FAQ

The houses are at 960 and 964 South Plymouth Avenue, slightly less than a mile from the footbridge crossing the Genesee River to University of Rochester.

It costs $460 to live at Ant Hill, including rent, utilities, and food, or $385 per person if sharing a room. Please see the complete breakdown of our fees for more information.

By contrast it costs about $890/month to live and eat on campus at University of Rochester and about $1000/month to live and eat on campus at RIT.

Check out the Gallery or visit http://flickr.com/photos/tobin/tags/coop

We have a 15 megabit downstream and 1 megabit upstream (this is the fastest residential service available in the area). Wired and wireless access is available in both houses via a WDS mesh network. We also have VOIP phone service to 960 and 964, so long distance is free for all calls to the US and Canada. Calls to most developed countries outside North America run between 3-8 cents per minute.

Yes, if there are rooms available.

Yes, it's possible.

Yes. Behind one of the houses is a parking lot that can fit approximately eight cars and there is plenty of street parking. We do, however, encourage bicycling and other means of transit.

Yes there are, and yes they go downtown. The 18 and 19 bus routes go by and there is a stop right in front of the house. 18 and 19 are the same route, one is clockwise and the other counter-clockwise. See the RTS website for more info on when the buses come and how often they run. Route 6 down Jefferson Avenue is also within walking distance.

One day we will have floor plans up on this website. The rooms are big enough for a bed and a desk, with some floorspace left over for tap-dancing and/or yoga. You'll probably find that you spend a lot less time in your room than you would've in a dorm setting. Most of the rooms have closets.

When we have vacancies, we run on a first come, first serve basis. We can't hold a room for you until you sign the lease, so the sooner you confirm the better your chances of getting a room.

The first step is to look around this wiki and contact the Housing and Hospitality manager (housing@ant-hill.org). You're also encouraged to attend our weekly potluck ("Thursgiving"). Even if you can't attend potluck, we'd like to meet you in person if you're local or somewhat local to Rochester.

Sure, as long as you don't mind too much what other people are eating. We will probably tend to be eating "low on the food chain," since this food is cheaper, more environmentally responsible, healthier, and easier to prepare in bulk. Cooking is done on a rotating basis, and we'll be accommodating towards dietary restrictions.

One of our houses, dubbed "The House Next Door" (aka 964) has cats. We aren't really looking to add to that number, but they are there. The main house is animal free.

If you want to be involved in the co-op but want to have furry pets that run around, your best bet may be to move into a house or apartment nearby where pets are allowed and be involved with the co-op without living in a co-op house.

It's about 5 miles to RIT. That's a half hour bike ride largely along bike trails, with some road travel required just before arriving at RIT. There's two main routes to choose from, on the east or west sides of the river. For both routes, go south on South Plymouth up and over the hill and to the pedestrian bridge by the UR. For the western route, take the Riverway Trail south to the Genesee Valley Greenway trail. Stay on the Greenway until you end up in the parking lot of the Jet Dinner on Scottsville Road. Take a left on Scottsville and go about a mile, then take a left on Jefferson. Go over the bridge and take a right onto East River Road, then take your first left. For the eastern route, cross the river on the pedestrian bridge and take a right on the bike trail on the other side. You can meander your way through the park and end up on East River Road near the entrance to the golf course. Take a right and go several miles; RIT is the first left after you cross Jefferson.

The #18 and #19 buses go to/from UR (and other useful places), and right now there is an inter-campus shuttle between UR and RIT. However, the UR-RIT bus is reportedly being discontinued. There was some talk of making some noise to prevent this.

Also, there are usually several RIT students in the house and in the neighborhood, so carpooling is a possibility.

You can expect door-to-door times of 20-40 minutes to and from RIT.

The main house is:

ANT HILL COOPERATIVE INC

960 S PLYMOUTH AVE
ROCHESTER NY 14608-2907

(the "House Next Door" is 964 South Plymouth Avenue)