Apartment near TU

[cjmcinty]

I have recently been accepted to the University of Tulsa graduate school and I'm trying to figure out where to begin in my apartment search. I will be moving from Indiana, and have never been to Tulsa before, so at this point, I'm completely clueless. Can anyone suggest apartments/neighborhoods near campus that would be appropriate for a 25 year old and my fiance? One bedroom, moderate price range...

[joiei]

TU has a lot of on campus housing that is apartment like and it is all brand new. 

[TURobY]

When I was a student, I lived on-campus, off-campus apartment, and in a rental house. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.

Some questions: Will you have a vehicle? Will you or your fiance be working? What is your social life like?

I enjoyed living on-campus, especially when I went to school full time. I could walk to classes, back to my dorm/apartment/fraternity for lunch or a nap, and back to more classes. Also, I had various activities that I was active in, so it was nice being on-campus instead of driving across town and having to find a parking space.

I enjoyed living in a rental house, especially because it was cheaper than living on-campus. I was still close to TU. Check the neighborhoods surrounding the campus. There are rentals ranging from run-down shacks to garage apartments to remodelled houses. Living off-campus was a little quieter, as undergrads can be a little loud if you don't like to party.

When I lived in off-campus apartments, I stayed in the Westport apartments. These apartments are just outside of downtown and a five minute drive from campus. I also know many TU students that lived in the apartment buildings surrounding downtown (including the University Club tower). If given a chance, I recommend spending the extra $10-20 a month to have a view of downtown.

Hope that helps!

[cannon_fodder]

Conventional Wisdom says you will want to live SOUTH of Campus.  North Tulsa (north of I-244) has a bad reputation - some of it deserved and some not so much.  Otherwise, nearly every part of town offers advantages and disadvantages.  I will encourage you to live in "the city" and forgo the suburbs, it's too much of a pain to commute to class, study groups, or in to friends houses in a city the size of Tulsa.

What is considered a "moderate" price to you?  Tulsa is fairly cheap to live in.  Particularly compared to some college towns. A typical one bedroom is probably $600 or so in a nice complex.

What are important in your location decisions?   Night life?  Amenities (restaurants, grocery stores, etc. within walking distance)?  Trendy neighborhood, quite area, safety first?

Will you have a car, where will your fiance work, what is an acceptable commute time to campus?

The more info we have, the better the suggestions will be.  I went to TU for law school.  I had friends that were single and with families.  Some stayed on campus (apartments are nice, quite, and convenient but you could rent a small house off campus for the same money).  Westport (aforementioned) is a nice complex, but on the wrong side of the river from 85% of town.  Not walking distance to anything but tons of green space and trails.  The main draw back is it is right next to the refineries, which can smell like refineries from time to time (think hot asphalt or roof tar). 

Let us know what you are looking for and the help will be much more directed.

[cjmcinty]

from the little research i've done, i have noticed that tulsa is a fairly cheap city to live in. $600 is around what i would hope to pay for a 1 bedroom. less would be great, so long as we're not sacrificing much in terms of location/amenities.
we are hoping to bring only one vehicle to tulsa. my fiance will most likely be working in the restaurant business as he pursues a job with the tulsa fire department. if one of us could use public transportation while the other drives, that would be ideal. somewhere centrally located between tu and the fd maybe?
i would love to be within walking distance of restuarants and grocery stores, if at all possible. we do enjoy going out occasionally, but we're much more likely to end up in a laid back, quiet spot than in a crowded bar.
as far as specific complex amenities, a fitness center and a pool are musts. we also have a cat.

[SXSW]

from the little research i've done, i have noticed that tulsa is a fairly cheap city to live in. $600 is around what i would hope to pay for a 1 bedroom. less would be great, so long as we're not sacrificing much in terms of location/amenities.
we are hoping to bring only one vehicle to tulsa. my fiance will most likely be working in the restaurant business as he pursues a job with the tulsa fire department. if one of us could use public transportation while the other drives, that would be ideal. somewhere centrally located between tu and the fd maybe?
i would love to be within walking distance of restuarants and grocery stores, if at all possible. we do enjoy going out occasionally, but we're much more likely to end up in a laid back, quiet spot than in a crowded bar.
as far as specific complex amenities, a fitness center and a pool are musts. we also have a cat.

