Thread: Places to live

Hey guys,

im new to Avalon starting in the Fall, does anyone know a good real estate company to contact for housing? i tried calling a few but they seem to be ridiculously overpriced...anyone got any tips they can throw my way? appreciate the help

I believe Avalon has on-campus living, and it is mandatory to stay on campus for the first semester. If there isn't anything available on campus, your best bet would be to contact the administration for help in finding housing off campus. I'm sure there are a lot of students that are finishing on the island and there can a possibility you would be able to get their place. If you call the U.S admin office i'm sure they will help you out.

funny, they never mentioned it. I did make some calls and i found some lady that has some apartments in the city for real cheap. Im gonna call admin and find out about the housing. whatever happens, i'll keep posted in case anyone else has same concerns

i would suggest you live on campus for the first semester. If you do live off campus, you'll need a car and someone to guide u around the city. Anyway, curcao is an amazing place to live. no lie. As for off campus housing, it's really hard to find good places in a good neighborhood with a good price.
On campus housing was $750/month (excluding utilities) back in sept 2011, when i lived in it. I think it's $800 now. Off campus is much less, if you'd like i could get u some numbers to contact or at least try too.

Please do you know anything about double occupancy houses for the first semester on campus? The single occupancy studios are a bit pricey...

Originally Posted by fey

Please do you know anything about double occupancy houses for the first semester on campus? The single occupancy studios are a bit pricey...

The double occupancy is about $550 per person on campus I believe. Also, there is a apartment complex called Alablanca where many of the students live. It is off campus, but there is a caravan that will take you to and from school every day, and buses are available. From my understanding, the rent is much cheaper over there, but it is further away from campus, versus Ritz which is literally in front of the door to the school.

Ritz is expensive. I live here now, and enjoy the convenience. I would recommend it for at least one semester in order for you to learn the island, and then you can decide from there what to do. The utilities in a single occupancy seem to range from $70 to about $120. In the double occupancy I have heard it can go up to about $180, which is still just $90 per person.

The other thing to keep in mind is the convenience of how close it is to town. You can actually walk into town in less than 10 minutes. There is a free shuttle to and from the local supermarket, which is just as modern as the one at home, and you meet a lot of students living here.

Now on the other hand, everything in this apartment is 220v. Where as the majority of the island runs on 110v. This is incredibly irritating, and makes me want to move just for this sheer fact.

Shoot me a line with additional questions!

How are the facilities? As in the class rooms, labs and the apartment? Does stuff break down a lot and does everything work? How extensive is the library and what is the quality of their wireless internet connection? How are the school's buildings? They didn't put any pics on their website. Any chance you might show me some? Do you know anything about scholarships at Avalon?

Thanks.

Originally Posted by fey

How are the facilities? As in the class rooms, labs and the apartment? Does stuff break down a lot and does everything work? How extensive is the library and what is the quality of their wireless internet connection? How are the school's buildings? They didn't put any pics on their website. Any chance you might show me some? Do you know anything about scholarships at Avalon?

Thanks.

The facilities are nice and clean, but you must be realistic and realize that you are on an island, so its not going to look the same as somewhere like the U.S. or Canada. Everything is always functional, there are white boards and projectors in all the rooms. There is a separate building structure for gross anatomy.

The internet connection at the ritz is very fast. I use mine to facetime back home, and download movies all the time. The school's internet is often spotty based on where you are in the school. The ritz internet signal is strong enough to cross over into the school, so you can get their internet.

The school building is sizable. Separate classrooms for all md and premed classes. A "library", and a lab room or two. Though the facility is a rented location, so the school is sort of limited in that sense. There is a student lounge with a refrigerator, stove top, microwave, and even a ping pong table. The school stays open to 10pm most days to give students an opportunity to study. Student tutors make themselves available throughout the week.

There are no scholarships available. There is a company that they work with around student loans. I don't have a loan with them at the moment, so I couldn't really tell you about that aspect. The school is fairly small compared to traditional american style medical schools.

The big thing to keep in mind is that if your main concern is the studying, learning and doing well on the USMLE, you will be fine here. If you get too hung up on the look and feel of the Caribbean medical schools, you'll be disappointed by them all.

Hope this helps, start a new thread if u have any more questions pertaining to the school and not to housing and I will answer what I can.

what is the program like? is it good for the price they give? What is the island like? How much is a flight to the island?

Hey guys,
I don't know if my P.M.'s go through, so i guess i'll post here as well.
I just found out that the ritz apartments are full...can anyone please send me links or names of agencies that students use to find off campus housing??
Or could someone let me know how to find off campus housing for 2 people that is decent but not overpriced?
The school suggested alablanca....but they didn't say anything about having to live on campus and the alablanca apartments seem to be pricey for what you get.
Any suggestions or tips would be really great! thanks