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SAFE place to live in/near New Haven, CT?? (with pets!)

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Aurelia

Aurelia

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jul 30, 2006
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150
Hey folks,

Where do YOU live around New Haven that doesn''t make YOU scared to be? I''m not trying to stalk you... just trying to find a place to live
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My fiance and I are considering moving to New Haven so I can start grad school at Yale (Nurse Practitioner program) but are REALLY a bit scared by the city''s reputation. We currently live in very rural New Hampshire, so it will certainly be a big adjustment, regardless, so we''re a bit wary! We''ve been looking for a good place to live that will feel absolutely positively SAFE for one thing, but also NOT really urban.

We''ve been looking in surrounding suburbs (Hamden, North Haven, West Haven, etc...) but are finding a lot of negative comments even about these sorts of areas (especially from ApartmentRatings.com) which makes the entire area seem pretty scary. This is NOT to be insulting -- we just have only visited the area once for about 4 hours and didn''t have a chance to explore the surrounding area much.

We''re planning a return trip (now that I''ve been accepted) to thoroughly check out potential places in person, but a little "insider" knowlege would be splendid! We also have a cat & are hoping to add a dog, so this makes it much tougher, I know!

Thanks so much!
Aurelia
 
First of all, New Haven is nowhere near as bad as it used to be, and it''s really not all THAT bad compared to say, parts of New York or Chicago where students live. So, don''t worry! Of course, you shouldn''t do anything silly like walk through dark parks at night by yourself, but it''s not all THAT horrible. Very sadly, in New Haven, most of the crime is intra-socio-economic. There''s not that much RANDOM crime, and cross-fire won''t happen in any neighbourhood you''re likely to visit. It''s like Washington. The violent crime MOSTLY stays in certain neighbourhoods and you''d never know it''s there (which I think is not very good for society). There''s a random mugging here and there, like in any city, but nothing to get too worried about.

Anyway, the downtown is actually really, really cute and pretty and the town has a lot of great stuff going for it, city-spirit wise. You''re going to love living there if you just give the place a chance! So much good music and theatre at the university, too. And so many fabulous restaurants. The best pizza in the US. And cute boutiques.

In terms of housing, most grown-up grad students and many faculty live in the ill-named ''Grad Ghetto'' which is an area of GORGEOUS old quirky mansions down Orange Street and surrounding streets. Lots of people have pets there and there are even yards for many houses. Many of these are split into apartments if you dont'' want a whole big house. There are wonderful little grocery stores and some nice cafes in teh neighbourhood and it''s very close to campus. You should contact Yale''s housing service and they can surely help you with all of this! They''ll have listings and maps and things.

Also, check out an apartment building called ''The Eli'' on Church St which is right on the green. I have a friend who lived there when she was in grad school and it was spectacular. Plus, there''s a doorman. Not sure if they allow pets, though.
 
Independent Gal,

I know we are being a bit silly... but neither one of us is used to big cities, so the "it''s not as bad as New York or Chicago" line doesn''t help much! That''s not to be ungrateful, just to clarify!

It helps a bit to hear this isn''t all RANDOM crime... it just makes us a bit scared to hear about a rape taking place in hte past few years in one of the Avalon communities -- North Haven I believe? It looks SO nice... all very Stepford Wives! And that''s what concerns us. If we go check out a place on a weekend, during the day, will it then turn into something entirely different once we move in? Okay, that sounds completely irrational!

We saw The Eli -- right there on Church Street where the Nursing School is. VERY convenient. Just my fiance (and I) are really hoping for something more suburban feeling -- smaller apartment building or a house optimally. I can''t find their pet policy online (as for dogs) but I''m going to call in the morning.

CraigsList is probably a good option for us with individual owners listing places. It''s just that these sorts of places won''t be listed until a few months before they''re available and we''re really trying to plan a little further ahead than that. Partly because we''re obsessive planners, but also because we''re trying to decide which grad school and corresponding city would be our best bet. Univ. Rochester is great and we''ve lived there before, but then again Yale and MGH in Boston are amazing programs too. So we''re trying to find the best situation for both of us.

Thanks for your input! Have you lived there?

Aurelia
 
1. Contact YSN. They can give you access to a website of apartment listings that have been posted for the Yale community. Also, Yale offers grad student apartments, but they are hard to come by and be expected to clean when you move in!

2. Look for listings in the "grad ghetto" and "wooster square" areas. The grad ghetto is largely populated by Yale grad students and has tree-lined streets wth sidewalks. It has a suburban feel but is within NH proper and is on the Yale shuttle route. Wooster square is an old Italian community, full of brownstones and is within walking distance to YSN.

3. Ask YSN if you can send a mass email to YSN students. (there is a simple address for the entire YSN community) Ask graduating students if they would recommend their place and give their landlords' contact info.

4. Congrats on getting in! If it helps, my friend who was from "rural New Hampshire" lived in the grad ghetto all three years without any problems.

5. Avoid avalon properties, they are signifantly over priced for what you actually get.

6. If you decide to go the apartment route, my friends lived in the Towers, Liberty, Taft, the Residences at Ninth Square and whatever property is in the "Smoothie Foundation" building. All are within walking distance to YSN.

ETA: The reason I keep mentioning places on the shuttle route or within walking distance is because you will have to purchase a parking pass to park within the fence at the school. I believe the pass costs $50 a month. (I may be wrong!) Your first year you will only have classes at YSN for two, MAX three days a week. In later years it will vary from 2-4 days a week, but you may only be at the school for 2 hours on a given day. Also, you can park for free within the gates by swiping your ID card on nights or weekends. So, you are basically paying $50 a month for only a few hours time. Financially, it just seemed like one of those things that wasn't "worth it" since my car was housed in a garage 1/2 mile from YSN! I prefered to spend my money on really good text books that would last a lifetime.
 
Munchkin,

Thanks! You should have seen the ridiculous happy dance I did when my fiance called me at work. Someone actually called our house to let me know -- that impressed me!

See, things like knowing you''ll only be at school 2-3 days a week the 1st year? THAT is really useful stuff I can''t seem to get someone to tell me... and then the 2-4 days/week later on... Maybe it''s that I can never think of the right questions at the right times... Do you have an old schedule from your time there? The advice about the parking lot being free on nights/weekends is also truly golden! Thank you.

You had me laughing about the "Smoothie" building... an old girdle factory? HAH! But the place looks quite nice... thank you! We''ve certainly got a bunch more places to throw on our list of places to visit.

Aurelia
 
I was at work when I found out...it was the BEST feeling!

I found a schedule from Fall of my final year. I had classes from 10-12:30 and 1-5 on Mondays and 2:45 to 7pm on Thursdays. I was in clinical on Tuesdays and either Wednesday or Thursday morning. I think I also took an elective on Tuesday evenings, but it was an optional class on nursing history.

Spring of my final year I had class from 9:30 to 12:30 and 1 to 5 on Mondays and 3 to 4:30 on Tuesdays. I had 2 to 3 clinicals during the week then, and was writing that pesky praxis!

Unless they''ve changed things, you will have class four days a week for the first few weeks of your GEPN year. Once you enter the clinical area (which happens quickly!) you will have clinical two days a week and class 2-3 days a week. Your first year you are more likely to have classes that start early in the day and end by 5. In later years, evening classes are very common.

Anything else I can help with?
 

Orange.

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