Housing on Saba

[kemarG]

What is the housing situation like on the island? I know that incoming first year students are placed in dormitories, but what happens after? Can you still stay in the dorms or you have to seek your own housing elsewhere? How expensive are the private houses and are they relatively close to the campus?

Your inputs will be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks
KemarG

[sweetpeapotts]

Well, I am pretty sure the dorms are for the first semester students only. They are building more at the moment but I am not sure for whom they are. How it works now is that you move out of the dorms after your first semester into an apartment or house. For what you get it seems astronomical (to me at least) but there is no other option really. You can get housing close to campus if you want. I know several students from my class who found places in the Bottom well within walking distance. (Everything is "relatively" close to campus if you didn't have to climb a mountain to get there.) What usuallly happens is you begin to look for open places during your first semester. There is also a housing coordinator that will help you as well, but usually there are flyers around campus or you hear via word-of-mouth about who in fifth is leaving.

[kemarG]

Thank you very Much sweetpea. How are the prices for houses and apartments?

[sweetpeapotts]

Well let's see. I was living in Lower Hell's Gate in a small 2 bedroom apt with a small bathroom and a combined kitchen and living room for a whopping $1100/month. Now I am moving into a SMALL studio (b/c my daughter is going to Louisiana to be with her Grandparents) for 450/month. But i mean it is SMALL and not new. I will say you need to budget 500-800 a month for rent if you are single. I may be wrong but this is my best guess.

[playarf]

We did infact had the chance to live in the new hillside dorms (i.e. they are not restricted to the frosh). Infact, 8-10 people from our class are going to be living at hillside.
As for finding housing, you can easily find a good place for 500 bux/person on the Bottom. Just talk to the housing coordinator (Laura), and she will take care of everything.
And dont worry if you are late in searching for a house, just talk to Laura. She found a house for us in mid March.

-cheers

[kemarG]

thank you palyarf. to tell u the truth, i would prefer to stay in the dorms for most if not all my time staying on the island.

[playarf]

thank you palyarf. to tell u the truth, i would prefer to stay in the dorms for most if not all my time staying on the island.
thats what i thought too initially, but i decided to move out for various reasons (money being the biggest factor, and the whole dorm environment got to me). also, if you cook for yourself...make sure you bring a hot plate for hillside, as the older hillside dorms do not have a cooking range/stove! (the new ones do have them, but its $600/ month, which is a tad steep).
furthermore, i found that many of the houses listed for rent are relatively decent...and the rooms are bigger than hillside for sure...and if you are sharing with people, you save a lot of money on internet, etc...

but yeah, like always, the best thing is to look at all the options before deciding...

[kemarG]

thats what i thought too initially, but i decided to move out for various reasons (money being the biggest factor, and the whole dorm environment got to me). also, if you cook for yourself...make sure you bring a hot plate for hillside, as the older hillside dorms do not have a cooking range/stove! (the new ones do have them, but its $600/ month, which is a tad steep).
furthermore, i found that many of the houses listed for rent are relatively decent...and the rooms are bigger than hillside for sure...and if you are sharing with people, you save a lot of money on internet, etc...

but yeah, like always, the best thing is to look at all the options before deciding...

thanks for the insights.

[playarf]

you are welcome.

[amyames]

once the new building is finished, the new dorms will strictly be for the frosh students. because the building is not finished, students can rent out the dorms. so for now, students can rely on the dorms for housing because I don't forsee the new building being finished anytime this year. they were hoping Sept 07', but I hear that's not going to happen.

as people have said before, housing is steep, but when you are sharing with friends, it really does cut the cost down. and some of my friends have found great deals with everything included, so you just have to be patient. don't jump in and rent the first place you see.