PEARL: My Take on Housing

Prepare yourself. I’ve written out all of my thoughts on finding housing for the upcoming school year, and it’s a doozy of a post. That said, if you’re moving to Atlanta from far away (as I was) and you’re unable to visit before you start school (as I was), I think that this will at least be worth the 5 minutes it probably takes to read. At least, that’s my hope! Feel free to contact me if you’ve got any questions.

The first thing to decide is whether you want to live on campus or off campus. Clairmont campus is very nice: there’s an Olympic lap pool, tennis courts, soccer field, and shuttles that will take you to campus in about 10 minutes. The apartments are on the smaller side, but are very nice and will be well-maintained. Living at Clairmont also presents you with the option of getting a furnished apartment, which will save you the time and energy that you’d have needed to put into getting your own furniture. You can choose to have a roommate (who the housing office will set you up with) if you don’t have anyone specific in mind, but don’t want to pay the extra money for a one-bedroom apartment. The medical students who live at Clairmont tend to have enough people there to form their own little community, which I know they like. Unfortunately, with Clairmont the rates are relatively high for what you get. Also keep in mind that you will have to pay extra for parking in the Clairmont garage.

If you decide to live off campus, you’ll have lots of options. Obviously, you first need to decide if you want to try to find a roommate. If you do have a roommate, you’ll be able to get a nicer place with your money. Many incoming med students find roommates by connecting over our Learnlink conferences and/or meeting at housing weekend (if that’s an option for you!). I knew I wanted to live with roommates, but I didn’t want to live with other incoming medical students, so I found a room in a house for rent on the Off-Campus Housing Board (http://www.housing.emory.edu/off-campus/home.cfm). This website is fantastic – you can find lots of different housing options.

Once you know who you’re living with, you have to decide if you want to live in an apartment complex, a carriage house, a house, or some such thing. The complexes are nice, generally well-maintained, and usually have amenities such as tennis courts and pools. I have a lot of friends who live in places like these and really like them – Gables Rock Springs, Highland Square, and Post Briarcliff are three of the ones I hear good things about. There are LOTS of others. The complexes may be “cookie cutter” and a bit suburban, but they are definitely a solid option – you’ll pay less than Clairmont and know that you have a decent place to live. Unfortunately, the complexes can be targets for crime. There was a string of muggings at Post Briarcliff this past winter, including at least one armed mugging. Things seem to have settled down a bit since, but it is something to consider. I don’t believe this has deterred too many of my classmates from living in these complexes.

Finally, if you decide that you’d rather go off the beaten path, I highly recommend the off-campus housing finder. You can find a place to live on your own (lots of studios and efficiency apartments that are parts of houses, etc), or you can find a house or condo to share with others. Craigslist is another option, especially if you’ll be able to come down to look at places before you commit.

Overall, when you’re considering where to live, there are a few key neighborhoods you should know. Druid Hills is the local Emory neighborhood. There’s a small village with a few shops (pizza place, coffee shops, and my favorite – Falafel King). Avoiding driving to school every day is one of the key advantages to living in Druid Hills – if you can avoid Atlanta driving, I recommend it!

Another popular neighborhood is Virginia Highlands (the area surrounding Virginia and Highland on a map). Morningside (another neighborhood) is between the Highlands and Emory. In the Highlands, you’ll find lots of shops, restaurants, bars, yuppies, etc. It’s a very happy neighborhood.

Decatur is east of Emory and another popular place to live. There’s a very walkable downtown area, with lots of shops, coffee shops, and bars. There’s also a free shuttle that runs from Decatur into Emory every day (no driving!). You can find this shuttle and others at Emory transportation (http://transportation.emory.edu/shuttles.html) – living along a shuttle route is a great way to save gas money AND the environment!

That’s all I have for now! I hope that was helpful. Again, feel free to contact me via Learnlink if you’ve got any more questions. Ultimately, though, relax! It’s all going to work out great!