Grad School Housing is More Grown Up!

Because Grad School Needs Are Different

For Grad School students, finding an apartment entails completely different criteria, especially if they are heading off to a different university. My niece and our interns all recently moved on to universities other than where they spent their undergrad years. As we found, Grad School housing comes with its own set of unique challenges. Facing expensive tuition and long study sessions, the last thing your grad student needs to waste time on is finding an apartment near the University of Florida campus to call home.

Gainesville has a wide range of graduate student apartments. You can go from opting for quiet and cozy to large and luxurious. UF, itself has several halls that accept graduate students.  If your student favors the on-campus lifestyle, they should be looking at Corry Village, Diamond Village, Maguire Village, Tanglewood Village, The Continuum, and University Village South. Just a side note that it is within UF’s future plans to demolish Maguire Village and University Village South, two of the five graduate and family housing complexes, due to the cost of repair. Currently, there are no plans to construct new buildings in their place.

This means that families looking for affordable housing may have to look off-campus.

Off-Campus Apartments

Recommended for students by proximity, here are apartments we suggest for…

Law Students:

• Arbor Lofts – 321 SW 13th street Gainesville; 1 bedroom, studio, and 1BR plus den
• Ashton Lane – 1008 SW 5th Ave, Gainesville; 1 BR, 1 br/1.5 BA townhouse, 2 BR/2 BA, and 3 BR/2 BA
• Center Court Apartments – 1210 NW 11th Ave, Gainesville; 1 and 2-bedroom apartments. Older apartments but some of the least expensive prices.
• Heritage Oaks Apartments – 110 NW 12th Terrace, Gainesville; 1 and 2 BR

Be sure to also check for home rentals. There are many, many homes that are available to rent within walking distance of the law school. You may feel more comfortable with a personal rental agreement instead of a contract with an apartment complex.

 UF Health Students:

• Wildflower – 1210 SW 11th Ave Gainesville; 1, 2, and 3 BR apartments available
• The Retreat at Gainesville – about a mile from campus. A very nice property with a pool, tanning bed, gym, clubhouse, sauna, etc. Townhouse-style apartments and stand-alone apartments (basically 2-story houses) are available.
• Oxford Terrace II – 921 SW Depot Ave Gainesville, FL 32601 (University Realty). Located on SW Depot Avenue, just a block away from sorority row and three blocks from campus. 4/4 furnished apartments. Cable and internet are included, as well as an in-apartment washer/dryer, and one space of covered parking is included with rent on a direct bus route to UF. Most of these apartments come furnished.
• Royal Village – 710 SW Depot Ave Gainesville. If you want to live with several others, these are three and 4-bedroom apartments. Fully furnished.
• Canopy Apartments – 4400 SW 20th Ave. 2, 3, and 4-bedroom apartments near Butler Plaza and Archer Road.
• Oakbrook apartments – 1331-A, SW 13th St, Gainesville. These are 2 BR/2BA fully furnished apartments with a washer/dryer. Also included in the rent are pest control, high-speed internet, basic cable, utility, water, and electricity.
• The Bartram – 2337 SW Archer Rd, Gainesville. 1, 2, and 3-bedroom apartments off of Archer Road. Free high-speed internet, basic cable, washer/dryer, and one covered parking spot per bedroom included. Pets allowed.

Downtown Grad Living

• Arlington Square Apartments – mostly studios, but there are some two and 3-bedroom floor plans. You can’t beat this hub-of-Gainesville, downtown location.
• Union Street Station – condos on the upper stories of the building where Dragonfly is located. One, two, and three-bedroom flats and townhomes in the heart of Downtown Gainesville.
• The Palms Condominium – Downtown Gainesville, FL, on SW 2nd St. and SW 2nd Ave, about 1/2 mile from UF.

Go, Grad Students, Go Gators! It’s time to come home.

Another resource is SwampRentals.com, which is a guide to Gainesville apartments that meet your lifestyle and budget.