So, I've applied to 4 graduate schools and so far been accepted to 2. I'll be moving during summer since I applied for Fall 2015 which means I'd start school sometime in August. Anywho, I need housing advice since I'll be moving out of state for graduate school and therefore will need housing. I'm taking one of my birds with me( I own 3) so I'll need advice on pet friendly housing as well. The rest will be staying with my parents while I'm away at school. I haven't gotten an answer from the last two, but one will be in New York( Albany) and the other in North Carolina( Greensboro) but I'm not sure if I'll end up going to either or if I'm going to end up being accepted to either as well.

Anywho, the universities I've been accepted to are

Kent State University-Ohio University Buffalo: State University of New York

a) cheap safe housing and average price. I'm hoping to bring my car with me, but I'd admittedly still prefer it to be close to campus as I'm pretty unfamiliar with snow driving and during winter I figure it might be easier to just simply live near campus rather than having to drive to campus when there's snow.

b) Utilities cost. Average price, as well as how much it's likely going to rise during the high seasons when they're being used the most. ( winter and summer).

c) average temperature in general just so I should know what to pack packing wise. I'm from Southern California so I'm pretty unfamiliar with cold in general. I've seen snow 2-3 times that I can remember in my entire life. I'm expecting to hopefully buy most furniture when I get there or get an already furnished apartment since I'd rather not drive cross country with furniture and have to abandon or find some way to get rid of it the next year if I don't end up staying in the same apartment while I'm there.

First of all, congratulations!

Idk anything about Kent State or Ohio except that the former has a nice museum and the Kent State Massacre.

I know Buffalo is a lot closer to NYC than Ohio is, but it's still at least 6 hours one way so I wouldn't count that kind of proximity for much.

a) I went to school in upstate NY and my uncle went to Buffalo for his undergrad and masters. Winters up there are brutal so paying for heat is going to be expensive. I wish I remembered specific numbers on my utility bills but it's been a while. I had roommates too so we were always splitting everything.

b) Buffalo is one of the snowiest places in a very snowy area because it's in a snowbelt and gets lake-effect snow. There are actually tunnels on that campus so people can get around from building to building.

I wouldn't let the weather deter you per se, but I would definitely carefully think about living through that kind of winter and what goes with it during your studies.

I'll ask my friend who lived in Ohio what the average summer and winter are like for you!

As far as utility pricing goes it tends to vary if you get placed with a local company VS a big name company. Where I live in WA we are on a local owned company and our highest bill ever was $80 in the winter time where we had a space heater on at all times. At my dad's house were we on one of the big name companies and a winter bill when we only had heat on when we were at home would run over $300. So do some research on the companies that take care of things in areas where you might be living.

Safe and cheap my not be going together. I've never lived in any other state but WA. I can tell you though here safe either comes with $$$ prices, or out of the way lesser known areas. Cheap tends to be one of those sit down and keep to yourself unless there's accidents kind of situations. But like I said I only have my experience to draw from, maybe there's places that are safe and inexpensive to rent when you are a college student? May want to see if there's options for that too aside from campus living.

As far as never having driven in snow/ice before. Anyone can learn! Easiest thing to do to help gain stability though is to have good tires that handle such things, which a local tire shop there can help guide you to what works. Also a cold weather kit to keep in the car is a must in case your car decides to not want to work. Or the other option might be to find out if there's any bus systems you can use for school, as far as I know all cities tend to have a bus pass where for x cost you get to ride as much as you want for that whole month. As far as actual tips I suggest you make friends with someone who wouldn't mind helping you learn and can guide you, most of the things are things you need to feel with the car to know what advice is good you know? I can tell you all day long about sliding on ice and how to steer your turns and flutter your breaks for specific situations, but unless you actually feel how it is to slide it won't mean much. So if you get to that point just ask a friend and go hit an empty lot up to gain your ability of icy driving.

As for furniture, sell off things you won't want saved (assuming you can keep things you can't take behind) and use that cash to buy new things when you get moved in? Thrift shopping is good, I have many real solid wood items (book cases, end tables) that I paid under $20 each. You can find many small table and chair sets for cheap.

