Category: Student Housing (14)

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Smart Space Organizing Hacks: Coliving Edition

Mar 20, 2020
Coliving rooms are a great solution to extreme housing prices in San Francisco and have a lot of pros. The biggest downside for many people would be the size of the room and the fact that it is not expandable. Don’t panic, there is plenty of space for essentials! Although if you want to make it feel organized and a bit more spacious than it actually is, you need to start using your space in a smart way.
 
The Internet has gathered many hacks on how to organize your space without completely redoing everything in the room, especially when the coliving room has its limits about things you can change or add to it. Here are 7 space organizing hacks that will take your coliving experience to the next level.
 

1. Be Smart About Your Shopping.

Brown shopping bag made out of paper
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Make Marie Condo proud! If it doesn’t spark the joy and is not essential to your everyday life, maybe skip it this time. Small space has limitations in storage and can’t fit everything. When shopping, focus on purchasing things that are necessary and make your everyday life efficient.
 

2. Repurpose Shoe Organizer and Pegboard.

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Think of command hooks as your little helpers because this tiny holder can really transform your room. You can add it to your closet, cabinets, and walls. It is usually very strong and can hold heavy coats and purses.
 

5. Shelf Risers

It is a game-changer for shoe storage and many other things. You don’t just have one shelf anymore, now it’s expanded and more versatile. It is a very affordable option that can be purchased in Ikea.
 

6. Clip-on Lights

This one is very obvious but besides saving space with clip-on lights, you can also move it around the room without purchasing a light for every spot that you like to be lit.
 

7. Use A Cube Organizer As A Night Stand

Cube organizers have tons of storage and can fit in many things while looking neat. You can add baskets and make it even more organized. The top surface will be larger than the regular nightstand, therefore hold more things without taking too much space in the room. 
Smaller space does not mean it has to be disorganized or cramped with things. Just use our simple hacks and make it Pinterest-worthy! Follow and tag us on the Instagram page where we would love to share your rooms and see how you optimize the space for your needs.

Spend the Perfect Day in Oakland

Jul 10, 2019
Every so often you may want to break free from the hectic nature of The City. Well, right across the bay, about 5 miles over the Bay Bridge is San Francisco’s frisky young sibling, The Town. Oakland can be a perfect place to experience a change of pace from the bustling, crowded streets of SF. After a short 15-minute Bart, bus, or drive, you will arrive to see the vibrant and expanding downtown to your right and in front of you, the Oakland Hills with residential houses speckled throughout bundles of trees. Morning Brown Sugar Kitchen is perhaps the most impressive breakfast place in all of the Bay Area. The magnificence is all due to the creator and Executive Chef, Tanya Holland. She uses her French-trained culinary expertise and her passion for hosting people to create a homey vibe. With her new style of California-influenced soul food, Tanya attracts customers from all over the East Bay to enjoy BBQ Shrimp and Grits or the always-classic Fried Chicken and Waffles. Right on Broadway, the restaurant is centrally located in Oakland’s downtown area.
In a quieter section of town, the Montclair Egg Shop is famously praised among locals. Each Sunday, the quaint restaurant is chock-full of hungry customers, in awe of the model trains and other neat trinkets that are on display throughout the eatery. Keep an eye out for Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson as they make frequent trips to the brunch spot. Day With cheap tickets and new amenities in the stadium, an Oakland A’s game is a great way to spend a day. The Treehouse is one of their latest additions, which is equipped with two full-service bars, standing-room and lounge seating, a TV-wall, and pre and postgame entertainment.
The A’s have also added the Championship Plaza, which is home to six rotating food trucks, beer stands, music, and lawn games. Arrive early during batting practice for a great chance to catch a homerun ball and get it signed by your favorite player. One of the Oakland’s main attractions is Lake Merritt, but few people actually take full advantage of the prestine body of water. For less than $10 per person you can rent a canoe, row/pedal boat, or kayak. Or if you are looking for a more romantic activity, there are gondola rides available for couples.
Floating in the middle of the lake is a great way to take in the city, as the surrounding bikers, picnickers, and residents enjoying the scene. Views of the hills and the skyline make this adventure a perfect late afternoon excursion. For those looking to explore the luscious greenery of Oakland, the Redwood Regional Park offers miles of hiking and biking trails as well as great picnic/BBQ spots. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to check out some of the world’s largest trees!
Night There is an endless list of fun things to do at night in Oakland, but First Fridays are indisputably at the top of the rankings. Every first Friday of the month, the city shuts down Telegraph Ave from West Grand to 27th Street at night from 5 – 9 PM. Thousands of residents from all over the Bay Area come to experience the community’s artistic collectives and galleries, local culinary artisans, musicians, dancers, DJ’s and more. It is free and open to the public and is a great way to spend the evening grabbing a bite to eat and taking in the exciting Oakland culture. (Reminder that for July, First Friday will be pushed back a week to July 12 to accommodate 4th of July festivities).
Just one street parallel to where First Fridays take place is perhaps Oakland’s most bustling street, Broadway. Here you can explore one of Oakland residents‘ favorite place to spend dinner and a night-out with friends, the beer gardens. At places like Lost and Found and Drake’s Dealership, beer drinkers young (over 21 at least) and old gather under outdoor lights and comfortable garden décor to enjoy tasty food, relaxing lawn games, and of course, a variety of delicious brews.
After a couple drinks or before you head out for a night on the town, you may want to catch a flick at the nearest theater. Well, for a full Oakland experience you have to take a visit to the New Parkway Theater. With couches for comfortable sitting, a café and bar with local beer and wine that delivers to your seat, and special non-film events like World Cup watch parties, this theater is one of the most unique cinemas in the Bay Area. It also prides itself on its sustainability; almost everything they use is reusable and the staff and management strive to create as little waste as possible. So while you may think to yourself: “I live in awesome shared housing facility with a  community of great friends in one of the liveliest cities in the world, why would I ever want to leave?”, you can now see the great adventures that lie just 9 miles East in…. The Town.

