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height:375.0pt'> <td width=720 valign=top style='width:7.5in;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in; height:375.0pt'> <p class=center><a name=househunt></a><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt; color:#943634'>Housing</span></b><span style='mso-themecolor:accent2; mso-themeshade:191'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;color:#943634'> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <div style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'> <div class=center style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'> <hr size=5 width="100%" noshade color="#99cc00" align=center> </div> <p class=center style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p> <p class=center style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p> </div> <p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;text-indent:-.5in;mso-text-indent-alt: -.25in;mso-list:l4 level1 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><span style='font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:Arial; color:#4F6228'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>I.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span></b><![endif]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><span style='font-family:Arial;color:#4F6228'>Where do students stay? <o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:34.75pt;text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:Arial'>Most graduate students stay in Squirrel Hill or Shady Side.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:34.75pt;text-align:justify'><b><span style='font-family:Arial'>Shady Side</span></b><span style='font-family:Arial'>: Many students stay near intersection of <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">5th Avenue</st1:address></st1:Street> and <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Bellefonte Street</st1:address></st1:Street>. Its around a 20 minute walk to CMU, <span class=GramE>its</span> on the shuttle route and 2 bus routes too. If you take 5th and Bellefonte as a reference, you can either move away towards <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">South <span class=SpellE>Negley</span> avenue</st1:address></st1:Street> for apartments or move towards school i.e. towards South Aiken and Wilkins. Don t go beyond <span class=SpellE>Negley</span> because then the only way of getting to school is the bus. If you are going to the INI, then Fairfax Apartments is your best bet, but <span class=GramE>its</span> a bit expensive. <br> <b>Squirrel Hill</b>: We also suggest looking at squirrel hill. Even though the only way of getting to school is the bus, but there are quite frequent except Sunday. To return from CMU you have CMU Escort in addition to bus. Also you'll have the supermarket within 2 - 3 minutes of walking distance, and trust me, that is *very convenient* once school starts. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:Arial'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;text-indent:-.5in;mso-text-indent-alt: -.25in;mso-list:l4 level1 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><span style='font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:Arial; color:#4F6228'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>II.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span></b><![endif]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><span style='font-family:Arial;color:#4F6228'>How long before the orientation I should reach <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Pittsburgh</st1:City></st1:place>? Especially to take care of housing etc... <o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:52.75pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l4 level2 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:Arial'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>a.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><![endif]><span style='font-family:Arial'> If you dig out the houses online properly, you will be able to move into a place within 2 days after you come here. On the minimum settling time side my example is myself (3 hours after landing in Pittsburgh) to some guys (who were not decided of their houses even after 7-10 days after coming here). So, all depends on you how quickly you can decide and freeze. Other than housing there isn t much you need to do (all the other are just minor things 2-3 hours official stuff). So generally it s a good idea to come 4-5 days before orientation. Also, it s good if you can come on a date like 29, 30, 31 or first week of the month because that way when you move into a house u can use it fully for that month (as you ll need to pay for the whole month anyway).  RK<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:52.75pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l4 level2 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:Arial'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>b.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><![endif]><span style='font-family:Arial'><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span> In general, the orientation is around 15<sup>th</sup> Aug. However, most of the apartments become available by 1<sup>st</sup> Aug. Hence, I would recommend arriving early by 4<sup>th</sup> week of July to grab the right deal for the right place. In case you have already secured some place then just 4-5 days before orientation are sufficient. - SR<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><span style='mso-themecolor:accent3;mso-themeshade:128'><span style='font-family:Arial;color:#4F6228'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></b></p> </span> <p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;text-indent:-.5in;mso-text-indent-alt: -.25in;mso-list:l4 level1 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><span style='font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:Arial; color:#4F6228'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>III.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span></b><![endif]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><span style='font-family:Arial;color:#4F6228'>In general, how far is the university (classrooms/labs etc) from students' houses?