Where to Live Off Campus
Reviewed by Nopphol (Mink) Witvorapong
On-campus Comparison:-
I have been living off-campus so really I can’t make an informed comparison. My impression of the on-campus accommodation is that they’re new, conveniently close to campus but they could also be overpriced (Odum Village, classic example) and that is as far as I could make a comment about them. Also, I don’t know a lot of graduate students living on campus, so I don’t think living on campus would help you fit in with the campus environment better than if you lived off campus.
A good on-campus place to consider is Baity Hill but currently they are only taking on couples and they charge a hefty sum for parking.
To choose an apartment for yourself, I would suggest the following: -
Look at these websites:
- Off Campus Housing Association,
- Chapelhillrent.com/,
- http://raleigh.craigslist.org/apa/, and
- Rent.com
or even start googling words like “Apartment in Chapel Hill, NC“, etc and you should be able to come up with some good resources that would help you narrow down the choices.
I would suggest you have a budget for accommodation. In the two years that I have been here, I overspend my allowance every single month. It is probably because I live alone and a one-bedroom apartment is often more expensive. If you would like to budget, you might consider the possibility of pairing up with another person and living in a two-bedroom apartment instead. When I was coming to UNC, a friend of mine at the Department knowing the emails of the incoming class started contacting everyone to see if he could share an apartment with them and it has worked out fine. You could try that too. Alternatively, you could look the ads on Craigslist or Chapel Hill Rent (both listed above) to see if anyone else is looking for a roommate. In case you wish to live alone, however, look for a one-bed one-bath apartment. Not every apartment complex offers it and that should narrow down your search.Most apartments offer a fridge, a microwave and a stove even if they are listed as unfurnished.
The utilities, probably with the exception of water, will NOT be included in the rent. If they are, they will be explicitly stated and the rent would become slightly more expensive. If you have to pay for water, it should be about 10-15 dollars per month. Electricity about 50 on average (it varies from winter to spring to summer). The internet should be about 30-40 per month. You will probably need a cell phone (costing about 40-50 per month) and a cable service (for TV, costs ranging from 20-100 depending on the package). Generally a meal, when you eat out, would cost about 15 dollars and if you eat on campus–say, for lunch, it should be 5 dollars, plus or minus.
Chapel Hill has a free bus service which I think you will have to use since most likely you will NOT be able to drive to campus, unless you are an MBA student (for which different arrangements would be made, e.g. car pooling, etc). When you look for an apartment, see if they have listed a “bus line” on their websites or their ads. Having a bus line would be a selling point. My current apartment (Franklin Woods), for example, has three bus lines: D, F and CL, all of which can take me to campus. You might also like to see how far your apartment is from campus or your department too and you can do that using: Mapquest, scroll down to Directions and type in the addresses.Suppose the apartment you are interested in does not have a bus line listed, you can look it up yourself too: [Bus Schedule].
Once you have an apartment in mind, call the management and ask for a student special discount or any type of special deal if you can. Some apartment complexes do offer specials; I got about 100 dollars off my first year asking for a student special while other people had a first month’s rent waived. Also, if you see your apartment listed on some websites like Rent.com , you can sign up with the website and let the management know you saw their ad on the website. They will notify the website people who will then send you a 100_USD credit card with your name on it. It would be a good way to save. There are deals like this around; make sure you look for them.
I also have a couple of related points to make here:-
For Thai Scholarship Students: If you are a Kor Por student (Thai Scholarship), budgeting will be critical. It is pretty fair to conclude that to live within the monthly allowance given, you wouldn’t be able to live in a one-bedroom apartment and would not be able to have a car.
The rent of a reasonable one-bed is about 600-800 (as of 2008), utilities excluded. You might be able to find a cheaper apartment, but the location of the apartment could be very far from campus or it is very dangerous altogether. Living with other people is an option you should consider. A good price of a 2-bedroom apartment would be around 400-500; the Craigslist website (listed above) is a good source for finding a roommate or finding an apartment whose tenant is looking for a roommate.
Chapel Hill is a small town but it is big enough for you NOT to be able to reach places that you might want to go, e.g. grocery stores, post office, etc. Having a car is not necessary but it would make your life a lot easier. Having said that, if you want a car, be prepared to pay up to 1000 USD for an auto-insurance for 6 months, which has to be renewed constantly. There are also tax expenses.
Unless you work on campus to earn extra bucks, bear in mind that the cost of living in Chapel Hill and the Thai government’s allowance do not match up too nicely.
Before You Come To the Apartment: Make sure you know the apartment’s address so, in case no one from the Thai Association is available to pick you up, you can at least spare the cab driver some confusion.
Make sure also that you know what is expected of you upon check-in. The apartment management will need some form of documentation or a Social Security Number (which you most likely will not have when you are in the States for the first time). Some apartments require a deposit or they might have an apartment application fee that is non-refundable. You might want to have a credit card from Thailand ready. When I first arrived at my apartment, the management demanded a deposit and I only had cash which they wouldn’t accept. I was lucky enough to have a credit card with me then.
Good luck apartment-hunting! Once you narrow down your search, you can of course email anyone in the Thai Association and ask if your options are good.