San Francisco Student Dorm Room Decorating Tips to Make Your Small Space Fell like Home Year-Round!

Sep 13, 2018

Starting a new semester of college is scary. Living in a San Francisco dorm room? Even scarier. The transition from having your own space in your family home to a small cramped student housing space shared with 1-3 other roommates in San Francisco is a huge jump, and can be difficult to navigate. Lucky for you, we’ve got San Francisco dorm room design inspo by the dozen, and we want to help you make your San Francisco dorm room feel like home. So whether you are already living in San Francisco student housing  or a student about to move into one of our SF student rooms, we are here to help you make your shared housing in San Francisco feel like home, from the moment you move in through the rest of the year.

Tip 1: Take the Time.

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Before we even get started, lets talk about your intention going into this project. Take the time to really decorate and settle in. This is the place you will be living for the next year, your first year away from home! Take your time, spend some money, really make an effort to make the place feel like a home. The more you invest in your space, the most it will become YOUR space. We all get a little homesick down the line, and being able to come home to a clean, personal, warm, inviting, and organized space will make you feel settled.

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Tip 2: Pick a Color Scheme or Theme

 

 

Before you start shopping, figure out what you want your room to look like. Browse a few interior decorating magazines, check out dorm room inspo on Pinterest, make a mood board with colors and styles you like. Is yellow your happy color? Or are you more of a black and white kinda gal? Girly and frilly or modern and sleek? Pick your poison. Here are a few color matching inspiration ideas.

 

 

 

Tip 3: Make it Personal.

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If you feel lonely or homesick, rolling over to see your favorite pic of your dog, your family, or your BFF is an instant pick-me-up. Nothing cheers you up like cuddling with your childhood stuffed animal. And lets be real, having a stash of your favorite candy on hand will make even the worst day a little better.

Even if you are trying to start fresh and reinvent yourself in college, it isn’t ‘cool’ to leave everything that makes you you behind when you leave for school. Take a little piece of your past with you. That way, on a day when your new environment feels extra foreign, you have something familiar and comforting to rely on to get you through.

 

Tip 4: Lighting. Is. Everything.

Two words: Twinkle. Lights. The kind that make your heart feel extra cozy and remind you of winter time by the fireplace at home. Nothing can damper a mood like dingy or fluorescent lighting, and nothing brightens or warms a room quite like twinkle lights. If your dorm doesn’t allow the plug in kind, there are a number of battery-powered fairy lights that will make your ceiling twinkle. Other options? Glow-in-the-dark star stickers, fake candles, and color-changing ‘mood’ lamps are all dorm rule friendly and will do wonders towards your room’s lighting vibe.

 

Tip 5: And Plants. Plants are Also Everything.

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So are pillows, poofs, and (weirdly enough) a ton of regular household objects. There are a number of reasonably priced things you can use to spice up your room and make it look like home, including indoor plants, dried flowers, decorative pillows, printed photographs, and more. But we have already covered all of that! You can check out our other interior decorating blog posts for more info on these topics.

Decorating with plants.

Decorating with pillows and poufs.

Decorating with regular household objects.

 

Tip 6: Get Organized. Like, super organized.

