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renting a room/flat in seattle - help needed

KathiKathi Posts: 1,828
edited October 2013 in All Encompassing Trip
Hey everyone, I'm requesting some advice from the seattle locals here :) I'm doing my PhD right now, and will be going on a research visit to the University of Washington next year (most likely for 2 months, April & May). The main goal of the trip is to meet with faculty & other grad students there to discuss my findings, and offer myself a quiet environment that I can finish to write my dissertation in.
So, I'm looking for either a room in a shared flat, or a little studio of my own (latter option is preferable to me, but it's a price question of course). Should be furnished & available for short term rental, and in a safe neighborhood, either close to UW or with good public transport there.

Anyone know where I might find something like that? I've been googling a bit, but not much luck so far. Any other suggestions (which neighborhood to stay in, etc.) are of course also much appreciated. thanks :) Oh and I'll be coming over for the PJ show, so if there's anything I need to check out myself I could possibly do it then.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • prismprism Posts: 2,440
    the University district (aka U district) is pretty nice. when my daughter went to UW, tho she lived in a dorm, can't say it was quiet...but the area is safe.

    renting an apt or room monthly or 'month to month' as it's commonly called is going to be more expensive than signing a long-term lease cost per month, but seems like your only option. wish I could be more help, but Im not familiar with the studios or rooms for rent nearby to recommend which are better.

    you might want to check out some of the places here...

    http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Mo ... y_District


    Good luck!
    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    angels share laughter
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  • KathiKathi Posts: 1,828
    yeah, I can't get any UW housing cause I'm not officially a student there. also, I really need a quiet environment to work in.

    thanks for the link, I'll have a look.

    is there anything like airbnb but for longer stays? I'd prefer something where I have the possibility to get some reviews before.
  • prismprism Posts: 2,440
    actually once your on that page I linked you can click the name of each place (next to the picture and number) and it takes you to the reviews for it... you may have to scroll down a bit

    i just went to airbnb and put in 'University District, Seattle, WA' then hit dates april 1st to may 31st 2014 on the calendar and found 21 listings....again just click the name of the place in blue for the info and reviews on each one
    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    angels share laughter
    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
  • KathiKathi Posts: 1,828
    thank you! :)

    yeah I looked on airbnb, what I meant was if there's something like airbnb which is aimed at longer rentals...as airbnb usually does nightly rates, renting monthly gets quite expensive.
    I've found a lovely place on there, but it's doubtful if I can afford that one.
  • KathiKathi Posts: 1,828
    bump
  • prismprism Posts: 2,440
    if there's any sites like airbnb for longer short-term rentals Im not aware of...someone else might?

    you could try e-mail contacting the place(s) you're interested in to ask them if they offer monthly rates? many short term rentals offer at least weekly rates...they may also do monthly. it'd be worthwhile to see if you can arrange something like that rather than paying nightly

    just stay away from using craigslist. altho they list all kinds of long and short-term rentals some of their listings are scams. it's one thing if you're local and can see the place and meet the owner/agent....but for anyone from out of the area, out of state, or overseas...seems way too risky
    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    angels share laughter
    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
  • KathiKathi Posts: 1,828
    I've e-mailed a few people, sadly some of them don't want to rent their room/flat out for longer than a couple weeks. but I'll keep searching. I can't make a final booking until I know if my scholarship application was accepted, and that'll be in mid-november.

    yes, I've been warned about craigslist...I heard there's even been a craigslist killer! scary stuff.
  • RKCNDYRKCNDY Posts: 31,013
    Welcome to the area!

    I will say that the areas around the U District are pretty safe. Public Transportation is very good, especially if you stay in the city.

    I'm not sure what your budget is, but there are some hotels that offer 'extended stays', of course the more inexpensive ones are not in great neighborhoods (say, the ones that want $100/week)

    If you know anybody that works at the school, maybe they could post an ad for you? This is the University's newspaper, maybe post an ad in here to rent a room? http://dailyuw.com/

    I wish you luck, and if you'd like to meet for coffee, let me know!
    The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.

    - Christopher McCandless
  • KathiKathi Posts: 1,828
    Thanks! :)

    I've not looked into the hotel option at all until now, didn't think it might be a cheap possibility. However, the preferred thing to do would be to rent a room or small flat, so I can actually feel like "living" there, and have the possibility to store groceries and cook my own food.

    I don't really know anyone at the UW, except the head of department that I e-mailed back and forth with regarding my application for the research visit. But I'll see if there are graduate student networks of any kind that might be able to help me arrange something. What I've found so far is renting without a social security number seems to be difficult, and also signing any kind of lease as they cannot run a credit check on me. Which is why I've kept coming back to airbnb and the likes.

    Budget will depend if my scholarship application is approved or not; if it is, anything less than $1000 per month (for a little studio or MIL apartment) would be great, but I'd be willing to go up a little higher too.
    Oh, and I'll definitely take you up on the coffee! :)
  • KathiKathi Posts: 1,828
    ok, neighborhood advice needed.

    the university district seems to be really pricey; or maybe I'm just finding the places designed to rip students off. :lol:

    I've found a couple somewhat decently priced ones in the following neighborhoods:
    ballard
    wallingford
    south delridge
    greenwood

    the south delridge one is the cheapest, respectively to what is being offered - however it seems to be far away from the UW? anyone know about bus connections from this one or the other places?
  • South of SeattleSouth of Seattle Posts: 10,724
    Kathi wrote:
    ok, neighborhood advice needed.

    the university district seems to be really pricey; or maybe I'm just finding the places designed to rip students off. :lol:

    I've found a couple somewhat decently priced ones in the following neighborhoods:
    ballard
    wallingford
    south delridge
    greenwood

    the south delridge one is the cheapest, respectively to what is being offered - however it seems to be far away from the UW? anyone know about bus connections from this one or the other places?

    I would try Wallingford. South Delridge sucks and is not one of the safer neighborhoods in the city. Plus the bus would take at least 45 min to get to UW.

    I would start with Wallingford, Fremont, Greenwood/Phinney, then Ballard.
    NERDS!
  • KathiKathi Posts: 1,828
    great, thanks! :)
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