WIFI is not good.

Palo Verde is very affordable compared to all other option for students in Orange County, but that comes with a couple caveats. If you live in a 2 or 3 bedroom, you will be assigned a roommate at random. I had a positive experience with my random roommate assignment my first year and then persuaded the housing office to let me move into an apartment with my friend my next 2 years.

It is sometimes hard to get the office to do proper maintenance and clean up. When I first moved in, the old tenant had left dirty thoroughly used furniture which the people at PV just left piled in the middle of the living room. We called the housing office to have it removed multiple times, but to no avail. Then I had to steam clean the carpet myself after I PAID to have the old furniture removed, and it was absolutely disgusting.

The building has started switching to wooden floors which is a good replacement for the ugly carpet that makes it hard to see stain at the moment.

Otherwise, the beds are pretty spacious. I have a bed and desk in my room, but no dresser and there is plenty of space to walk around. The kitchen has a lot of storage space, but the stoves are electric (not the end of the world). Laundry machines are located outside the building which can be a bit cumbersome, but again, manageable.

They have heat in the winer, but there is no AC for the summer. So be prepared with multiple fans when it inevitably gets to high 90s/100s in the summer.

They do have quite a lot of events that are free for graduate students to help them mix and mingle as well as for families that live in the complex. There is even a playground and opportunities to get garden plots.

Overall mixed experience, but it is definitely the most affordable for wha it offers. AND, it's only a 10 minute walk to campus. Grocery store is 5 min away. UTC is 5 min away. The UCI Gym is right across the street.

Location is quite good.

But not so clean.

Hard to get into grad housing, but if you can it is a very inexpensive option. Because it is basically subsidized housing (i.e. rent is set below average for area) for graduate students you do have to put up with some things, like thin walls and university policies. Be careful in choosing a roommate, some of the PhD students here are, lets say, difficult to get along with. Shared laundry rooms on-site, so sadly no in-unit washer/dryer. However, it is cheap, the grounds and landscaping are very nice. Proximity to school/gym makes for an easy commute, and it is easy to request a repair/service for your apartment. Some people have pest problems (ants), we have been fairly lucky. There is also an organic garden where you can get on the waiting list for a plot.

Convenient location and a price you can’t beat! Right next to the gym, bus station and a 25 min walk to MedEd.

Great if you can get it! Sadly med students are last in the housing guarantee, meaning you most likely won't be placed here. But for those who apply to on-campus housing and stick it out to the last minute, you have a much higher chance of getting an apartment (most people will freak out with only a month to go until school starts and rescind their housing app, which moves those who stick it out further up the list). You should definitely request to live with another med student though, many of the PhD students have poor social skills and quite frankly all of my friends (approx. 12 people) who live/lived in this housing have had poor experiences with their PhD roommates. The benefits of this housing is there's an organic garden you can get on the wait list for. You can walk/bike to school. Or if you choose to drive it's a 5 min drive to MedEd max. Right across the street from the ARC gym! And the rent is very very cheap compared to other places in the area. They allow cats (or other animals if they're certified emotional support animals). The housing office is also very responsive about repairs.

Graduate housing, nothing special, affordable pricing

Very close to campus (10min walk to Merage School). Apt itself is very basic/nothing special--older appliances, no A/C, and ugly indoor/outdoor carpeting & linoleum, but incredibly cheap at $630/month for my own room (incl. all utilities except electricity). However, you must apply for it through the school's on-campus housing program, and it can be difficult for MBA students to get on-campus housing. Management and maintenance crew are awesome, though.

My apt also had old pipes that occasionally back-up and cause gray-water to flood the bathtub, but I think this is an atypical experience. Maintenance is always very responsive to my needs.

good. Right across the street from campus. Easy walk.

The apartment itself is nice. It's big and has a lot of nice facilities. My biggest gripe is that the noise levels are out of control. There seems to be very little insulation so if you live on the second floor, be prepared to hear your downstairs neighbors bumping music at all hours and your upstairs neighbors to be stomping around.

I also had termites earlier this year, as well as a huge problem with spiders. They literally live in my room.