Because trust me, you won’t have time once your semester picks up. The last thing you will want to do in between two essays, a pop quiz, three labs, and a midterm is color-coordinate your paper clips. So do it now, while you have time! Here is a little checklist for you:

  • Wall calendar with important dates (taken from club calendars, syllabi, and your class schedule) and goals (fitness, mental health, etc!) already penciled in.
  • Desk essentials, divided and organized: Pens, pencils, erasers, highlighters, calculator, printer paper, notebooks, planner, binders, etc!
  • Under bed storage: Trust us, there is no way your whole wardrobe will fit in that tiny little shared closet. You will need this more than you think.
  • Containers for nail polishes, first aid kit (advil, cold medicine, bandaids, etc), skin care stuff, socks, sports bras, snacks, etc!
  • A shower caddy with important toiletries.
  • Clothing organization things: velvet hangers (thinner and hold clothes better), small dividers (for socks, underwear, bras, sports bras, etc), command hooks (to hang belts, purses, hats, etc), a shoe rack.
  • If you want a few more important student organizational tips, check out our blog on back to school tips for students.

 

Tip 7: Consider Making a Statement.

We are not talking about your basic Urban Outfitter tie dye tapestry. Nothing makes a space look rad like a statement wall. Wallpaper can be purchased from any home decorating store or online, and can be temporarily stuck on to the wall (without damaging your dorm paint!) with removable mounting products like tack or sticky strips.  Or, if you are going for a tapestry, look for landscape scenes or patters, the kind of thing that will open up the room and make the wall look professionally done.

 

Tip 8: Make Seasonal Adjustments

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A few little touches can go a long way to making your dorm room feel like home year round. Think about it – your mom most likely puts out pumpkins for Halloween or twinkle lights for the holidays, so why shouldn’t you? Those little seasonal touches will do the most to keep your dorm feeling like a home away from home, no matter what time of year it is.

Also, consider a DIY! We have a great one up on autumnal wreath making– the perfect home decor piece to make your dorm feel like fall.

 

Using these tips, your dorm space is sure to feel like home!

Don’t have a San Francisco student dorm room for Fall semester? Check out our open San Francisco room rentals here.

To check out more small space decorating tips and articles like this one, click here.

Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to keep up with what is happening in San Francisco!

 

San Francisco Student Housing Presents: Back to School Tips You Need to Start Your Semester Off Right!

Sep 06, 2018

 

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Back to school season is officially here! The start of school can be stressful: looking for roommates in San Francisco, fighting to get a spot on a 100+ waitlist for your last prerec, figuring out whether or not you’ll actually need the $300 textbook for that class… Whether you are a college student living in our student housing in San Francisco, an international student exploring your new city, or a San Francisco grad student in dorm rooms for your last year, you should always feel prepared before and during the first few weeks of school so that you can begin your school year on a positive note!  With that being said, let’s get into some helpful tips and tricks for back to school to start your semester off right!
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  1. Organization

 

Remember that time when you had an important event to attend, but ended up being 30-minutes late because you had forgotten about it? Or the time you needed to find the handout that your professor gave you a few weeks ago to review for an upcoming test, but just can’t seem to find it? It is never too late to start getting organized for the upcoming school year, which means having good time management,  and getting the right supplies.

 

It’s never a bad idea to effectively date and plan out upcoming events, due dates, and other important occasions. So take advantage of calendars and agendas to keep track with everything happening at school and develop a good time managing skill and never miss another deadline! Use the few days before classes really pick up to plan ahead for your semester – pull key test and project dates from the syllabi you got on the first day and put them down in your calendar, block off class time on your calendar for every week so you never double book (pro tip: don’t forget to put the building and class number on your calendar for easy reference – it will save you the first week!), and highlight the deadline for club applications, campus events, or any other extracurricular dates you don’t want to forget. Additionally, you should always keep track of the different classes you are taking so that you won’t confuse them. When necessary, keep a folder for all the different subjects so that you won’t have to rummage through that huge stack of papers in the corner of your room to find that one English essay! Lasty, the key to staying organized is to also have all the supplies, which brings us to…

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  1. Getting The Right Supplies

 

Before heading to the store and grabbing whatever you first see on the shelves, make a checklist of all the supplies that you need for your classes. Don’t forget to check your course syllabus in advance if it is available to see if any of the supplies are already listed. Apart from the usual supplies (pencils, paper, notebooks, etc.), here is a short customizable list of essentials that we made which you might find helpful!

  • Sticky Notes
  • Wall calendar/Agenda
  • Binders and Subject Dividers
  • Highlighters
  • Permanent Markers
  • White-Out
  • Hole-puncher
  • Stapler
  • Scissors
  • Glue or Tape
  • Calculator (Don’t forget to check which type to purchase!)

