Once You've Found a Place to Live
If you decide to live in an apartment that includes utilities, cable television, and some phone service, you may not need to deal with the issue of establishing these services. It is recommended that you ask your landlord or rental agent how to set up these services for your apartment. Some apartments include certain types of utilities (water, trash pick up, etc.) that you will not have to establish on your own.
How to Set Up Your Utilities top>>
The name of the utility company that supplies electric, water and gas for Gainesville is Gainesville Regional Utilities, or GRU.
GRU Office Contact Information
Website: http://www.gru.com
Phone: (352) 334-3434 or (800) 818-3436
Office address: 301 SE 4th Avenue, Downtown Gainesville
Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday
To establish service, you must apply in person. You will be asked for a copy of your passport or another document such as a driver's license that will prove who you are. Explain that you are an exchange student and do not have a social security number.
You will be required to pay a security deposit of $150 or $200 depending on the services requested. In addition, there is a one-time connection charge ranging from $15-$45. If you would like your utilities connected the same day you apply for service, there is an additional change of $20.
Cable Television top>>
To establish cable television service, contact:
Cox Communications
http://www.cox.com
(888) 269-9693
6020 NW 43 Street or 2725 NE Hawthorne Road
Lobby hours: Monday-Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Hawthorne Road Location)
The cost for analog cable ranges from $11.10 to $38.70 plus tax per month. High Speed Internet Service is $49.95 per month without cable hook up or $39.95 per month with cable service. There are eight different digital cable packages available. A deposit of a minimum of $40.00 is required based on the services requested. Installation fees apply will also be applied.
Phone Service top>>
To establish phone service, contact:
Bell South
http://www.bellsouth.com/orderservice/establish_new_service.html
(800) 753-0710 or (352) 780-2355
Deposit amounts vary depending on the location and type of service you require.
Deposits or phone bills can be paid at:
Cash-A-Check
2635 NW 13th Street (located in the Wal-Mart shopping Center).
How to Make a Phone Call top>>
Once you set up your phone service, you will have to select a long-distance company if you will be making international or state-to-state calls from your residence. Many of the largest long-distance companies have special plans for customers who make a lot of international calls.
Phone cards can be purchased in larger stores such as Target and Wal-Mart as well as gas stations and convenience stores. Some phone cards can be expensive. You can also purchase phone cards in your home country that can be used to call home from the U.S.
To make a call from a pay phone, you do not have to enter the area code if you are calling a local number. The area code for Gainesville and Alachua County is 352. For example, if the phone number lists (352) 392-5323 and you are calling from Gainesville, then you only need to dial 392-5323.
To make a long distance call to an international number, you must first dial the international access code 011, followed by the country and city code for that number. A complete list of country codes and major city codes can be found in the front of the phone book.
On the UF campus, there are several free phones. These phones are located
in student areas (in front of Library West, at Turlington Plaza, Carleton
Auditorium, inside the Reitz Union among other locations) and can usually
be found in yellow boxes. You can use these phones to make local calls. You
must first dial a '9' at these phones.