My Search for Housing as a Graduate Student

I often get asked, "How is the housing situation around RIT?" To explain this in detail, let’s first talk a bit about RIT's campus. Housing is on the east and west ends of campus with varying amenities and floor plans. Off-campus housing is available in the surrounding areas around campus. Most graduate students prefer off-campus housing since on-campus housing is primarily allotted to undergraduates, since first-year students are required to live on campus. You can submit on-campus housing applications through the myLife RIT portal.

My story with finding housing at RIT starts with my RIT admit in hand on a warm March afternoon in Mumbai, looking for a place to stay 7,500 miles away from home for the following year. After researching and talking to a bunch of people, here’s what I understood. The off-campus housing market around RIT is well-organized and consistent. Most students stay in centrally managed housing complexes that come with facilities comparable to a hotel—hot tubs, swimming pools, study rooms, pool tables, outdoor grills, and more. This was a stark contrast to how I had imagined my first year of grad school housing in the US. I had heard stories from students who came before me, which usually involved dealing with landlords, leasing century-old houses, and sharing a room with another student. But here I was, looking at leases for what felt like a 5-star hotel! 

On the east side of campus, you’ll find places like Apex, Park Point, and Province. On the west side, there’s The Hill, The Lodge, and The Marshall. These places offer individual leases, meaning one person per room (room-sharing mostly isn’t allowed). The upside is that you're only responsible for your room, not the entire house’s lease.

Nothing in life comes for free, and this level of extravagance comes at a cost. Growing up in apartment complexes with swimming pools, health clubs, steam rooms, and jacuzzis, I was used to that lifestyle. But for me, the priority during this phase of life was to minimize spending and become debt-free as soon as possible later on. So, I started looking for cheaper options.

During my search for affordable housing, I found other places like Clayton Arms, Rustic Village, Greenwood Cove, River Meadow Dr, and River View Heights. These offered more traditional leasing options, where I could inspect each house, talk to the landlord about what was included, furnish the house myself, and even share a room if needed.

Thanks to systems like the Discord community (which used to be on WhatsApp back then), I found a potential roommate. We began our search for other viable options. We both were starting the fall term right after the COVID pandemic, meaning a lot of students were coming to the States since that was the first year since things properly reopened after the pandemic. Since units were leasing out rapidly, and we were running out of options by the day, we decided to process all the paperwork at Apex for a 4x4, with the only pending thing being signing the lease and sending it over.

We joined several WhatsApp groups and communities for housing. One Monday morning, I saw a message about a room in a 3B2B house. I replied, connected with the person (another RIT master's student who had been attending since 2021), and after discussing terms with him, we signed a lease for a house on River Meadow Drive.

On my first day in the US, after an emotional goodbye at the airport and 40 hours of traveling, I finally arrived in this new country. I took an Uber from the airport to “my new house.” It was 8:45 p.m. in August, and the sun hadn’t even set yet! We pulled up, and I brought my things inside. After a quick tour, I set my luggage down in my room. One of my roommates asked, “Kya khaayega? Anda Bhurji?” (What will you eat? Egg Bhurji?) and started making dinner for me. About 30 minutes later, my other roommate walked in with a pizza to share. I was overwhelmed by the hospitality! My room-sharing roommate arrived a couple of days later, which gave me time to set up my space and organize things.

For a new lease in the US, there are tasks like setting up electric and water services in the renter’s name buying internet service and setting up the Wi-Fi. Luckily for me, all of that was already taken care of, so I arrived at a fully-functioning house.

One man's trash is another man's treasure. We lived in that house for a year and built the other non-absolute necessities over time. The culture of leaving an object that you no longer need on the curb outside the house was novel to me. On my street, over time, we found many pieces that were completely usable with the sign ‘Free Stuff!’ We were able to furnish our entire first floor – living room and dining – with this free stuff! It included a 3-seater recliner couch too, Joey and Chandler style! We loved the house. It was relatively new, so nothing was "creaky" or broken. The backyard was absolutely gorgeous, where we put some chairs and enjoyed our “chai and charcha” (tea and chat) time through every changing season. 

After being at RIT for over two years and having met students who live in various housing options around campus, here’s what I can share:
 

Note: The distance is from Gleason Circle which is the central shuttle stop on campus.

Things I learned while searching for housing:

• Park Point & Province: Great community and well-managed houses, though stepping outside to use the facilities can be inconvenient during harsh weather. Free shuttle service to and from RIT.
• Apex: More expensive, but excellent community and facilities. You can access most amenities without stepping outside. Free shuttle service to and from RIT.
• The Hill, The Lodge, and The Marshalls: Students with cars tend to live here. Private shuttles run every 30 minutes, but commuting during weekends or late at night can be challenging (when the shuttle services are inactive). 
• River Meadow, River View Heights, E River Road: Walkable or bikeable to campus, with cheaper housing options. Requires more research to find a lease, and it has a smaller RIT student community.
• Clayton Arms: Plenty of nearby amenities like Walmart, restaurants, and entertainment. The downside is commuting to campus outside of shuttle hours. Cheaper rent, good RIT student community.
• Rustic Village: Cheaper apartments but commuting takes about 40–60 minutes with a transfer at Wegmans from the RIT shuttle to RTS (Regional Transit Service).

In conclusion, I’m glad I experienced living in a typical "American house" during my first year. Each housing option comes with its own set of challenges, but with the right mindset, you can make it work. My motivation was to save money and be independent, knowing that most of my friends at other universities were living similarly. Thousands of students have successfully done this before me, and I knew I could too, and so can you!