to me, I was able to get a 65% discount on this insurance because I got my driver license 8 months before buying my car.
Paola Recavarren Before coming to Austin, my fiancé and I were not pretty sure about buying a car. We live in Far West and we knew that public transportation was very close to our apartment (just half a block) and that we can get to school relatively fast. Even though you can survive without a car and there is always somebody willing to help, while you are in B-school you value your time a lot and a car really makes things easier. Some issues we considered were (a) our place is not that close to HEB (almost 4 blocks with up and down hills) so grocery shopping was quit uncomfortable. We also shop in Costco to buy several stuff by quantity (we buy cheaper gas over there also), so a car is a must. (b) When going out with friends, we usually go downtown and you can’t depend in public transportation (runs just until 11.20 pm) and taxis are at least $20 for a ride to Far West. (c) in some events (late for school, exam weeks, group meeting in somebody’s place etc) a car is really a lot of help.
Ask your significant other to give her/his experience during the first year in Austin?
Carlos B. Saez My wife Christel studied English in UT during our first semester in Austin. This is a good alternative basically because of the economic advantage of the medical insurance. If an international student buys an insurance for his wife, the same insurance he will have once enrolled in the MBA Program, he will need to pay for that extra insurance approximately US$ 2,000. A different (less expensive) option, recommended by the people who work in the International Office, is to enroll his wife in a course at UT (aprox. US$ 800 for one semester), and then buy for her the student insurance (aprox. US$ 700 for one year). This way he will only need to pay aprox. US$ 1,500 instead of US$ 2,000. The student needs to take into account that he will need to repeat this operation before his third semester if he wants to keep her wife with insurance during the second year of the MBA Program. In reference to a location I would recommend Peruvian students who are married, I would say Far West is a good option because of different reasons. First, students can get reasonable prices. Second, they are close to the UT Shuttle. Finally, Jaime Espinoza and I are the only Peruvian students in our class who are married. Jaime lives in Far West and I live very close.
Jaime Espinoza As an married international student one of the questions I had was "How could my wife benefit from being in Austin?" Well, there are several things she can do. The ESL Program is an option to improve her English and to get a good deal on insurance cost. There are also courses and certification programs at the Extension Program of UT like the Certificate in Business. UT also offers Informal Classes that meet several days a week that are by no means expensive. At McCombs, your wife can also "audit" classes, that is ask permission from a teacher to attend his class on an informal basis. You must realize that your wife, on a F-2 visa, is NOT allowed to work. The other big question is Where to live? Well, we live in Archstone (Far West). The complex is nice and has a BBQ area with pool, laundry room and an Internet Cafe (a room with Internet access, printers and fax...all for free. The complex is nicely located half a block away from the UT shuttle, which is very important to get to school quickly (15 minutes on average). The rent is fine for the quality of the apartments (nice apartments). I pay $550 for a 1 room 1 bath apartment. There are cheaper options but the apartments are older and the service may not be as good as Archstone's. Far West is a nice area to live, quiet with all the services you need close (supermarket, bank, Blockbuster, Eckerd, dry cleanings, hair saloon among others. If you plan to buy a car, there are many options available and for all budgets. You should consider, though, insurance that for the first year will be somewaht expensive given that the majority of international student do not have a US driver's license. Parking at UT is limited and the best way to get to school is by bus (in terms of time and $$$). As to furniture, you can buy new or used. To buy used, you have several options like buy from a second year leaving Austin or from the posting on Internet (for example http://austin.craigslist.org/). The weather is very hot in summer and only gets cold in a few weeks during winter, and yes...you may see snow falling a day or two! Austin is a small city (1.1 million people) with lots of fun: 6th Street (tons of bars), live music, theatre among other ammenities.
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