Trying to find my son an off-campus place to live. Just wanted to source the TKP for recommendations and reviews. Right now it seems like The Mills is top choice. Let me know what you think...
Forums:
DISCLAIMER: Forum topics may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
Comments
I lived in The Mill off of South Main my sophomore year (2011-2012).
Pros:
Cons:
I remember maintenance being decently responsive, but it could take some time. We discovered water damage in our bathroom shortly after we moved in and it took multiple weeks before we could use the shower again because they had to rip out the floor, repair it, and refloor the space.
There was a dedicated laundry facility when I was there. Not the most appealing thing when it's 10 deg F outside and you're out of underwear. Unless your son has a disability this is more an inconvenience than a real problem.
We ended up going to Sturbridge the next year. It was a little nicer and had been recently renovated (I think it has since been torn down and rebuilt as Union apartments). My last two years I was in Pheasant Run. I don't recommend this for a sophomore. Back then it was basically a party townhome complex. I had a great time, but my grades suffered one of the semesters I was there.
So it did not change from the 90's as that was the case when I was at Tech as well. You could always just ride the BT out to Pheasants run and find multiple parties.
Yup, just look for a house with people standing around with red solo cups. Like $5 at the door got you all the beast light you could handle.
Nothing like rolling up with 20 of my buds and we all have shaved heads trying to act like we weren't freshmen.
LMFAO- those were the days man. Birth Control Rat cuts... I have some red cup stories for days. Theta Chi was always good for a basement drinking party. Oh those were the days.
To my credit, I never tried to go out and party until I was allowed to have hair
Shit, the first time we got pass they made us all go somewhere together, so we piled an unsafe number of people into a Toyota Tercel and a pickup truck and headed to Pheasant Run. It was my truck, so I got to sit up front.
We went to the bowling alley in Squires 😂
I lived in Maple Ridge from 2011-2013. At the time it was fairly new and ended up being one of the cheapest way to get a reasonably nice unit with an included washer/drier. The 4 bed 2 bath ended up being comparably priced to foxridge while being much nicer. The downside at the time was that the bus ran less frequently out that far on north main so we all just drove to campus - allegedly the campus transportation situation has changed a lot so I wouldn't take my 10+ year old info to heart.
From 2013-2015 I lived with a friend in a rental house behind the kroger and that worked out nicely - but obviously if you are in a college apartment complex you get an added social factor that you may not get in a house that is mixed in with "real people". The nice part of the house was we had a real yard and you don't have share walls to hear your neighbors breakup music.
He's a junior ME that doesn't like the party scene. He doesn't even want to bring his car if he's living off campus.
I would prefer to keep him away from the fox ridge area as that's where my friends and I was and it was party city back in the day. Lol.
I bought a condo in the Piedmont development off South Main/Grissom when I was in school. It was on the South Main bus route, had plenty of parking, and was mainly graduate students when I lived there. Quiet.
Older units, in unit laundry, but not a lot of extra features.
The Mill is still pretty quiet so he should be able to avoid the party scene pretty easily. I drove past it on the way out after the UVA game a few weeks ago.
I lived at Windsor Hills. Mostly grad students or families so it will be quiet. It's farther out but the bus still goes out there. Price was solid because it's older apartments.
I did Windsor Hills as well back in the early 2000s. As you mentioned, it was pretty dated even back then, but it was quiet, affordable, and you could still get downtown easily. I imagine access has greatly improved.
Lived in the Village II my sophomore year starting in 2013. Liked it enough that I stayed there for junior and senior year. Had in unit laundry, a decent sized kitchen, and never had any issues with maintenance or staff. Not too close to anything but other apartments and 7/11 but an easy bus ride to campus as it's a straight shot down Tom's Creek.
Only thing is it looks like it's got a new name and, presumably, new management (Alight Blacksburg West) so I can't speak to that. But from a location standpoint I'd recommend - close enough to campus /bigger apt complexes but at the time didn't have a ton of parties itself so it was on the quieter side
Well, looks like we'll be in town tomorrow looking at the Mills and the Edge and probably some other places
blacksburg has changed so much that any recommendations youre likely to get here are mostly useless. active students, recent grads, and maaaaybe townies are likely to be your best resource