UNC Housing

[dhooppi]

HI,

I was wondering if any current med students at UNC could give me some pointers as to where to stay in Chapel Hill.

Also, if any of you own houses/condos, where are they located and what is the approximate price of it?

Thank you

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[rsweeney]

Hey there, I will be a dental student at UNC this Fall. I have a place being built in Providence Glen Condos, off 15-501 and ~4 miles from the school, so you can get a parking permit (no parking permit = <2 miles from school). There are plenty of units for sale. My monthy mortage (aka rent) is ~1500/mon which will be cut in half between my girlfriend and me. Providence Glen also has low-income units which are less expensive. The low-income units are still part of the normal units except the bathrooms are smaller and stuff [for example, I am on the third floor, and the next room over may be low-income--the rooms are just designed differently]. They are tempting to buy because of cost. Pretty much all of the developments you find will have this low-income housing/standard income housing disparity because it's code.

I would also check out The Townes of Governors Village across from the Governors Club--not sure of the road it's on. Also, a lot of professional students live in Southern Village--really cool place. You can rent and buy, and the rent is ~500/month if I remember correctly. There is also another development [older and less expensive] called Finley Forest. I am not sure of the location, but ask any CH resident and they will tell you where it is. That's all I can think of off the top of my head of places in the immediate CH/Durham area. I'll let you know if I think of any more.

NOTE: Stay cognizant of whether each development is on the bus path. The bus system, I bet, will prove to be an extremely valuable resource--whether you have a parking permit or not.

The place I will be living is not on the bus path, whereas Finley Forest and Southern Village are on the bus path. The Townes of Governor's Village is not on the bus path, but I BELIEVE you can easily walk to the next development over that is on the bus path.
Good luck to you!

-Richard

 

[kathy10]

hey dhooppi,
my brother is actually doing his graduate studies there if you want you can
e-mail him and he can give you some tips of finding housing there. PM me if you want his e-mail. THere is also a website you can go to: www.dailytarheel.com Here you could find many condos, apts, and rooms for rent. I wish you the best in Med School at UNC

 

[dhooppi]

Hi,

Instead of only med school students(as per my original post), I actually welcome ALL students that rent or own apartments/condos in Chapel Hill to provide valuable feedback.

Thank you for your responses.

 

[amfrank]

Hi. I am also going to be starting UNC medical school this fall. I am living in Finley Forrest - it is very nice and right on two buslines. A bus comes by every 10 minutes which is really important since there are very few parking spaces on campus!

I looked into a few houses within walking distance to the medical school but was not impressed with any of them. Personally, I want a nice and newer place to live as opposed to an old house with lots of students living there!

Hope this helps!

 

[TarHokie_08]

Hi,
I'm also starting med school at UNC this fall. I was originally thinking of buying in Chapel Hill near the med school. However, the prices are high and the properties are not that great. I wound up finding a townhome to rent in Carrboro, which is basically Chapel Hill extended. My place is less than two miles from the med school and is on the bus line that runs fairly late (line J, I think). It's also in close walking distance to some grocery stores, restaurants, and even bars in downtown Carrboro. The place I'm renting seems to be looking specifically for grad/professional students.

Someone else on this thread mentioned Finley Forest. I also looked there and think it's a pretty good place. Good luck!

 

[care bear]

hi,
i am a research tech in the med. dept at unc now and will be in the class of 2008 in the fall.

yes, finley forest is very nice; feels like a neighborhood and is on a major, major bus route. (as in, multiple lines of buses run often.)

i live right across the street from it in alta springs, which is great too! a little pricey actually, but very nice and incredibly well-maintained.

i really like southern village and i would live there if i didn't like living on the eastern side of town so much. (alta springs is off of highway 54 east.)

hm. . .i think as everyone has said before, bus lines are really impt. when you're running late you don't want to be in a complex that has one bus route serving it every 40 minutes.

that's why it doesn't even matter so much if you live a little farther from campus and do the park-and-ride thing (i do) b/c once you get to the park and ride, the buses are there all the time.

 

[NCHoosier]

I'm finishing up at UNC Med in a few weeks, but I thought I'd weigh in on this issue. I can sort of break it down by area:

McCauley St/campus area: lived here my first year, in a house with two other med students. Typically there are at least 3-4 houses on McCauley that have med students. The area is a bit undergrad-ish but not bad. Can't beat a five minute walk to class. Check the website, www.chapelhillrent.com, to look for places like this.

East Chapel Hill: Meadowmont - nice but pricey. Finley Forest - ok, typical kinda ugly apartments, but good location.

Southwest Durham: at least consider something here. There are some nice, NEW apartments around Southpoint mall. You'll have about a 10 minute drive to get to the park and ride but there are back roads and traffic is never an issue. Advantages are: much more central location to Raleigh/RTP/Airport, close to shopping, most likely less expensive since it's Durham.

Carrboro: many options, the town itself has a kind of granola/Birkenstock image. They call it "the Paris of the piedmont"

Southern Village: very nice, likely a bit more expensive than most areas.

With all the above, definitely consider location, but also keep in mind that once you get to 3rd and 4th year, you'll be able to get an on-campus parking permit.

Finally - just to throw this out there - if you have a way to get a down payment together, consider buying. With interest rates so low and the likely appreciation on any house you buy, you will probably come out ahead.

My $0.02. Best of luck, UNC is a great school and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.