Apartment Shopping in Bowling Green

When it comes to finding an apartment here, there are three routes to discovery:

1. Scour the Bowling Green Daily News classifieds.
   
2. Word-of-mouth
3. Drive around looking for "For Rent" signs

Option three is no doubt the most expensive of these options, so I suggest #1 and #2. As for well-known apartment areas in Bowling Green, there are a few different types. Because Bowling Green is a college town, there are tons of megaplexes. These are generally four-bedroom suite apartments where each tenant has their own lease to their bed-and-bath suite. The common area - kitchen, living room and balcony - is shared with three other roomates who you choose or who are chosen for you. Some of these megaplexes are The Gables, The Registry, Western Place and Campus Pointe. Most of the occupants tend to be undergraduates, generally sophmores to seniors, and the buildings are known for their noise levels. There is some good, some bad.

Pros of the megaplexes:

• Cheap, quick and easy. You walk in any day of the week and leave an hour later with an apartment. No need to worry about roomates, hookups, etc.
• Flat, single-person rent rate, generally between $300 and $385 per month.
• All utilities, internet and cable are included in the price.
• Fully furnished with bed, couches, dressers, etc.

And the cons would be:

• Little choice in roomates, unless you already know three other people in need.
• Tendency toward loud, partying neighbors.
• Limited to little parking.
• A hermit experience. (Personally speaking, when you live with three people you don't know well, you wind up using the common area less and spending more time in your suite. This ends up feeling like a very expensive dorm room.)
• STERILE. The apartments feel like doctor's offices, usually. (Campus Pointe's not so bad.)
• Not always so condusive to studying.

As far as word of mouth, you can definitely shop around via other people's experiences. I've lived in several different apartments over here and am finally happy with my current place. My landlord/property manager is awesome. Not only do they have great properties at good prices, they're excellent managers who are flexible with leases. Best of all, they respond immediately to any phone call you have about the apartment. In the past, I've called them for a broken toilet lever and messed up central heat and air unit. Each time, they came over and fixed it within 45 minutes. Recently I contacted them about our dishwasher not cleaning well, and they replaced it the very next day. Of all my property managers, they're the most respectful I've ever had. (At my old place on Nashville Rd., the landlord would key into the apartment anytime he wanted. It was knock-knock, pause for 25 seconds, key in.) Plus our apartment is a great place. We have a large, spacious two-bedroom within walking distance of campus for $485/month. I've paid more for a lot less in Bowling Green.

If you want to contact my property managers about available places, call Ms. Kim/M.L. Management at (270)535-0128.

Other options are generally grouped by areas of apartments.

• Downtown/Around Campus: This includes most addresses on numbered streets (13th St., etc.) plus a variety of other names like Chestnut and University. Generally any "street" (rather than "way" or "avenue") addresses around campus are in this location. These are all old structures, as there's little to no new construction in this area. These apartments tend to be either recently renovated, or not, which you can interpret. Their are definitely radically different possibilities for this location. I don't mean to discourage; my friend has an amazing apartment in this area. Generally speaking, you can gauge the apartment's place on the spectrum based on price.
• Downtown/Around the Square: These tend to be really nice, really expensive loft aparments. If it's in your price range, you definitely won't be disappointed. Be warned, however, that they do carry heft rent prices, generally starting at $600-$700 per month and up.
• Around the Mall: There are a lot of complexes around the mall. You'll recognize these in the classifieds because they usually boast the proximity of shopping. These places can be good because they're generally pretty nice, convenient for newcomers who only know the main roads and, as promised by the advertisement, they're near major stores. However, if you plan on a daily trip to campus, the traffic can be a dillemna. If you get caught during lunch or commute hours, it may take you twice as long to cross town.

And, of course, there are other areas that I haven't mentioned on here. Generally speaking, though, these are the most apartment-populated areas. If you have found something in the newspaper that you'd like more information on before you come to Bowling Green, just send me an email.