Women In Computing @ Indiana University

 
Information for Incoming Students
Housing • Apartment Reviews • Bloomington Utilities • Transportation • Shopping • Health Care

Indiana University is located in Bloomington, Indiana. You may want to check out the city of Bloomington website for information about the city. Local events, information, and classifieds are published in Indiana Daily Student and Hoosier Times.

Housing
  • General Housing Review
    A student review of housing in Bloomington.
  • IU GPSO Housing Links
    A webpage maintained by the Graduate and Professional Student Organization at Indiana University that has links to apartments with graduate student discounts, classifieds, etc.
  • Student Legal Services
    Before signing any housing contract, you may want Student Legal Services to look over the contract to make sure it is lawful. Remember, once you sign a lease, you are bound to it even if it is not lawful.
  • Hallmark Rentals
    Search Available Bloomington Rentals using Hallmark Rentals website
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Apartment Reviews (Back to Top)

Bloomington Utilities (Back to Top)

Transportation
  • To/From the Indianapolis Airport (Approximately a 45 minute ride one-way)
    • Bloomington Shuttle: The Bloomington Shuttle Service runs a number of shuttle buses daily from the airport. A one-way ticket costs $20 and can be purchased at the airport, although reservations may also be made (by calling 1-800-589-6004) or (1-812-332-6004). Buses leave every two hours between 6:40 a.m. and 10:40 p.m. For an up-to-date airport schedule, please refer to http://www.bloomingtonshuttle.com/airport.html

    • Classic Touch Limousine Service: If you have have to travel between 10:40pm and 6:40am, you can use Classic Touch Limousine Service. Reservations can be made at http://www.classictouchlimo.com/rates.html, (locally) 812-339-7269 or (out-of-town) 800-319-0082. A one-way ride costs $45 (cheaper than a night in a hotel in Indy) and a two-way ride costs $72. If you talk with the people at the limousine service, they will usually let you buy a two way and use it later (i.e. you schedule your return trip for a month later and call to reschedule it a week before the day you were supposed to return until you need to use the return trip. This is ideal for late/early arrival/departures during holiday breaks or emergency trips).
  • In Bloomington
    • IU Transportation: IU provides a bus service to get around campus. Students can either purchase a bus pass at the beginning of the semester or pay per bus ride.
    • Bloomington Transit: Bloomington provides bus services near most apartment complexes in the area, around Bloomington, and around the campus. Students ride free when they show their student ID.
    • Parking on Campus: Once you have received your student ID, you can go to the parking office in Franklin Hall (right near the Sample Gates) and buy a parking permit. If you are an AI, you can buy an A or C permit. If you are an RA, you can purchase a C permit. An A permit is more expensive and has more areas to park (A permits can park in C and E spaces). There are A and C parking areas close to Lindley Hall, however, they fill up quickly (by 8:30am during the school year, the parking lot is full). Two hour parking is available on the street in downtown. Remember - if you park illegally on campus there is at least a $50 fine. If you park illegally downtown, it is at least a $15 fine (but, if you park in a 15 minute parking area illegally, you'll get ticketed every 15 minutes!)
    • Biking: Bloomington is a great place to bike. Some roads have bike lanes and bike routes are sprinkled throughout the city. Need to ship your bike here or buy a new one? Check out The Bicycle Garage or Bikesmiths. Don't have money for a bike? Then you may want to check out The Bloomington Bike Project - if you volunteer at the Bike Project for a specified number of hours, you can build your own bike for free! The Bloomington Bike Club has rides throughout the week to see different sites in and around Bloomington. IU requires students to register their bike yearly for $5. IU believes this will help prevent theft, recover stolen bikes, and prevent students from getting tickets if the bike is parked illegally. Registering also helps them identify and improve the biker facilities (it's easy to get a spot to lock your bike right outside of Lindley Hall).
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Shopping

Indiana University has a public classifieds newsgroup where people can post or request various items (computer, washer, dryer, Windows 3.1 installation disks...almost anything). To view the newsgroup, subscribe to iu.classified.

  • General
    • Target (East Side of Town) Target is near the mall. Head east on 3rd street and turn right onto College Mall Road. Target will be on your left.
    • Walmart (West Side of Town) Walmart is on 2nd Street/Bloomfield Road. You can easily get there by taking 37 and getting off at the Bloomfield Road exit.
    • Kmart (East and West Side of Town) The West side Kmart is on 3rd Street. You can easily get there by taking 37 to the 3rd Street exit. The East side Kmart is close to the mall. Go east on 3rd Street - pass the mall on your right. Kmart will soon appear on your left.
    • Sam's Club(West Side of Town) Sam's club is in the same parking lot as Walmart. Sam's Club will let you have a day pass if you are not a member. They have beds, furniture, and bulk food items.
  • Housing
    • Lowes (West Side of Town) Lowes is off of 3rd street. You can easily get there by taking 37 and watching for the store.
    • Bed Bath and Beyond(West Side of Town) Bed Bath and Beyond is in the same strip mall as Lowes.
    • Kohls(West Side of Town) Kohls is in the same strip mall as Lowes.
  • Food
    • Co-ops/Farmers Markets
      • Bloomingfoods(West and East Side of Town) Bloomingfoods is a member-owned grocer. The East side store is close to the mall and Kmart. The West side store is on Kirkwood (5th street) near downtown. Bloomingfoods sells organic food and free-trade coffee. Bloomingfoods also has a farmers market in its parking lot from May-October on Saturdays from 7am-12noon and on Thursdays from 5pm-7pm.
      • Farmer's Market: (West and East side of town) There are two farmers market locations in Bloomington that are open seasonally. Bloomingfoods has a farmers market (see above for details). The Bloomington Community Farmers Market is located on Morton Street in the Showers Complex. The market is open on Saturday from 7am-12noon May-October and on Tuesdays from 4pm-7pm June-September. The farmers market has fresh, local produce, kettle corn, music, local activism booths, honey, fresh baked goods, and much more.
    • International Grocers
      • Sahara Mart (106 E. Second St.)

