Son moving to Athens for school - Need advice!

[Lefta Dissenter]

Hi all! I'm writing from Wisconsin.

My son will be starting graduate school at Ohio University in Athens next fall. He started to look into housing, but is finding that some of the better-sounding apartments are filling up already. He is working two jobs over the next couple of months, so won't have time to dash out and scope out the area.

Can anyone give advice as to neighborhoods that would be preferred, any specific apartments recommended, or, frankly, anything else about Athens?

A general background on my son - he is 26 years old (yikes!), he's mature and has been around - he spent a year in Egypt, studying in an intensive Arabic program. He would not be interested in a student housing area that is filled with partying undergrads. He's a liberal vegetarian who likes to bike to class, and he is wanting ultimately to get his PhD in and teach the "History of American Foreign Policy." (imagine what he might teach about the years he's witnessing now!)

Please feel free to email if you don't want the forum cluttered with off-topic posts.

Thank you so much! :hi:

[smoogatz]

1. I grew up in Athens

but haven't lived there for 25 years. I still go back now and then (friends/family), so though I can't recommend a specific building or anything, I can maybe give you a general sense of things.

Since your son is not a hard-partying dumbass undergrad, he'll want to avoid the close-in student ghetto neighborhoods, which are owned and operated by greedy slumlords who've gotten themselves elected to City Council so they can rewrite the zoning and inspection laws. There are some newer complexes on the West and South sides, but I don't know much about them--they may be okay. Your son's best bet may be to share a group house with other grad students in his department, or rent something further out of town. Athens is a notoriously tough place to find decent rental housing, so he'll want to get on it ASAP.

Hope this helps--

[Lefta Dissenter]

2. Thank you so much!

That's just the sort of information we need!

[weezy2736]

3. I'm actually there now...

Sitting in the back of an Aviation class (don't tell my dad!)

I think the best neighborhood down here is on the south-east side of town, between Stimson Avenue and State Street (both are exits from State Route 33). I've been trying to find somewhere to escape from all the parties, and this looks like the best bet. Over the hill to the west has a few nice areas, but they're fairly far away from campus... walking up and down the hill as little as possible is my main goal. :)

[Botany]

4. Athens OH is a slice of heaven.

I would suggest East State St. area ....
nice homes with a community feeling.

New apartments in "The Plains" are O.K. too.

[lfairban]

7. Second "The Plains"

My wife lived in The Plains for a couple of years before she graduated in '02. It is 4 mi. North of Athens along SR33. There is a bike path that goes between Athens and Nelsonville (further north) that he could get onto at Euclid, a mile or less south The Plains.

Euclid is an abandoned mining town that is so small I can't find it on mapquest. It has been turned into a kind of artist community.

[mtnester]

5. Athens is a good Dem town.

Beautiful campus. And since he is in graduate school, he should be over all that stupid freshman doofiness regarding parties and drinking. Many times, Ohio U gets a hideous rap that is the fault of OUT OF TOWNERS...asshole from Columbus who come down to be idiots on Halloween, etc.

That said, you got good advice from everyone above, and perhaps there is a local message board or realtor that could help? Yes, you have to be careful to look out for slumlord/property management/realtor relationships....but, I do know MANY times a lot of parents buy condos for their kids for when they are there, then sell them along after the child(ren) are done with school. With the real estate market kind of dead right now, I wonder if there are any available to rent while they are looking for buyers or would be willing to rent for a year to a graduate student until he gets his bearings and find a place? The student above would be a good start to give them a PM about this type of arrangement.

[femrap]

6. I think Athens is on Craig's List now....

I went to school there in the '70's and just loved it.

My senior year, 4 of us had a house and paid only $25 each per month! Of course, there was no heat in the bathroom...I would sit in the tub and see my breathe!!!

When I was a grad student, I lived above a garage...it was fabulous! I can't remember the street...but it was on the east side of town.

He'll love OU...'Harvard on the Hocking!' Beautiful countryside and lots of progressive folks! It's the best place in all of Ohio....imho. I should go visit...it has been years since I have been there.

[Earl from Ohio]

8. Get a membership at Stuart's in Nelsonville

Literally just up the road from Athens is the little town of Nelsonville which is the home of the restored Stuart's Opera House which is now a wonderful not-for-profit venue for concerts, art and film events. Sort of like the Ark in Ann Arbor, the Old Town School in Chicago, Club Passim in Boston or the Birchmere outside of D.C.

I LOVE Stuart's! Even though I live at the far corner of the state, I will still make the trip down for concerts whenever I can. For instance, Bruce Cockburn just played there. And not long ago they had Richard Thompson.

Great stuff, low ticket prices.

[mtnester]

9. Richie Havens - NEXT March

already on the site.