RahulAZCOM,
Sorry to hear about your negative experience in San Prado apt. Are you still there? And where would you recommend looking if not the places right across the street? I was hoping to stay within walking distance of the campus since, like others, my wife and I will be sharing one car for a while. Maybe within biking distance? I hear you don't have to worry about snow and ice too much down there
Yes, I'm still at San Prado If I had to do it again, I would have bought a house nearby.These homes are within biking distance. I'm a non-traditional student so I owned a home in the past when I was working. I was intimidated to purchase a home because I thought that maintaining a home would be an extra-responsibility that would interfere with school. In hindsight, I truly regret not having bought a home. I have so many friends that own homes and the value of their homes have gone up. Furthermore, the homes in this area are really nice. Right now is a buyers market in Arizona. There are so many nice houses for sale in the Arrowhead area that were not available last year. A lot of these homes are anywhere from 50-100K cheaper than a year ago. And we are talking about some crazy nice homes. A guy in our class bought a home that has a pool, hot-tub and a tennis court. It's a beautiful home. I like Inquiringmind's home or rather his roommate's home. It's a nice two story home with a lot of space.
And if you are worried about costs, it's pretty easy to find roommates that will rent from you. I know that inquiringmind rents from another AZCOM student. If I could do it again, I would look into buying a home.
San Prado and San Lagos are so expensive that you won't pay much more to actually own or rent a home nearby. Also, there are nice apartments west of the school. I really don't know their exact addresses but if you drive around, you will notice them off the 101. Also, there are some nice apartments nearly the mall and Costco that are about 5-10 minutes away.
If I had to choose between Lagos and Prado, I would choose Lagos. It's bigger and older but they tend to give better deals there. Right nowthere is a sign in front of Lagos that is offerring 1 month of free rent, Prado has no such sign. Also, I know that San Lagos is far more relaxed in regards to their guest policy and swimming pool policy. At Prado, you are strictly prohibited from brining food in the pool area even if you cooked it in a grill just outside the pool. You can drink near the pool at Prado but it must be in a plastic container so you can't bring bottles or cans near the pool at Prado. I have friends at Lagos, that regularly bring bottles and food near the pool area and they don't make a big deal of it. I feel like the only real advantage to Prado is that it's a smaller and quieter community. I think the finishings while nice are overrated at Prado. Who cares if my stove is black versus being white at Lagos?