        Sahara Mart sells food items from all around the world: from oriental to European varieties. It has a good selection basically of anything required for interesting quality cooking: a variety of exotic spices, extensive selection of (hot) sauces and different kinds of chutneys, pastas, rice, olive oils and vinegars. Olives, a variety of fresh cheese (e.g., mozzarella, feta), grains, lentils, granola, coffee and tea can be purchased as bulk items.

        Sahara Mart has a small and inexpensive selection of fresh produce, such as bell peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, as well as some packaged cheeses and sausages and German bread.

        They also sell organic shampoos and soaps. Some people go to Sahara Mart exclusively for their selection of health products, which are said to be cheaper than for instance in Bloomingfoods. They also sell French coffee presses and mortars, as well as incense sticks.

        Some people say that Sahara Mart is expensive, but I don't really think so. On Tuesdays they have a discount day: everything is 10% off.

      • The Oriental International Market (408 E. Fourth St.)

        International Market on 4th Street has somewhat smaller selection of spices and sauces than Sahara Mart, and they don't sell any bulk item, but some basic items for international cooking can be found. However, they have more varying selection of fresh produce, for instance onions, sweet potatoes, peppers, zucchini, cabbage and some fruits, varying with the season. The origin of these produce is unclear; I doubt if they are locally grown or organic.

        They also have a gyro/falafel lunch buffet for dine-in or carry-out.

    • Markets/Supermarkets
      • Faris Brothers Market is on North Walnut (208 North Walnut; phone 336-6323; Hours: Monday through Saturday 5:30am-3:00pm) Faris Brothers Market is known for its meat delivery service and selection of meats. This store has a smaller selection of other food items and will deliver them along with your meat selections.
      • K.C. Country Market is on Second Street close to Henderson. It has a basic selection of food items, both fresh and produced, a decent selection of beers and a few wines, along with some other household stuff (i.e. laundry detergent, toilet paper, kitchen utensils, etc.). The market also sells some locally produced items such as chicken.
      • Kroger There are four Kroger's in the area. If you have to go to Kroger on South College, please go during the day and with someone (actually, if you really need something, go down the road further to the Marsh - it's safer). Please see the website for the Kroger nearest you.
      • Marsh(North, East, South, and West Sides of Town) There are four Marsh's in Bloomington. The East side Marsh is very nice (123 S. Kingston Drive) - they have a great produce selection, nice salad bar, and items that most stores would not have. The Southwest side Marsh is nice (2424 S. Walnut Street) - it has a decent salad bar, however the store replaces a lot of brand name items with no-frills (this may cause problems if you are allergic to some dyes, fillers, etc.). The North side Marsh is on 1825 Kinser Pike near Avers Pizza. The West side Marsh is on 3600 W. Third. All Marsh's are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
      • Mr. D's (East Side of Town) Mr D's is a small, nice supermarket. Mr. D's has a nice produce section, reasonable flowers, a good salad bar, sells Boarshead coldcuts and plays classical music! To get to Mr. D's go east on 3rd, turn right on College Mall Road. Mr. D's will be on your right.
      • Save-a-lot (North Side of Town) The selection is not huge, and SAL is not famous for organic produce, but it has some brand name items. Especially, some veggies, bell peppers, carrots and Chiquita bananas are much cheaper than in other places. Also, the clientele is somewhat different from Kroger's and Marsh', but I have not found the place unsafe, when we used to go there.
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Health Care (Back to Top)

Disclaimer:

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WIC makes no representations whatsoever about any other web site which you may access through this one. When you access a non-WIC web site, please understand that it is independent from WIC, and that WIC has no control over the content on that web site. In addition, a link to a non-WIC web site does not mean that WIC endorses or accepts any responsibility for the content, or the use, of such web site. It is up to you to take precautions to ensure that whatever you select for your use is free of such items as viruses, worms, trojan horses and other items of a destructive nature.

The views and opinions of authors expressed on WIC web sites do not necessarily state or reflect those of Indiana University or the Computer Science Department, and they may not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.

Pheww! Done! What a sad world we live in that we have to put all this here :(