I have some friends that live a half a mile away from the school who told me that they heard that there is a lot of drug problems and crime at the San Angelin apartments. While the rent can't be beat, you are placing yourself in an atmosphere of lower income families, and unfortunately this demographic also tends to point toward crime.
My wife Kristina and I decided after much debate that we would rather pay a little more for our rent going through school than sacrifice the safety of our children. Melia will be riding the bus to school and we want her to associate with good friends. Granted, there is risk where ever you live, but hopefully by avoiding places where you know FOR SURE that there are problems you can stack the odds in your favor.
House or apartment?
The next question we had to answer was whether it would be better to live in a house or an apartment. Right now we are living in an accessory apartment to a house. It is a two story town home and it feels very much like a house because of the 3/4 acre fenced in yard behind it that we share with the owners. This has been our first experience with more of a home-like setting and we have loved every second of it. The neighborhood is quieter and feels safer, the yard has been a huge benefit for the kids as well as Mom, who can send them out to play when she needs a break. Well, after a few months of living here we felt like we really wanted to get into a home down in Mesa. However, the more we looked into it we found out that although at first the rent for a three bedroom house seemed to be cheaper on average than that of an apartment, the utilities were a lot more expensive for a home. So in the end you would pay about the same for a house as you would for an apartment, if you could find a good deal. Most of the houses we saw that were a little cheaper rent didn'nt have access to a pool, and most had rocks in the yard instead of grass. After looking around we just felt better about going with an apartment. Plus none of the house owners we called to set up an appointment ever called us back.
The Final Decision
So we settled on getting an apartment because they had a pool, bbq's, work out room, club house, conference rooms, etc. Out of all the ones we looked at around the school our favorite that we both agreed on was the Waterford apartments. Luckily they had an opening for a three bedroom coming up right when we needed to move in. The apartment is going to be great for us. It is huge! It has almost 1600 sq ft, 3 bedrooms 2 baths and a den. The den is actually called a computer alcove because it doesn't have a door to the room. The carpets and cabinetry are all new because this place only opened up about a year ago.
The Area
It is about three miles to the school and is very near walmart, costco, fry's grocery store, the mall, golf courses, movie theaters, the public library, etc. It really is in the heart of things. The elementary school is in the Mesa school district and is called Wilson Elementary. Kristina and I went there and from what we can tell the faculty seems very friendly and the facilities seem very nice. I think it will be a good school for our kids. It is about two miles from the Waterford Apartments and there is a bus pick-up stop at the apartments for the kids to get to school.
The Money
The rent for our three bedroom is going to be a little more than we wanted to pay but with all the perks of the place I think it pays off. It will be $1100/month with just electricity and water to pay...the water ends up being about $30/month and the electricity can range from $80-$150 at least that is what we have been told. It will be good to get down there and see. Now where ever you choose to rent you are going to have to fill out an application and show proof of income. You typically have to make three times the monthly rent in income per month to qualify. Now, don't freak out about the fact that you have no income as a dental student. You can still qualify. All you need to do is contact the financial aid department at the school and have them write up a financial aid award letter stating how much money you will be receiving in loans. Hand this letter in with your rental application and you will qualify just fine.
Right now Debbie Richards is probably the best one to contact for that letter.
Debbie Richards
Phone: (480) 219-6117
email: drichards01@atsu.edu
Check it out
If you are interested in seeing the place please tell them that Dustin Webb referred you.
www.WaterfordAtSuperstitionSprings.com
7311 E Southern Avenue
Mesa, AZ 85209
Phone: (480) 656-5335 Fax: (480) 656-5337
No comments:
Post a Comment