Where to live in Lawrence

June 8, 2005 5:02 AM

What apartments do I want to live in Lawrence, Kansas?

I will be moving up to start graduate school in the fall and I am wondering if anyone has any opinions / knowledge of apartments I should be looking at or avoiding.

Specifically, I am interested more in the south side of town since my department is on the south side of campus (and there's no point in climbing that mountain twice a day).

posted by The Bishop of Turkey to home & garden (6 comments total)

Are you looking for a place in walking distance of campus or will you be using the bus line or driving?

I only lived on the south side of town for a year and I lived at Colony Woods (at 24th and Naismith). Avoid that place. There's a reason the students call it Felony Hoods... It's party central around there & it's incredibly noisy. A friend of mine also lived there and had to call the cops on his neighbors more times than I can count.

Feel free to send me an e-mail and I'd be more than happy to talk to you about specific complexes and specific areas of town (if I know about them).
posted by whatideserve at 5:43 AM on June 8, 2005

ApartmentRatings.com would be a good place to start... the ratings themselves are nearly useless but you can usually read between the lines to see what the ups and downs of a place is.
posted by rolypolyman at 6:02 AM on June 8, 2005

I would recommend Birchwood Gardens, on the block between Kentucky and Tennessee just north of 19th. I've been there for four years. 10 minutes walk from campus. A large proportion of the renters are grad students (like I formerly was, just graduated in May), and it's pretty quiet. Rent is very reasonable; I'm in a two-bedroom for less than $500/month. The super is very responsive to problems, too. If you need contact info or have any other questions, my e-mail is in my profile.
posted by cog_nate at 7:34 AM on June 8, 2005

Are you looking for something in a complex, or an old house carved up into apartments? I much prefer the latter, personally. I had a great one at 9th and Maine, just north of campus, and can probably dig up the landlord's name if you like.
posted by gleuschk at 8:29 AM on June 8, 2005

I am looking for some place that is within biking distance (which is why I am wanting to stay on the south side -- ugh, who decided to build that university on the only mountain in Kansas?), but with the size of the town, that means that most of the southern half is within my range.

Honestly, any type of housing is fine. And I've looked at ApartmentRatings.com, but it seems that for Lawrence, the signal to noise is weighted significantly on the noise side.

Thanks for the info and suggestions so far.
posted by The Bishop of Turkey at 4:26 PM on June 8, 2005

I don't live there (yet) but the girl does. Here's her advice for you:


Fortunately, Lawrence ain't that big and ANY PLACE is in biking distance! Assuming you are wanting a nicer/quieter type place, on the south side of town I'd look at The Greens at Alvamar and Aberdeen. Both are on 23rd Street/Clinton Parkway, but a little farther out west so you are kind of out of the "student ghetto" area and into a more "young professional" type environment. (NOTHING wrong with the student ghetto - I just know that as a law student, I would go nuts trying to study with people partying above me!). There is a nice bike path that runs all the way down 23rd Street to Iowa (on the west side) so its VERY easy by bike! This is Lawrence and no matter what you will have to deal with some hills! But if your building is on the south side of campus, at least you will be able to avoid the "mountain" itself! I lived in Aberdeen for two years - not a bad place to live, but I had a few complaints. BUT it was nice and quiet!!!

There are a few places on the north side of town that you should check out. One is Tuckaway at Briarwood. BY FAR the nicest apartments in Lawrence, altho a bit pricey. The apartments are HUGE (1100 square foot one bedroom) and VERY QUIET and VERY NICE - kind of tucked back off 6th street. I've lived here for a year now and absolutely love it - its a great little community. You can easily ride to campus by going down Wakarusa to 23rd Street and then hopping onto the bike path towards Iowa. From Tuckaway @ Briarwood (6th and Folks - behind Free State High School) its about 5 miles to campus via Wakarusa and the bike path. From Aberdeen and The Greens at Alvamar its probably 3-ish miles to campus.

Or, you could widen your horizons by learning to love riding hills! ;)

Feel free to email me with any questions - physhstick at aol.com
posted by joshgray at 10:34 AM on June 12, 2005