Virginia Tech housing

[Anonymous]

Living off campus is kind of a pain and expensive. Like someone said a lot of kids take the bus and it’s not always reliable. My daughter would have preferred staying on campus for convenience but it wasn’t an option.
The housing is tight in Blacksburg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Living off campus is kind of a pain and expensive. Like someone said a lot of kids take the bus and it’s not always reliable. My daughter would have preferred staying on campus for convenience but it wasn’t an option.
The housing is tight in Blacksburg.

Housing is tight pretty much every college town. The real estate cartels (local and national) are in cahoots with college administration to keep it that way. Colleges should be mandated to guarantee housing for at least 2 years or not allowed to expand head count.

[Anonymous]

VT looks really pretty compared to UMD, anyway!

[Anonymous]

My son lives off campus at VT and we didn't find housing that difficult. Sophomore year he lived at Foxridge, one of the huge complexes, junior and next year as a senior he's in a townhouse very close to campus. Foxridge (own room/own bathroom) was <$600/mo and the townhouse (own room/shared bath) is about $500. So, rent is less than the on-campus housing cost. Yes, there are fancier places that cost more.

He used the bus when he lived at Foxridge and it was fine. He did do his best to schedule classes so they were clustered together and he didn't have a ton of time between where he'd just have to hang out on campus. Being walkable now is better and he makes more use of campus resources like the gym.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Living off campus is kind of a pain and expensive. Like someone said a lot of kids take the bus and it’s not always reliable. My daughter would have preferred staying on campus for convenience but it wasn’t an option.
The housing is tight in Blacksburg.

Housing is tight pretty much every college town. The real estate cartels (local and national) are in cahoots with college administration to keep it that way. Colleges should be mandated to guarantee housing for at least 2 years or not allowed to expand head count.

I have four kids in college or just recently graduated. It’s much tighter in Blacksburg than other campuses IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the housing like off campus after freshman year? Do you have to secure housing in the fall for the following year? How easy is it to walk to class from off campus housing? Do you need a car?

A car won't do you good because students don't qualify for an on-campus parking permit. You take the bus or ride a hoverboard or scooter in the bike lane. During peak times, busses are full so sometimes you wait for the next bus or the bus after. There are a few, expensive options in walking distance, but most require bus or bike.

Blacksburg has seen a lot of new and remodeled student housing come online during the past few years. So much so that the local real-estate mogul (Jeanne Stosser) objected to the university's plan to convert their current dilapidated Greek row into a new 5,000 "Student Life Village" at some point in the future. Source. Now mind you, this is just in the Master plan. The current off-campus housing situation does not reflect this yet.

Are students allowed to ride a bike in the bike lane?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the housing like off campus after freshman year? Do you have to secure housing in the fall for the following year? How easy is it to walk to class from off campus housing? Do you need a car?

A car won't do you good because students don't qualify for an on-campus parking permit. You take the bus or ride a hoverboard or scooter in the bike lane. During peak times, busses are full so sometimes you wait for the next bus or the bus after. There are a few, expensive options in walking distance, but most require bus or bike.

Blacksburg has seen a lot of new and remodeled student housing come online during the past few years. So much so that the local real-estate mogul (Jeanne Stosser) objected to the university's plan to convert their current dilapidated Greek row into a new 5,000 "Student Life Village" at some point in the future. Source. Now mind you, this is just in the Master plan. The current off-campus housing situation does not reflect this yet.

Are students allowed to ride a bike in the bike lane?

If they can avoid getting hit by the scooters and electric skateboards, yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are down here right now too- and wow it’s a pretty campus!

really? I think the entire campus is dreary and depressing, but this is the farthest North we’ve visited. Dorms are the absolute worst we’ve seen too.

DP. Couldn’t disagree more. We loved the campus - and the dorms.

i honestly wish we hadn’t visited so many beautiful schools with bright and open dorms and a student population that lives outside. We might think VT was a beautiful campus also.

Like camping? UGH. I need internet to study.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are down here right now too- and wow it’s a pretty campus!

really? I think the entire campus is dreary and depressing, but this is the farthest North we’ve visited. Dorms are the absolute worst we’ve seen too.

DP. Couldn’t disagree more. We loved the campus - and the dorms.

Not trying to troll, but we've visited VT, JMU, GMU, VCU, UMW, CNU, and WM...and my kid liked the VT campus least. Said it was far too big and far too medieval.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are down here right now too- and wow it’s a pretty campus!

really? I think the entire campus is dreary and depressing, but this is the farthest North we’ve visited. Dorms are the absolute worst we’ve seen too.

DP. Couldn’t disagree more. We loved the campus - and the dorms.

i honestly wish we hadn’t visited so many beautiful schools with bright and open dorms and a student population that lives outside. We might think VT was a beautiful campus also.

Curious what campuses? We've been to a lot of campuses with strong engineering programs, and it seems like they are often in a newer part of campus where there is a lot of ugly brutalist buildings or looks like an office park. The humanities were in the historical parts of campus or the central quad, while engineering was newer and further away from everything.

My daughter was actually wowed by VT. We went in the fall where the foliage around the town and the drive up was stunning as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are down here right now too- and wow it’s a pretty campus!

really? I think the entire campus is dreary and depressing, but this is the farthest North we’ve visited. Dorms are the absolute worst we’ve seen too.

DP. Couldn’t disagree more. We loved the campus - and the dorms.

Not trying to troll, but we've visited VT, JMU, GMU, VCU, UMW, CNU, and WM...and my kid liked the VT campus least. Said it was far too big and far too medieval.

It's interesting to me how different people's perceptions and preferences can be. My VT student said he likes the imposing grey buildings because it makes it feel like a serious place and reminds him he's there to work hard. Definitely not what I would have thought his take would be. He hated urban VCU but one of his best friends loves it. My DD hated CNU but liked UMW. Nice to have a variety!

[Anonymous]

DC lives off campus at the union and could not be happier. Has has own room and bath in a 4 bed 4 bath unit. Busses can be crowded but does not prevent from getting a seat. Do need to leave enough time not to rush. Can walk now that weather is getting better

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are down here right now too- and wow it’s a pretty campus!

really? I think the entire campus is dreary and depressing, but this is the farthest North we’ve visited. Dorms are the absolute worst we’ve seen too.

DP. Couldn’t disagree more. We loved the campus - and the dorms.

i honestly wish we hadn’t visited so many beautiful schools with bright and open dorms and a student population that lives outside. We might think VT was a beautiful campus also.

What a strange post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC lives off campus at the union and could not be happier. Has has own room and bath in a 4 bed 4 bath unit. Busses can be crowded but does not prevent from getting a seat. Do need to leave enough time not to rush. Can walk now that weather is getting better

How much is rent?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Living off campus is kind of a pain and expensive. Like someone said a lot of kids take the bus and it’s not always reliable. My daughter would have preferred staying on campus for convenience but it wasn’t an option.
The housing is tight in Blacksburg.

Housing isn’t tight in Blacksburg. There are many apartment and townhome complexes available. My DC lives in an adorable townhouse community and takes the bus to and from campus - only about 1.5 miles away. I do agree that off-campus housing in Blacksburg is very expensive! Not sure why that is, but we pay almost $1,000/mo for her room + private bathroom.