<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  </span><span class=GramE>how</span> do students transport themselves from place to place and how convenient is it?</span></span></b><span style='font-family:Arial'> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:1.0in;text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l4 level2 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:Arial'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>a.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><![endif]><span style='font-family:Arial'> Usually everyone stays within 2 miles from campus unless they have cars to travel. This is because CMU escort covers region within 1.5 miles radius from CMU. Buses are common mode of transport. It s free for students with CMU ID. I find Pittsburgh Bus service to be excellent (working from 5AM to 2AM and gets you almost anywhere you need to go to, usually not very crowded except peak hours on main routes). CMU escorts which are pretty convenient to travel at late night till 5:15am. CMU shuttle route covers Shadyside and operates till 11:15pm - RK n SR.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:1.0in;text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l4 level2 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:Arial'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>b.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><![endif]><a href="http://www.portauthority.org/paac/?TabId=171"><span style='font-family: Arial'>Maps, route planner and schedule for the Local Bus Service </span></a><span style='font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:1.0in;text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l4 level2 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:Arial'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>c.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><![endif]><span style='font-family:Arial'><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=CMU%20map&amp;sa=N&amp;tab=wl&amp;um=1">CMU neighborhood Map</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:1.0in;text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:Arial'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class=msolistparagraph style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;mso-add-space:auto;text-align:justify;text-indent:-.5in;mso-text-indent-alt: -.25in;mso-list:l4 level1 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><span style='font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:Arial; color:#4F6228'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>IV.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span></b><![endif]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><span style='font-family:Arial;color:#4F6228'>Also do you guys have any idea about Bloomfield &amp; Greenfield? Are they far, expensive or simply not livable? <o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <ol start=1 type=I> <ol start=1 type=a> <li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;text-align:justify;mso-list:l2 level2 lfo5;tab-stops:list 1.0in'><span style='font-family:Arial'> Students (except those who have cars), wouldn t stay in Greenfield for Bloomfield. They are pretty far and not exactly the better areas to stay in. - RK <o:p></o:p></span></li> </ol> </ol> <p class=center align=left style='text-align:left'><b><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></b></p> <p class=center align=left style='text-align:left'><b><span style='mso-themecolor:accent4; mso-themeshade:128'><span style='color:#403152'>Finding a house</span></span></b><span style='mso-themecolor:accent4;mso-themeshade:128'><span style='color:#403152'><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p></span>There are 2 critical issues that you must understand.</p> <ul type=disc> <li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;text-align:justify;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo8;tab-stops:list .5in'><span style='font-family:Arial'>Make a choice, and make it quickly. If you keep on evaluating every nook and corner of a deal, things will not move. <o:p></o:p></span></li> <li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;text-align:justify;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo8;tab-stops:list .5in'><span style='font-family:Arial'>Find your roommates if you need any, and be prepared to stay with them for at least one year. <o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p style='margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo10'><![if !supportLists]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><span style='mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;color:#403152'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>1.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span></b><![endif]><b><span style='color:#403152'>Start early </span></b><span style='mso-themecolor:accent4;mso-themeshade:128'><span style='color:#403152'><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p></span>Mostly you would be using <a href="http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/hhh/">Craigslist</a> and the <a href="http://www.housing.cmu.edu/CommunityHousing/">CMU Community Housing website </a>to find a house for yourself. It is good to start looking for a house from end of June / early July onwards. Most of the available apartments will be listed on Craigslist or CMU Community housing.<o:p></o:p></p> <p><b><span style='mso-themecolor:accent4;mso-themeshade:128'><span style='color:#403152'>2. Don't be too Picky </span></span><br> </b><br> There is no limit to how many parameters you can optimize. The main idea should be finding a house and finding it quickly. Typically you should look at the above online resources to shortlist 3-4 apartments. It is recommended that you speak to the contact person about these places by calling them from India. (Time here is ~10hrs behind Indian Standard time) Make sure the place is still available and clarify doubts like electricity, heating bills, Internet, furniture etc. Keep your doubts brief on the phone. The basic idea is to finalize a 3-4 apartment list of which you are sure you will take one. Try to stick to the list. If your roommates are decided, consult with them and make sure you all agree on your list. All houses come with a fridge, stove etc. But generally you have to purchase your own Internet connection and buy furniture (bed, sofa, table etc). <br> <br> When you reach Pittsburgh, spend your first evening figuring out things like local grocery stores, how to get to CMU, what are the common student neighborhoods, etc. at your temporary accommodation (if you opted for it). The very next day, get cell phone (<span class=SpellE>atleast</span> some temporary but costly  pay as you go plan), call the contact person for the houses in your list and fix appointments to see the house. Try to keep the appointments at least an hour apart if there are in the same neighborhood, and at least 1.5 hours apart, if you have to go between Squirrel Hill and Shadyside. Be at each location on time, since people here are very punctual! Evaluate the pros and cons and decide on one as soon as you have seen all houses in your list. As you will be moving around, you will see a lot of for rent boards etc. If you want, you could look at a few of these houses too, but generally it requires a lot of time to do so. Be on the lookout for people who are graduating. They've been through the whole process and have been here for a while. Therefore the house they are living <span class=GramE>in,</span> will probably be better than one you can find in 2 days! <br> <br> Ideally, it is possible to book a house even before you come here. However, unless you are really impressed by the pictures, you might want to look at the house once, before you decide to move in (since the lease is typically for a year, and breaking the lease is a very costly affair). <br> <br> <b><span style='mso-themecolor:accent4;mso-themeshade:128'><span style='color:#403152'>3. Find your roomies early</span></span></b><span style='mso-themecolor: accent4;mso-themeshade:128'><span style='color: #403152'> </span><br> <br> </span>This is a bigger pain after you get here. So, use your current group to form commitments of staying together right away. Have an agreement with the person(s) what you would be staying together for at least a year. <br> <br> This is important because, you will be able to find a house that you like fairly quickly. This is not a very big issue, since enough apartments are available everywhere. But if you and your roommate(s) have issues with each other, then life will be very painful! It is advisable to be aware of lifestyle of each other e.g. whether they belong to  nocturnal species category or to  diurnal , nature of work-schedule/ workload e.g. some PhD student s advisor might want him to have it more like a 9am-5pm job and early morning one-to-one meetings whereas for masters it could be sleepless nights completing assignments<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  </span>!</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><br> <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><span style='mso-themecolor:accent4; mso-themeshade:128'><span style='font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";color:#403152'>Rent and Location:</span></span></b><span style='font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"'> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:Arial; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"'>Just look for houses in Squirrel Hill and Shadyside. Don't go banging your head in Oakland. Not even other farther areas, unless you are 100% sure you will buy a car and drive it to campus once you get here (just FYI, the minimum campus parking permit is around $900 per year, and is allotted by lottery, since there aren't many parking spots). In craigslist, look in the apartments section (A sublet is for short duration). Depending on your roommates you should try to find 1, 2, 3 bedroom apartments. While the rent varies with the location, number of roommates etc, typically, if you are staying with two more people, you should be paying around $300 - $350 per month. If you are staying with one more person, you should be paying around $350 - $400 per month. Usually it will not include your electricity and gas bill. Some apartments might include electricity and heating, and therefore the rent might be a little more. While enquiring about house make sure who pays the heat. Heat costs less than $80 p.m. normally, however, in peak winter it may go <span class=SpellE>upto</span> $400 p.m. (for 2 BHK or pent house) In general, <span class=GramE>avoid<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  </span> church </span> like houses that occupy huge volume.<br> <br> Squirrel Hill mainly consists of town houses (the sloping roof bungalow type houses you usually see in movies). Each town house has 2 or three floors. Each floor is a separate entity and is rented out separately. Each floor consists of 1-3 bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, bathroom(s) etc. The houses are older as compared to <span class=SpellE>shadyside</span>, but are more spacious. <br> <br> Shadyside mainly consists of apartment complexes with 4 or more floors, and many units on each floor. The construction is newer as compared to Squirrel Hill, but the rents are slightly higher too. <br> <br> Also, we will ask graduating students to put their opinions about the places they have been staying in on the IGSA Community on <span class=SpellE>Orkut</span>. Try to use them as guidelines.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:Arial; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:Arial; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"'>Here is a good reference <a href="http://www.ocl.pitt.edu/apartments/privately-owned.html">list of the landlords.</a> <br style='mso-special-character:line-break'> <![if !supportLineBreakNewLine]><br style='mso-special-character:line-break'> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:Arial'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:Arial'><a href="../info.html">&lt;Back to the info page&gt;</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:Arial'><a href="http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/~igsa/">&lt;Back to IGSA Home page&gt;</a></span></i><span style='font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"'><o:p></o:p></span></p> <div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'> <hr size=2 width="100%" align=center> </div> <p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span></p> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? 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