Help with UCD accommodation needed!

BrittanyBrown

Hello,
I am a 23 yr old american who will be attending UCD as a postgrad student during the 2008/2009 school year. I have no idea what to do about accommodation..I know Glenomena is the postgrad residence at Belfield..but does anyone know if it is a good place to stay? Is it mostly international students, or irish kids? nothing against international students..but i'm not coming all the way to ireland to hang out with other americans, or i'd just stay here . Just having a bit of trouble deciding, since i wont get to see the place first.
I'm also considering living in an apartment walking distance from the uni..does anyone know of a good area to live? Or, even better, are any other UCD students reading this looking for an extra flat mate for next year? I don't really care who I live with, guys or girls, as long as everyone is friendly
One last random question..how long does it take to get to dublin city center from UCD? is it a walkable distance? Thanks for any help you can offer!
Myspace=myspace.com/brittser

samsamson

I can throw my 2cent in on one of these,

Dublin city centre to UCD takes around 10 or 15 minutes on the bus. It's walkable (like, you won't fall down and die) but most people just take the bus because it's a long enough walk. Definitely doable though if you feel like leaving aside extra time some days to walk in. Busses go past the UCD campus very regularly so it's not hard to get in and out.

Don't know much about accommodation unfortunately! But all housing/renting etc. prices over here are really high, so you should expect to pay a fair bit if you're renting an apartment anywhere, someone else will know more I'm sure

Pythia

Check Daft.ie for prices of what you are looking for.
Try places like Clonskeagh, Donnybrook, Goatstown, Booterstown, Dundrum, Stillorgan.

princess-sprkle

glenomena is a mix of final years and post graduates. It is also a good mix of irish and international people. I know people from cavan to sweden to america that live in glenomena. Its a lovely accomodation, everyone has their own bathrooms and bedrooms are a nice size. It'd probably be handier if you got on campus accomodation, as it is pretty hard to find somewhere around UCD most of the time. any more questions, pm me!

Bui

Im a post grad in UCD and I've been living in glenomena for the past three years (which I think says it all really!). Its definately the nicest of the Res on campus, you have your own room, en suite, and you share with 5 others. From my experience, I have never had any major problems with any of the people I have had to live with, and the apartments are laid out in such a way that you can have your own space if you're not feeling the most sociable so you're not all living on top of one another. Its generally a good mix, predominantly Irish with a good mix of international students too. Its by far the best choice if you're doing a post grad as far as getting into college goes, especially if you're not keeping regular hours it saves the commute late at night /at weekends.

I'd definately recommend it as your best option, and if you decide after a while that you're not mad on the whole student res thing you will have a better idea of the area and it will give you a chance to have a look around for somewhere else to live in the meantime, as your best bet when looking for somwehere off campus is after May when all the undergrads disappear for the summer. Not to forget, its also good craic living on campus, especially if you're new to the college and in your case, the country and might not know many people. Hope this gives you some idea. I think your other questions have already been answered fairly well, its only 15 mins from here into town on the bus so its also fairly central as far as location goes.