Housing for UMASS Amherst Jan 2007 start date

Student at UMass · Dec 5, 2006

Greetings from an almost Senior UMass nursing student:

I hope my suggestions can assist you in finding housing in the Pioneer Valley. I transferred here myself a couple years ago, and how WELL I remember the anxiety of not knowing what to expect or where I would be living!

OK. FIrst, I recommend checking the CSHRC website through the UMass webpage: UMass Amherst: Office of Family Resources and Off Campus Housing. They offer rental listings for all kinds of units and roommate options. I recommend keeping a map program open in a separate tab to get an idea of how the surrounding areas are laid out. Many great housing opportunities are in the surrounding "Hill Towns" because the Amherst housing prices are so unbelievably high. You can approximate drive times from these towns using the map programs, but keep in mind that the traffic on RTE 9 between Amherst and the entrance to Hwy. 91 gets bad during commute times and can inflate drive time considerably. Northampton is a fun, though not that much cheaper, housing venue. Often, people who hail from more urbane sections of the east coast prefer Northampton because it has lots of restaurants and some less college-ey bar scenes. The only drawback is dealing with the RTE 9 driving. Most of your clinicals will require you to hop onto Hwy 91 anyway, so keep that in mind, too.

Next, check out Craigs List apt listings. These are less tailored to the near UMass vicinity, but many of the listings will be pertinent to your area of interest.

Check out some of the property management companies including Eagle Crest in Amherst: Eagle Crest Property Management - Amherst Massachusetts.

The Daily Paper has lots of classified listings for rentals: GazetteNET.com » Classifieds

Try sending a description of your specific housing needs in an email to the School of Nursing via the All Knowing Department Secretary AKA Liz Theroux at UMass. She can forward your message to the Nursing Student Listserve, and maybe you can find roommates or take over someone's lease or something. I don't want to post her email address here 'cause I don't want her to get any wierd spam, so you can find it through the UMass SON home page.

Finally, depending on your familial situation, you may wish to contact UMass Family Housing services. They help students who are either married or have children get into campus family housing facilities, basically apartment complexes close to campus. It's only for families, though, and the waiting list is notoriously lengthy. Their link is: UMass Amherst - Housing and Residence Life: Family Housing

Whew, I hope this info wasn't overkill for you! As a non-trad (27 y.o) married student, I can appreciate the burdens of relocating and home-hunting in a tight market. Please post again if you've any further questions, or if I can clarify anything for you about housing or about the school in general. I'm not in the 2nd bach track (I'm a traditional undergrad) but I know a lot of the faculty pretty well and I understand the administrative labyrinth to some degree.

And fiinally, CONGRATULATIONS!!! on your acceptance. The admissions committee said this years class is totally amazing, so you should have a great cohort accompanying you on your journey to RN-dom.

Best,

Megan