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M daughter is a freshman and is staying at McNulty Hall On Weybosset Street...There is not alot of housing available for next year and was told the Imperial Housing on Hospital Street was only available. I heard that this area was not exactly in the best spot and was unsafe with alot of crime, etc. My other option was to have her rent a place off campus....Any thoughts on what area around the downtown campus has 'decent, safe' housing and what anybody's thoughts are on the Imperial housing near Hospital Street.... Any JWU students experiences would be welcome--
Have you thought about off-campus options in Federal Hill? It is where most of the JWU kids go. You can get a private room on an individual lease there. Most places are apartments with multiple bedrooms, but some landlords offer this option. Rent works out to usually be much cheaper than the dorm and with a 12 month lease you are not having to move her stuff in and out each year like a dorm. There are some options for this listed at www . RentJWU . com
Maureen, I've had some experience renting to JWU kids. I own/occupy the building that I rent apartments in so I'm there quite a bit. It's been a good experience for me where I am. The kids have good engagement with the college, they're kept busy, and they don't seem to have any "over the top" parties here. I guess they go someplace else because we all know they're having them somewhere! In any case, I don't have many open apartments, but, if you want to contact me, I may be able to point you in the right direction with safe areas.
Good luck.
Hospital St isn't in a horrible area. There are a lot of JWU students there all hours of the day (likely because of the dorm).
That said, a lot of JWU students live on Federal Hill. I used to live up there (I'm not a student) and saw the shuttle bus all the time, though it is within walking distance of downtown. A lot of JWU students also live in Elmhurst by PC.
Thanks so much for your replies!...Well, after alot of fuss, she was able to get into Renaissance-- and I'm not sure if that is in a good area---she is not happy...I told her to give it a try for now. If all goes well she will be looking for an apartment next year around the Federal Hill area...if all doesnt go well she well have to look for alternate housing. I have heard Federal Hill houses alot of JWU students...good to know..Thanks Jim & MessengerMan because I have heard there were safe streets for housing and not so safe areas in Federal Hill...Thanks Maryann for your input also...great to know! I will look into that-- I saw alot of apts posted but with not being familiar with the area I wasnt sure on safety location. Ideally I would love to see her in housing where it is owner occupied--within JWU busing. She would not want housing where there were alot of loud parties going on in the building--but any options would be welcome at this point....I thank you all so much for your comments...Very much appreciated! Maureen
Thanks so much for your replies!...Well, after alot of fuss, she was able to get into Renaissance-- and I'm not sure if that is in a good area---she is not happy...I told her to give it a try for now. If all goes well she will be looking for an apartment next year around the Federal Hill area...if all doesnt go well she well have to look for alternate housing. I have heard Federal Hill houses alot of JWU students...good to know..Thanks Jim & MessengerMan because I have heard there were safe streets for housing and not so safe areas in Federal Hill...Thanks Maryann for your input also...great to know! I will look into that-- I saw alot of apts posted but with not being familiar with the area I wasnt sure on safety location. Ideally I would love to see her in housing where it is owner occupied--within JWU busing. She would not want housing where there were alot of loud parties going on in the building--but any options would be welcome at this point....I thank you all so much for your comments...Very much appreciated! Maureen
The only way to guarantee that she's not going to be in a house with a bunch of parties is to know all the people she's living with. Most rentals are triple deckers with 2-4 bedrooms each. Chances are, she will end up having to deal with parties, but as long as she and the people she's living with speak up, it shouldn't be too bad to deal with.
Federal Hill is generally safe. There are some tougher streets and there is definitely crime. When I lived up there, my neighbor's car window was smashed in for no apparent reason while he was out of the country. He was a med student at Brown. It was likely just a random bunch of drunk people and not targeted as there was no theft. As with any college neighborhood, there are crime and parties. It's pretty easy to avoid the crime if you are careful and don't leave stuff visible in your car or leave doors and windows unlocked in your apartment, and the 2nd or 3rd floors are always safer. There are some more residential streets in Federal Hill that are quieter, but they're farther from the JWU bus route (but on the RIPTA bus routes). Those are more likely to be owner-occupied. The places where most students live tend not to be. Feel free to PM me if you want the names of some good landlords that I've had or know.
The area in Elmhurst where the PC students live is NOT a good place to be unless she wants to be in party central. I lived in Elmhurst and it is generally a great place except for the streets closer to the city where the PC students congregate - anything to the west of Tyndal (including Tyndal) is good. There are many 2 family homes on both sides of Smith St (mostly owner occupied) that are really nice and there's a bus running along Smith St.
The area in Elmhurst where the PC students live is NOT a good place to be unless she wants to be in party central. I lived in Elmhurst and it is generally a great place except for the streets closer to the city where the PC students congregate - anything to the west of Tyndal (including Tyndal) is good. There are many 2 family homes on both sides of Smith St (mostly owner occupied) that are really nice and there's a bus running along Smith St.
That neighborhood has actually gotten a lot better. The police and the college started "operation red cup" to cut down on noise and litter. There's a larger police presence in the area now on weekend nights and the neighbors have been pleased with the difference.
That's good to hear. It was so bad for a while that students were peeing off 3rd floor balconies, the cops were always being called and I don't recall any families living on those 2-3 streets.
That's good to hear. It was so bad for a while that students were peeing off 3rd floor balconies, the cops were always being called and I don't recall any families living on those 2-3 streets.
I'm sure some crap still goes on, but in general, it's not as bad as it used to be. Part of the problem is that while it's primarily a PC neighborhood, JWU students now live in many of the houses and care less about the neighborhood because they have less "ownership" of it than PC students.
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