wow thats a nice apt. good find!

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Nice indeed, but did no one catch the approximate ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS a month he's paying? And that's not taking electricity into account. That's just ... beyond insanity sorry, hah.

This is true. It was by far the nicest...and accordingly by far the most expensive. I still anticipate that these will go very quickly.

More power to ya buddy! Mind giving those of us about to land on the rock an analysis of the Housing situation? What apartments did you see, which ones looked preferable, etc? Might help those without housing set up yet.

Sure thing...keep in mind I've only been here a little more than a day so I can only give you an account based on what I've seen. The housing tour was fairly relaxed...but yesterday there were only about 10 students on the plane and two of them had already secured housing beforehand. The places that had been recommended on ValueMD which I had written down (Frobelia, New Avies, Coco Mango) are apparently already full (this is what the housing tour guide told us and he seemed pretty honest...but I have no idea. You might try finding out the names/numbers of the landlords on your own to confirm. (Call the main Ross housing office and just ask for the landlord cell phone #s)

We were shown places on the Banana Trail (across the main road from the main campus) and the new complex on Lizard Trail (between the Annex and Main Campus...but closer to the Annex.) There are many decent places on Banana Trail (very similar setup to the place I got, just think a few years old and some really funky smells at a couple places.) They were all 1 bedrooms in the $600-800 range, with a few 2 bedrooms we saw around $500-700/person. Most of the places we were shown on Banana Trail were at the bottom of the hill (meaning that to get to the main road to get the minibuses to the Annex, you have to walk up the hill...can be either a minor or slightly more frustrating inconvenience depending on the weather and your inclination to walk.) I unfortunately don't remember everything since a lot of the places are just recognized by the name of the landlord (Mac & Judy's, Marquez Apartments, Greenhomes, etc.)

If you're coming in the next week, you'll be fine...you'll most likely find something that you'll like on the tour...lots available. Later than a week and things might get tight. Apparently a ton of people are coming on Wednesday (around 90 from what I was told) so Thursday's housing tour may be a bit hectic.

For all incoming 1st semesters, DO NOT TRUST your housing guides. There might, MIGHT, be one person that is genuinely nice and honest, the rest are looking to make money by making deals under the table with individual landlords. Think about it, the guides are the ones that take you to see the apts, they can take you anywhere they choose and more than likely, they'll take to you places in which the landlords have given them some sort of compensation.

Also, be mindful of your estimation of how far a place is, they take you by bus, so a 2 min drive though seem short will likely equal 10-15 walk for you, which sucks, trust me (and I'm kinda athletic).

My advice, go to the ross housing website, look for places close to campus for around 450-550 (there'll be plenty if you come early), and call the landlords directly. If you come early enough you can definitely spend a day to look at all the apts you want, plus you'd be walking there so you'd know exactly how far a place is.

On a final note, pretty much every place you look at will look like it just got hit by a tornado, inside and out, but thats how it is unless you're willing to pay 700+ . So lower your expectation a little.

p.s Try not to take any negative views about a certain place that were said on this forum to heart, there are certain people that just can't be happy and I took their advice to heart before coming down, and I will say that was my BIGGEST MISTAKE. I had a place in mind, came to this forum and almost everyone was bashing it, so I didn't even think twice when the tour stopped by there. Don't do it. I'd say go with your instincts, I should've def. gone with mine.

SGMD1: I am seriously interested in the apartments you provided. Can you please PM me for more info on who to contact and everything, also are they still available?

I could easily see this being true. It's unfortunate really. Luckily ValueMD is a great resource (but you definitely do have to weed through a LOT of fluff)

True. Keep in mind that most first semester classes will be at the Annex (so getting something right across from the Main campus may not be the most optimal decision...although supposedly there are minivans to the Annex from the main campus every morning)

You're going to have to adjust when you get here, plain and simple. It's not what you're used to and you should try and be optimistic and see the positive in everything. With that said, if you're willing to pay a few hundred extra/month, I think it's in your best interest to find as nice a place as you can; you don't want to spend your whole day studying only to come home to an apartment you don't feel comfortable in.

Yes; 12 of us packed into two minivans with all our luggage and were driven to RUH. The couple that had already secured housing was then driven to their place, they dropped their stuff off and then came back for the campus tour.

We weren't shown anything on Moo Cow trail. I can't imagine that everything is full on the entire road though. I am suspicious that the only reason we were shown Andre Fortune's apartments are because I asked about them beforehand (I had heard about them from a 3rd semester student before I arrived.) I don't think I can reveal names of Ross employees on here w/o permission so PM me if you want to know my housing tour guide's name.

Yeah they'll help you out with all that. There are a couple independent guys who are there to help you but will expect a tip.

I used American from the U.S. to San Juan and American Eagle from San Juan to DOM. You can have two checked bags at 50.9 lbs. each MAX, for 101.8 lbs. MAX total...but you can't have 1 bag more than 50.9 lbs period. They were pretty strict; one of my bags was 54.5 but I took out a pair of shoes and put it in my carryon and it went down to 50.5. I wouldn't risk going over. I think this is only a holiday restriction though so they might ease up after the New Year.

The restriction is 70 pounds total with no one bag more than 50 pounds. They are pretty strict on this. If you got 100 pounds, well then you got VERY lucky. This restriction is all year because the planes are small.

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