Housing Resources

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THIS PAGE IS OBSOLETE. PLEASE VISIT THE UW CSE SEATLE LIFE WIKI!

This page contains links to housing resources collected by the members of the 2001 and 2002 Orientation Committees. The information here was accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time it was posted, but we make no guarantees. :) We hope you find it helpful!

NOTE: As of July 2002, it is a renter's market in Seattle. Although this will likely change by mid-September, many places are offering deals and discounts to fill up vacancies.

General Information

The housing market in Seattle is a little tricky. Tenants only have to give 20 days notice, so landlords are only guaranteed to know about vacancies that far in advance (i.e. the 10th of the month for an opening occurring the 1st of the next month). Be persistent, and if you see an ad for a place you like, call right away - vacancies are filled quickly!

Do be aware of your rights as a leasee. No one can make you sign a lease for more than one year (else it is void), and it's probably better to get a nine-month lease (at most). Then, you'll be free to grab new housing at the beginning of the summer, when it is much cheaper (and easier to find). If they want to stick odd clauses into the lease, be suspicious -- and remember that the university lawyers are willing to take a look at any contract (including a lease) that you are planning to sign.

Where to look

The Seattle Times

The Seattle Times, our local newspaper, has an extensive classified section. The rental ads are here. Ads are updated daily, although the biggest crop comes out on Saturday night/Sunday morning.

University Housing Resources

The Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) has a good housing page. This page includes information on University housing for grad students.

The ASUW Student Housing Affairs page has a bunch of information and advice about searching for housing including information on local landlord/tenant laws, a page of additional resources and a database of current housing listings. The database tends to list rentals in renovated houses more than in "true" apartment complexes. You do need your UW Net ID to access the database, but there's a link you can follow to find out how to create one.

The University Housing and Food Services page includes information on how to apply for University housing. Be aware that the waiting lists are quite long for most graduate housing. Although you might be thinking to move into graduate housing for the first year and then find a place, most likely you won't be able to enter places like Radford Court and Commodore Duchess until after the fall term at best.

Cornell and Associates

Cornell and Associates is a local apartment management company. Their website has a very thorough listing of apartments to choose from.

Seattle Rentals

Another online site with lots of listings for the Seattle area.

ForRent.com

ForRent.com lists mostly more expensive places.

PCC Food Stores

PCC, a local chain of natural food stores, has bulletin boards in its stores where people post housing ads. It's been said that there are lots of ads from people looking for roommates, and sometimes ads for 1 bedroom (or more) apartments. There's a web page with store locations.

Deciding where to live

From the ASUW Housing website, here is a basic map of local neighborhoods.

While the ASUW site describes the cost of living in each neighborhood, here are some grad students' opinions of the different neighborhoods. Given the source, contradictions in the data might occur. Note that if a neighborhood from the map is not mentioned, there might not have been anyone to comment on it. Take this zero information as you wish.

• Capitol Hill
  • Quaint. Quiet (if you don't live too close to 15th or Broadway). Large (but not overwhelming) gay community, if that's your cup of tea. Lot's of character, and communitiy feeling. Cool shops and cafes. Not the U-District.
  • Not the U-District: it's a bit far away, and on top of a hill. So the bike rides to school will be a joy, but those back from school will be killer.
• Eastlake:
  • Close to campus and easy to walk (~30 minutes). Also easy to bus in on the 70 or 66.
  • Quiet and undergraduate-free (although this might be cause and effect).
  • Good bus access to campus and downtown (lines 66,70-73).
  • Only one small local grocery in walking distance (Pete's Market). To get to larger markets (QFC, Safeway, WholeFoods), you have to take a bus. 66 offers good access to Northgate Mall, if you're into that kinda thing.
• Fremont:
  • A fun part of town. Lots of shops and restaurants, plus good bus access to both downtown (5,26,28,74) and UW (buses 74, 31).
  • Where else can you live near both Lenin and a giant troll?
  • Two full-size grocery stores: PCC and Fremont Fresh Market.
  • On Burke-Gilman trail.
  • Fremont Avenue is fairly busy street, so expect some traffic noise even at night. It's not like being on a highway, though.
  • Some reasons why Fremont is awesome: far enough from campus that you can forget you're a student, close enough to campus to bike, two direct bus lines to campus (10 minute ride), beeline to downtown (5 minutes drive, 10-15 minutes by bus)
  • Some reasons why Fremont is not awesome: rents a little higher than other places, may be too yuppie for some, can be noisy.
  • There are no nearby pharmacies in Fremont, although Wallingford is not too hard to get to.
• Green Lake:
  • There's this really big lake there that's nice to look at.
• Greenwood (not on map; north of Green Lake basically):
  • Greenwood is a relatively quiet neighborhood, with a mix of young people, families, and retirees.
  • Greenwood has a convenient neighborhood shopping area, with a grocery store, a Fred Meyers, drugstores, a hardware store, and several restaurants. This is also the main area for antique shops in Seattle.
  • Greenwood also abuts Aurora Avenue (aka Highway 99) -- both good news and bad news, since you'll find a couple more grocery stores (Larry's Market is great if you enjoy cooking) and a major bus line here, but you'll also find traffic, seedy bars, and used car lots.
  • If you want to live in Greenwood and you don't like to drive, be sure you are within walking distance of the 48 bus's route down 85th St. -- changing buses to get to the university is a nuisance.
• Queen Anne:
  • Rents can range from affordable to downright expensive, but the views are almost always grand.
  • Nice restaurants.
  • Bus access to the university is a bit limited and for some parts of Queen Anne, non-existent.
• Ravenna:
  • Good for quiet. Well within biking distance.
• Sand Point:
  • Quiet and out of the way.
  • Convenient access to buses (74 and 75).
• University District:
  • Excellent bus access. The University transit center is at NE Campus Parkway. Buses lead to all parts of the city.
  • Only full-size grocery near the Ave is the "sketchy" Safeway (its produce is best given to dying cattle). A larger Safeway and a QFC are nearby in the University Village.
  • It can be nice to be within walking distance of work, but then you're also within walking distance of work.
  • It's actually quite nice to live in the U district, if you're careful. I would suggest living north of 50th Street, as it is much quieter (and still close).
  • I like quiet and so I've stayed away from the neighborhood between 15th and 22nd Ave, and 45th and 52nd St. Pretty much anything outside of that rectangle is fine for quiet lovers and certainly not far for walking or biking. I'd recommend not dropping below 45th St. - it tends to be noisier and more crowded there than, say, above 50th St.
• Wallingford:
  • Lots of shops around 45th street. Practically a sushi restaurant per block.
  • South Wallingford is more residential and tends to be more expensive. In order to get to shops, you have to head north, which can be a fair walk up the hill.
  • A medium size QFC grocery and a Bartell Drugs pharmacy are easily accessible.

Who to ask questions

The members of the orientation committee are willing to answer your questions about finding a place.

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