Since different classes require different supplies, be sure to check the type of courses you are taking before heading out to the store!
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  1. Get Involved

Getting involved with the community around you through extracurriculars is an excellent way to make new friends and have a better school experience. Whether you are interested in sports, music, theater, or debate there will surely be a way for you to get involved and meet people with the same interests as you. Check out all of the clubs and organizations that your school offers before deciding on one that you want to join, and if your school doesn’t have the particular program that you are interested in, you can always talk with an administrator and start your own organization. Of course, if you are the adventurous type, you can also join something new or different and discover an interest that you never knew you had!

 

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  1. Do a Little Every Day

 

We all know the feeling of dread when a due date approaches after you have been hit with a case of procrastination. Skip the cramming and staying up till 2 a.m. and develop a healthy study habit by devoting a certain amount of time daily to homework or readings. Find out the time of day that works best for you and commit it to finishing up an assignment or project. This will also help with the stress of midterms and finals when those come up, since you would have already memorized and finished most of the content by doing a little every day!
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  1. Treat Yourself

After a long day of lectures, it is no surprise that you might feel completely worn out and all you want to do now is to jump straight into your bed in your student room in San Francisco. Remember that it is okay to relax and take a break from your school work and treat yourself to something nice! A short nap on your comfy bed, soaking in a warm bubble bath, or even just watching some of your favorite TV shows after a long day may be enough to clear your mind of stress. So just breathe, relax, and don’t forget to have fun during your time at school!

 

We hope these tips are helpful to you and wish you well in your upcoming school year!

If you are looking for a fall semester sublet, check out all of our available San Francisco apartments and room rentals! We have a number of vacancies on student housing and rooms in San Francisco, click here to see what is available!

Interested in more fun things to do in San Francisco? Check out our other blog posts!

Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to keep up with what is happening in San Francisco!

Post written by contributor Angela Cao.

Students in San Francisco: Urbanests Scholarship Winner!

Aug 23, 2018

Here at Urbanests, we love our students. For years, we have provided student housing in San Francisco for both local and international college students, and for years, we have been inspired by the passion and commitment to education we have witnessed from these individuals. The students who have passed through our San Francisco student dorm rooms have left behind a beautiful legacy, and today, we here at Urbanests want to do our best to celebrate that legacy.

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This year, we decided to start two new traditions, to honor and support our Urbanests students, both past and present.

The first is our Fall San Francisco Student Housing promotion. We are offering our San Francisco students and tenants a one time $100 off rent credit for a 4-month lease and a one time $200 off rent credit for a 9-month lease through the month of August using the student codes RB100 and RB200, respectively.  Furthermore, in honor of those San Francisco student roommates who always have each others’ backs, we are also offering a ‘refer a friend’ promotion to current and referred tenants, who can receive a $100 rent credit each through the month of August when they use the code RBRAF. We hope to help ease the financial burden of student rent in San Francisco, as a tribute to the many incredible students that have lived in our halls.

If interested, please contact reservations@urbanests.com and mention the promotion and/or your friends name with contact information.

The second way we are honoring our students this Fall, and the reason you are reading this today, is through our new annual Urbanests $750 Student Scholarship! We asked students across the United States to submit a 750 word essay detailing the importance of their major in today’s society. We wanted to see a clear passion for their chosen field of study, a love and lust for learning, and that same degree of creativity that has so inspired us about our Urbanests students over the years.

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We were blown away with the number of incredible submissions we received, and from the clear passion these students have for their chosen fields! Our team here at Urbanests is humbled by the incredible students who took their time to put their love for learning to paper for us, and we are so grateful at the opportunity to be inspired by all of these future industry leaders.

Unfortunately, there could only be one winner.

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And that winner is…

Susannah Bland, a Global Studies Major from Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama!

In her essay, Susannah Bland discussed her experience as a Global Studies Major, an experience that has taken her on a number of life-changing adventures. Susannah’s Global Studies major took her to a remote village high on a mountain in Nepal, where she helped build a community center. To a small room in Kathmandu, where she was given the opportunity to listen to a Nepali woman’s heroic escape from sex trafficking and current work to create an organization to help survivors like herself. Her major has changed her view on her own day-to-day life, as she challenged herself to subside on a class-simulated SNAP budget (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), living on less than $5 a day for food for a Hunger Studies class. Not only did Susannah’s essay underscore how her major has shifted her world views, ignited her curiosity, and pushed her far beyond her comfort zone, it also shone with the passion she feels about her ‘Global Studies Family’, and her overwhelming desire to make the world a better place.

We here at Urbanests are honored to offer Susannah Bland the $750 Annual Urbanests Scholarship for her education at Auburn University. We are so grateful for the large number of amazing submissions we received, and we are looking forward to the years of inspiration and learning that we have ahead with our Urbanests students.

To your unending curiosity and love of learning,

The Urbanests Team.

 

 

To find your San Francisco student housing for Fall, check us out on www.urbanest.com