Staying in New Haven over the summer is an awesome experience. You get to enjoy Yale’s beautiful campus during the warm summer months while doing something that you (hopefully) really enjoy like research, volunteering, or interning. However, perhaps one of the more stressful parts of a New Haven summer is finding a place to stay. Residential college housing is closed to most students staying here over the summer, so students are tasked with finding their own places to live. When I went through this process it was a little stressful at times, however I ended up discovering several resources that facilitated me finding the perfect apartment for the summer.
The first and perhaps best resource I found was actually Facebook. There are several Facebook groups like Yale Off Campus Housing or Yale Grad Free & For Sale & For Rent which are closed groups filled with only Yale-affiliated people. In these groups, upperclassmen, graduate students, and professional school students often advertise apartments that they are renting out for just a few months in the summer. This is a really great arrangement because it allows undergraduates staying here over the summer to have an affordable place to stay that is often close to Yale’s campus without going through the process of leasing an apartment on their own. This is actually how I found my summer apartment; I looked through the group often and messaged people who posted listings that matched what I was looking for. After a couple weeks of searching I toured a couple of apartments and then settled on one that ended up being a perfect fit!
The next avenue I encountered was Apartments.com. This is a good resource in that it can show you lots of different options in every part of New Haven. This is also a great place to look if you want to gauge what pricing will be for the average apartment. However, while this option allows you to view a wide variety of places to stay, the listings are typically for one-year leases which poses more of a problem if you’re just looking to stay for the summer. However, if you are looking for a more long-term option or you just want to get a sense of what’s out there before you start seriously searching, this could be a good place to start.
Finally, a much more informal way to find a place to stay is through friends. Lots of students choose to stay in New Haven every summer so it’s worth asking your friends where they’re staying and if they want/need an extra person to stay with. You should also keep an eye on any big messaging platforms such as class GroupMe chats because people constantly post that they are looking for roommates for the summer or that they have an extra room available. This is a good option to keep in mind while searching because it gives you the opportunity to stay with people that you already know which can make the summer housing process a lot easier.
Finding housing can be stressful in any situation, but luckily New Haven is home to lots of rental options and lots of undergrads that are in the same boat of looking for summer housing. Even though it may take some work to find the perfect summer apartment, there are several resources and avenues that can help you out in your search.