Cheap(er) apts. near TU with a fitness center/pool are harder to find.  The new on-campus apartments at TU seem pretty nice, not sure if they have a pool or not but there is a really nice student rec. center nearby.  You may look into Riverview just south of downtown.  There are a bunch of apts. there, many w/ pools and fitness centers, lots of younger people living there, and you're right next to the river trails.  There is also a fire station in Riverview at 12th & Guthrie.  To get to TU by bus you would just have to walk or bike up to Denver to catch the 111 bus that runs from downtown to TU or take the 215 on 15th through Cherry Street.  See this map for more details: http://tulsatransit.org/maps-schedules/maps/

As far as laid-back quiet places go you can find that on Cherry Street (15th between Peoria and Utica) which is within a mile of downtown and a little over a mile from TU.  Riverview is close to the restaurants and bars in downtown and also the ones in the SoBo area at 18th & Boston.  No grocery store by Riverview (anymore) though, hopefully that changes.  If you go for a house or apt. near TU there is a grocery at 15th & Lewis so pretty close if you live in the neighborhood south of campus in between 11th and 15th.

[cannon_fodder]

The good news is there are 3 fire departments within a very reasonable bike ride of TU.  Unfortunately, I don't think you get to pick which FD you get assigned to - if you manage to get hired on.  Public transit in Tulsa is navigable if you live in the city itself - but there are plenty of places you could live that your partner could walk to a restaurant to work or you to TU.

A fitness center and a pool and accepts pets starts to limit your choices.  Throw in a low price tag, close-ish to TU,  and walking distance to restaurants and amenities and we really narrow it down.  I accept the challenge!

Hmm . . .

[cjmcinty]

The good news is there are 3 fire departments within a very reasonable bike ride of TU.  Unfortunately, I don't think you get to pick which FD you get assigned to - if you manage to get hired on.  Public transit in Tulsa is navigable if you live in the city itself - but there are plenty of places you could live that your partner could walk to a restaurant to work or you to TU.

A fitness center and a pool and accepts pets starts to limit your choices.  Throw in a low price tag, close-ish to TU,  and walking distance to restaurants and amenities and we really narrow it down.  I accept the challenge!

Hmm . . .

glad someone's up for the challenge! i'm thinking we should make the priority being close to campus. if i can walk/use public transit to get to class, that leaves our vehicle for my fiance to get where he needs to be. if he does have the opportunity to go through the TFD cadet academy, he would be at the the tfd training center at 1760 newblock park drive for 20 weeks of training. directions on google from tu to the training center say it is it's about an hour drive! that puts a kink in things! is that correct?

[TURobY]

glad someone's up for the challenge! i'm thinking we should make the priority being close to campus. if i can walk/use public transit to get to class, that leaves our vehicle for my fiance to get where he needs to be. if he does have the opportunity to go through the TFD cadet academy, he would be at the the tfd training center at 1760 newblock park drive for 20 weeks of training. directions on google from tu to the training center say it is it's about an hour drive! that puts a kink in things! is that correct?

No, that's not correct. It is about ten minutes drive.

http://www.mapquest.com/mq/5-I*pr1_UP

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=University+of+Tulsa&daddr=1760+newblock+park+drive&hl=en&geocode=FdujJwId1fhH-inNP85d_Oy2hzFjXn_MTbVPkg%3B&mra=pe&mrcr=0&sll=36.161979,-95.950823&sspn=0.052457,0.062056&ie=UTF8&z=13

[cjmcinty]

oh, good. i was hoping i was wrong!

[cjmcinty]

after some research, i'm thinking maybe riverview might be a good fit. apartment search/rating websites make my brain bleed. rarely as informative as i'd like them to be. suggestions on specific apartments in this area; around $600 price range? pool, fitness center would be great, but not a must. i'm really open as far as amenities are concerned. just looking for the right price range in a place that isn't run down with horrible reviews (i've been blown away at how many places there have roach problems! yuck!)

thanks!

[TeeDub]

Just a thought, but why not rent a house.   There used to be quite a few for rent west of TU towards Yale, and south of 244 in your price range.

[cannon_fodder]

Roach Problems:

I've from Iowa.  Roaches are only in nasty homes.  Roaches are big ugly things that only live indoors.

You are moving to Oklahoma.  Roaches ("water bugs" or whatever the other ones that look like roaches) will live in your garage, under your door mat, and will probably be in your home.  Clean houses are subject to the same problem.

Clearly leaving food out, poorly sealed homes, and other factors increase the problem.  But finding a roach every now and then in Oklahoma is somewhat inevitable.  Up north they don't survive well outside (they all die in the winter), not so much in Oklahoma.

Not saying the roach "problems" you reference are not really problems, but coming from up North the pervasiveness of those little bastards surprised me.  And it gets worse the further south you go.  In Houston they have roaches the size of small cats.

[cjmcinty]

wow, this is all new news to me. in northern indiana (practically at the michigan border) we do not have roaches. luckily, i'm not afraid of insects. i suppose i will deal with the inevitable.

[TURobY]

I will concur with cannon...

I find them occassionally, especially in my backyard, and one might sneak into my house from time to time. Keeping clean is paramount to keeping them from becoming a problem though. As long as you use common sense, you will rarely, if ever, be bothered with them.