Off campus apartments

lsb312 · 11-06-2009, 01:35 PM

My d is considering living at Smallwood. Does anyone have any info on this off campus apartment complex. I have looked at the website for Smallwood, I was interested in whether anyone who has lived here or visited has any other info re: safety, maintence etc..Thanks.

maxellis · 11-06-2009, 02:40 PM

Smallwood is very nice and very expensive. All of the people who live in smallwood have wealthy familes (or at least that is how I and all my friends view it). The apartments are huge, it is in the best location (downtown bloomington). It is definately on the higher end of hosuing at IU.

rrah · 11-06-2009, 08:27 PM

From my understanding as a local and a parent, Smallwood is a private extension of the dorms with a dorm like atmosphere. By that I mean tenants hanging out in hallways, garbage where it doesn't need to be, etc. I know the first couple of years it was open the local police were frequently called to Smallwood for various reasons, ie underage drinking, kids passed out in the hallways, etc. The complaint by the police was that Smallwood needed to hire it's own security force. I don't know if that was ever done.

The reputation is that it's inhabited by quite a few students from the east coast.

lsb312 · 11-07-2009, 09:52 AM

Thanks rrah and maxellis for your input. The group of students considering this apartment complex does not fit into the stereotype you describe at all. All of the girls are serious students who are in the Kelley LLC and are direct admit and on scholarship. None of the students are wealthy and my d is the only one from the east coast, the rest are from the midwest. My D could not attend IU without her scholarship and works for her own spending money while attending IU. I would love to hear from someone who actually lived at Smallwood or has a son or daughter who has. Can anyone recommend alternative apartments? Thanks again.

Izzie · 11-07-2009, 12:51 PM

I just looked at their website and wow, is it expensive. My son lives at Brownstone in a 2 bedroom townhouse and his share of the rent is $450/month, $900 total. Are any utilities included? His bills are water, electric, internet and DirectTV. Plus he gets free parking right outside his door which I see is $850/yr. at Smallwood. Of course, it's nowhere near as nice as Smallwood but it's perfectly fine for a college student.

I'm not necessarily recommending Brownstone for her, just commenting that Smallwood is pricey.

lsb312 · 11-07-2009, 01:56 PM

Apparently, the girls were looking at Smallwood because they wanted a 4 bedroom. I looked at Brownstone online, the location and price are very good. The outside looks nice, I couldn't find any pictures of the inside. The girls may have to consider getting 2 two bedroom apartments rather than a 4 bedroom. Thanks for bringing the parking issue to my attention, my daughter does not have a car but I believe her two friends do.

Izzie · 11-07-2009, 03:49 PM

I think 4 bedroom apartments are kind of hard to come by. My son tried to get a 3 bedroom at Brownstone and there were none available because the people already living there took them all. He and his friends live in a kind of random assortment of places in the same general area. They think they have a 5 bedroom house lined up for next year.

If you want to pm me with your e-mail address, I will send you a few pictures of the inside that I took when he moved in. The complex is not luxurious and about 30 years old but it's popular, probably because of the price.

Maybe rrah could address how safe the neighborhood is. I only have boys and not that I'm not concerned with their safety, but I'd have looked into it more if I had girls.

Also, they will let you put 4 or 5 people in a 3 bedroom, although the kids can't imagine that. My son's roommate's mom and I were telling them how we would have had 4 girls in the same size apartment back in the day that they have for the two of them and they looked at us like we were crazy.

mactonycw · 11-07-2009, 06:24 PM

You could check out The Village at Muller Park. Those apartments are just ~3years old and come furnished. The only downside is that its farther off campus, but its really nice for the price. They offer 1,2,3,4 bedrooms.

The Village at Muller Park | Townhouses & Apartments in Bloomington, IN

parent56 · 11-08-2009, 10:37 AM

geez mactonycw, if those are college student apt,i want to go back to school! back in the dark ages, i was so proud of my dingy cement block wall, tiny basement hole off campus!!

maxellis · 11-08-2009, 11:45 AM

Don't live in the village! I have friends who lived there last year and I lived there over the summer and it was aweful.

lsb312 · 11-08-2009, 02:55 PM

So, the girls are reluctant to split up their group of four people so now they are looking at Varsity Villas. Does anyone have any experience with these apartments? Are they safe?

mactonyw, Thank you for your suggestion but I think they wanted to stay closer to campus, especially to the business school.

mactonycw · 11-08-2009, 06:14 PM

max, what were some of the issues you had at the village?

maxellis · 11-08-2009, 06:26 PM

It was far away from campus (15-20 minute drive, not including finding parking and walking to classes). One of the two shuttle drivers is a jerk and will not let people on the shuttle if he thinks it is full/he doesn't like you. It is just as expensive as a comparable house a lot closer to campus. Because it is so far away your social life will suffer, unless all your other friends are at the village. Also, if there is an event on campus that you want to attend that isn't after class, you need to dedicate a lot of time to getting there.

Another possible idea for housing is renting a house. I am living in a 5br/2ba house for $320/month in rent.

ElizaB · 11-08-2009, 09:47 PM

Oh boy, the Villas are even more out of control than Smallwood.

tayx63 · 11-08-2009, 10:11 PM

the villas are for partying--not for living. stay away!!!