If you're unfamiliar with Dallas, then you probably don't know about all of the different areas where you can live and still be within a commutable distance from SMU. Let me tell you, there are a lot. I have friends that live in Uptown, M streets, Highland Park, University Park, the Village, off of University and Greenville, etc. etc. I even have friends that live in Oak Cliff, Addison, Plano, and other outlying places like that.
Personally, I would never want to live that far away. Dallas traffic is ridiculous!
I however, won't ever have to worry about that traffic. Because my commute is 46 seconds long on foot. And after living directly across the street for this semester, I'm realizing the beauty of living so close to campus. I might not feel so great right after finals, because being that close to the source of my stress might not be the best for my psyche, but overall 3 months of convenience is worth two weeks of slightly more stress.
Here's the thing: my building might not be the newest. It has it's quirks...the floor is a little sloped in my living room, one floorboard squeaks in my bedroom, I find little cracks in the ceiling and walls, there aren't enough outlets, there aren't ANY outlets in the bathroom (I blow dry in my study!), and there isn't a dishwasher or central AC. Plus my rent is a smidgen higher than a lot of my friends who live in comparable buildings (not as high, though, as my friends who live in swanky buildings uptown).
BUT - I have only filled my car up with gas twice since school started. And I still have half a tank left. Which is pretty great.
Really, there's everything I need within a walkable distance. There's a grocery store, a bank, and CVS, restaurants, stores, a Starbucks, and school. I get covered parking by parking in the law garage, and I can run over to the library any time I need to print anything or do some research without having the hassle of packing my stuff up and getting into the car.
Plus I get to sleep in a LOT later than most of my friends who have to drive to campus.
PLUS SMU pays for taxis to and from campus on Thursday - Sunday nights, so if you're going to go out and you live close to campus you never have to worry about getting a DD!
What more could a girl ask for?
If you're looking to move closer to campus, there are a lot of really cute buildings off of Daniel, Rosedale, Hillcrest and Milton that all have condos and apartments, typically around $900/month and up. One of the easiest ways to figure out what is open around there is just to drive around. These buildings tend to put up home made "for rent" signs, and their open apartments can get snapped up pretty quickly.
Personally, as of right now, I really recommend living close to campus. It's suuuuuuper convenient, and worth the slightly higher rent and fewer options.
