Jeff is looking for assistance in Waterloo

compuease

I have a 17 year old grandaughter who is off to U of Waterloo this fall and I am very protective. She is somewhat nieve and non worldy and I am rather concerned of where she is looking at staying. She is considering sharing a 2 bedroom apt at 6 Brybeck Crescent, Kitchener, with another Milton girl who is 2 years older than her. It is about 4km south of the university close to bus route but am concerned about the area. Any locals, and I know there are a lot of you who know the area, have any better ideas?
She was a mid 90's student all through high school and is entering a Sciences program, but as I said before she is somewhat not aware of the "real" world and as her grandpa I have concerns.
Any suggestions anyone may have please contact me asap.. Sandy, g2, anyone else I know?

sn1perb0y

From my experience there two main things to look at. Is she the type that would study at university or at home? I am the type that studies at uni and would walk home at 1am+, if she is the same i would advice to live on philips or lester street. (5min walk)

The second is night classes, many classes are 7-10pm if she has any then the above applies.

In general waterloo is safer than Kitchener and an easier commute. I do have some friends that lived in Kitchener and haven't heard of any dangers.

A few other non-related pointers: 1) if she isn't studying in the summer, its much much better to get an 8 month lease, its a nightmare to sublet in the summer and she would be lucky to rent it for half the price.
2) there are facebook pages both for housing and university books that are very helpful that she could use.

Hope this helps.

compuease

Thanks for the advice snipe, appreciate it. She will study anywhere as she has extremely good study habits, unlike me where it was pool, party, cards.... Of course that was downtown T.O.

kwsteve

I know the Brybeck Cr. area. Nothing to be worried about.

folded

Comp way to far from uofw. Way more options closer esp if it’s her first year.

compuease

Can't seem to find anything in her price range for a 2 bedroom though, think it is $1150 for a 2 bedroom including utilities.
She is staying with a 3rd year friend from Milton who has a car. I'm hoping she will be like a big sister to her.

westside8

Why not go residence?

sn1perb0y

westside8;409454 wroteWhy not go residence?

its pretty much a shithole, tiny room, bad food and sharing a bathroom with 3-5 people.
The only good thing is getting to meet a ton of people.

compuease

sn1perb0y;409455 wroteits pretty much a shithole, tiny room, bad food and sharing a bathroom with 3-5 people.
The only good thing is getting to meet a ton of people.

Kinda what we heard from number of people. I have provided her with a whole bunch of links and such. I also suggested she go to the off-campus housing dept. Most important to us is safety and quiet place to study. I don't want to turn her into a party girl.. lol, not that I didn't look for that when I was that age, buuuut, this is my grandaughter we're talking about here.. :)

Milo

comp going all "Walt Kowalski" on us now . . .

kwsteve

Closer to the universities it's more expensive. You're also much more likely to robbed or assaulted especially if you're walking alone at night. Over the past several years there has been an increase of muggings around the university.

https://thecord.ca/it-hits-closer-to-home/
Mugging robberies on increase in Waterloo'''s university district | CBC News

compuease

Gee thanks Steve, way to make me feel comfortable..... Would it help if anyone knew she has a black belt in karate and is packing? :D

trigs

Might want to remove her address from the OP too comp. Don't want to give the sickos on PFC any ideas ;)

westside8

sn1perb0y;409455 wroteits pretty much a shithole, tiny room, bad food and sharing a bathroom with 3-5 people.
The only good thing is getting to meet a ton of people.

I was at V1, so just the shithole tiny room bad food part applied ;) lol

Feel like if Jeff's worried about safety and quiet place, rez is probably a better bet than off campus.

compuease

trigs;409464 wroteMight want to remove her address from the OP too comp. Don't want to give the sickos on PFC any ideas ;)

no issues, however I wouldn't have thought you were a sicko.. lol, that address is an apt building so no worries. She's looking at others this weekend.

kwsteve

compuease;409462 wroteGee thanks Steve, way to make me feel comfortable..... Would it help if anyone knew she has a black belt in karate and is packing? :D

Just a head's up. As long as you're not walking around alone after 1am it's safe.

compuease

kwsteve;409470 wroteJust a head's up. As long as you're not walking around alone after 1am it's safe.

She better not be...... Even if she picks one a little bit away, as long as it's on a direct route from the uni ie just off of Westmount Rd I feel sorta ok, however I may relocate to Waterloo just to keep an eye out... ;)

wildbill7145

Comp, I know when I was at Queen's many, many years ago they had a volunteer service that would walk home with you at night if you had concerns. However, I think that only applied if you lived on campus or a very short distance away. Just a thought.

800OVER

They have the same thing at Waterloo and Laurier. And residence is the way to go for first year for sure. That's where she'll meet people and move in with them for 2-4th year.

GTA Poker

Who are you to assess the real world?