If worse comes to worse I'll probably see if I can get cheap items in Buffalo and just go with it. I figure since I do plan on moving with pets that graduate housing will probably be out of the question. I also figure that I'll be moving into an apartment alone for at least the first semester or year simply because I'll be moving blind without knowing anyone at wherever I'm moving to.

I have heard buffalo has campus shuttles/busses between the different campuses but I am somewhat worried by reliability during winter season though. But I may just end up using those for campus classes and drive for personal reasons outside of classes.

How cold does it actually get there? All the colleges I applied to are going to have a snow season but not being from a snow state my experiences with snow in general are pretty limited. I.e. the polar freeze where it was like -15 and lower was that normal for Buffalo or a freak incident. I've been to Paris during winter when it snowed and I survived but Paris was 0 exactly if I remember correctly.

Also, do you know what the average cost of housing is in general in Buffalo? From the random google maps I've seen, Amherst seems to be the safest area, but I know next to nothing about Buffalo in general. I only visited once as a kid and it was to Niagara Falls and that's pretty much it. I never actually went into the city of Buffalo itself. I'm looking for a studio for at least the first year( don't know if I'll be able to get roommates my first year since I'll be going there without actually knowing anyone at least for first semester).

Temperatures in the 20s are pretty common for upstate NY winters. Expect a lot of snow all winter. Paris definitely doesn't experience the same kind of weather in terms of the constant snowfall.

I've never been to Buffalo so I can't tell you about housing there, but there should be areas that are popular with grad students due to cost and proximity. I lived off-campus my last 2 years and there are definitely neighborhoods that cater to students.

AH my friend goes to Buffalo! If you are really interested in going there, I could ask her where are the cheap but safe places to stay. I can smail/comment you more about this if you like. I also went to school in upstate NY. If you don't mind the snow I'd say go for it! Winter was brutal this year though x.x

Yes, please. :D

I'll be at the North Campus so mostly I need info about Amherst and the surrounding area.

hi! I went to school in Syracuse, NY, and spent nearly my whole life outside of college living on Long Island, NY. Winters are COLD, 10-20º regularly. The real issue is the snow, which is measured in feet in Buffalo rather than in inches. You will get used to it really quickly since there are all four seasons there (meaning it will be a pretty gradual change, not terribly abrupt). I suggest you invest in a really heavy, long winter coat. If you end up in Albany, it's the same general thing, but there will be less snow (still a lot of snow, but not nearly as much as in Buffalo). Many of the SUNY schools have off campus housing that caters to students, but these neighborhoods can get noisy with undergrads living there, so that is definitely something to consider. Driving in the snow takes a lot of patience, make sure you invest in some snow tires and take it easy. You should also make a little car kit to make sure you are prepared no matter where you are with a snow shovel, a heavy blanket, and an ice scraper. :)

Strong Island represent! lol =P All of my friends and family were telling me how brutal winter was this year. The week I went to visit it was -10 degrees with a high of 0 the entire time.

it was REALLY bad in New York in general! I moved to Florida last August, so I didn't have to muddle through it, but my family definitely did. And I laughed at them from the beach ;)

Haha, yeah I moved to Oregon at the end of last summer and it was the same for me. No snow and the coldest it ever got was high 30's. It was great!

Ah, yeah. I actually just got accepted via an e-mail to UA yesterday, but ended up choosing Buffalo in the end so I'll be moving down there at the end of July, early August probably.

I'll be flying down there in June to check out housing options since I plan on living off-campus. Luckily, it looks like most of the ones close to campus that are apartments and not dorm private off-campus( I lived in one of those type my first year of undergrad and remember them being pretty noisy) usually include at least heat and water in the rent. They also include microwave and refrigerators which I guess should in general be included but I went to Orange County for undergrad and refrigerator and microwaves usually weren't included in the apartment rental.

My plan is to rent half a mile or so from campus in case car issues during winter means I can't drive in the snow. I couldn't find anything but undergrad private dorms right next to the actual campus. D: