Apartment Hunters: 360 Panorama

For my 360 panorama, I decided to head out to the Campus Lodge parking lot and capture my building and the surrounding area with my phone. Every Monday at the Lodge is always peaceful and quiet, and today the weather was absolutely gorgeous. It only serves as more of a reason to live here if you have the chance! Enjoy!

Apartment Hunters: Slideshow

For my audio slideshow, I took pictures from my visits to West 20, the Enclave, and Campus Lodge! The song is the instrumental to Drake and Future's "Digital Dash", and all the rights to that song go to them. The slideshow was also uploaded to my personal website at plaza.ufl.edu. Enjoy!

Apartment Hunters: Campus Lodge Pool Party

This upcoming weekend on April 2nd, Campus Lodge will be hosting their monthly pool party for residents and guests alike to attend. The party will be taking place from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. There is going to be a live DJ, food consisting of pizza and burgers, and a host of water sports like pool basketball and pool volleyball. I heard there might even be a raffle giving away a mystery prize!

I caught up with lodge resident, R.j. Walsh, who is also one of my three roommates at the apartment complex. I asked him if he was excited about the pool party and his response did not disappoint. Here's what he said:




Like my roommate R.j. said, events such as pool parties present a great opportunity for various people at our apartment complex to interact. Good food, upbeat music, and good weather all help foster great neighborly relationships that can carry on past college.

I for one know I need to do a better job at meeting my neighbors, and Campus Lodge does a great job facilitating that desire. This pool party is not at all going to be as big as our end of the year bash, but nevertheless it should be a fun experience for all those who attend.

Apartment Hunters: YouTube Interview

During a beautiful day at Campus Lodge, I interviewed Lodge resident (and my roommate) William Davis. During the interview we discussed:

• His thoughts on living at Campus Lodge
• Comparisons to other places in Gainesville he had lived at prior
• If he would recommend Campus Lodge to other students in Gainesville

Beforehand we shot some hoops at Campus Lodge's basketball court. It's an activity we do every week to stay active, destress, and bond as friends/roommates. Without further adieu, here is the "Campus Lodge Experience!"

Apartment Hunters: Live Tweeting

At the end of February, some friends of mine who had seen my blog asked if they could visit Campus Lodge sometime as they were searching for a new apartment to live in for next year. I was thrilled to hear this, and told them that my roommate Connor Salas (who works at Campus Lodge) could give them a tour!

They scheduled their tour for March 6th, 2016, at around 3 pm. Not too busy, I decided to tag along on the tour and live tweet the experience to all my followers!

Tweet #1

Saw that Campus Lodge was giving out a free scooter if u tour in March, so I referred some friends and am on a tour w/ them #CampusLodge

— Zack Gonzalez (@Gonzo5182) March 6, 2016

Tweet #2

Here's the promo for the scooter that I found on #Instagram #ApartmentHunters pic.twitter.com/JPBEFgAWUa

— Zack Gonzalez (@Gonzo5182) March 6, 2016

Tweet #3

We are starting out by looking at the 4 model rooms they have in the main office. I have good ol Room A in my apartment #ICanHearEverything

— Zack Gonzalez (@Gonzo5182) March 6, 2016

Tweet #4

In regards to room setup, the options of a 2/2, 3/3, and 4/4 are available. I have a 4/4, man I love my 3 roommates #Building3Represent

— Zack Gonzalez (@Gonzo5182) March 6, 2016

Tweet #5 

Nice view of our gym, I remember the days when I used to lift religiously #MakeZackFitAgain pic.twitter.com/5kXcly95WP

— Zack Gonzalez (@Gonzo5182) March 6, 2016

Tweet #6 

Ah the pool, it is here where @willdavis21 and I well in love with #CampusLodge pic.twitter.com/0hIgv9iXdU

— Zack Gonzalez (@Gonzo5182) March 6, 2016

Tweet #7 

Also worth mentioning I went in the pool after hours once and needless to say that security was not happy #WeGotAWarningTho

— Zack Gonzalez (@Gonzo5182) March 6, 2016

Tweet #8 

2. The basketball courts, I've balled here so many times with @willdavis21 and @rjwalsh95 #BallIIsLife pic.twitter.com/X7XaQgtzAr

— Zack Gonzalez (@Gonzo5182) March 6, 2016

Tweet #9 

Talking about security now, I couldn't feel safer at Campus Lodge with the perimeter being gated and security guards always on watch

— Zack Gonzalez (@Gonzo5182) March 6, 2016

Tweet #10 

My friends are being told now about rent, in my opinion, $490 is def worth it considering the amenities #CampusLodgePerks

— Zack Gonzalez (@Gonzo5182) March 6, 2016

Tweet #11 

The tour has now ended. Big shoutout to @connorsalas for giving my friends a tour and an opportunity to win a free scooter! #CampusLodge

— Zack Gonzalez (@Gonzo5182) March 6, 2016

Replies

My roommate saw I was blowing up social media again, so naturally he gave me a hard time about it.

@Gonzo5182 is this for Zack Knows Apartments?

— Will Davis (@WillDavis21) March 6, 2016

In response to Tweet #3:

We can hear you too, fam @connorsalas @WalshRJ95 https://t.co/495oYdzo62

— Will Davis (@WillDavis21) March 6, 2016

Conclusion
The tour was a great success! Hopefully one of my friends can win a free scooter! More importantly though, I hope the tour opened their eyes and that they will be living at Campus Lodge for the 2016 fall semester!

Apartment Hunters: Instagram

Here are five pictures that I took while out in the field apartment hunting! Enjoy!

West 20: 

In my first day in the field for UF Apartment Hunters, I visited my friend @_dan__z_ at @live_west20 and enjoyed the great sites that this complex had to offer! #TheJourneyBegins #West20 #ResidentAmentitiesAreOnPoint

A photo posted by Gonzo (@gonzo5182) on Apr 20, 2016 at 5:26pm PDT

The Enclave: 

Upon leaving #West20, I headed next to #TheEnclave and visited my friend @jkil15! We had a good time catching up as he showed me around his place. It was a very big apartment complex that was connected to Gainesville Place. #BeautifulSites #Poolside #BusRoutesOnPoint

A photo posted by Gonzo (@gonzo5182) on Apr 20, 2016 at 5:32pm PDT

The Bartram: 

After gassing up my car, I left from #TheEnclave to #TheBartram and visited my friends @anthonyboullosa and @jon_shuba. Of course it took me a while to see them as I had to drive up six floors to find guest parking in their never ending parking garage! Unfortunately I missed their roommate @kylehaynes2180 as he may have been out studying while I was visiting. While there, I was able to visit their pool and snap some pictures of the courtyard. I promise you this place is like a hotel! #NightSwimming #ParkingIsAlwaysSuchAProcess #SecurityHereIsOnPointThoWithAllTheGates

A photo posted by Gonzo (@gonzo5182) on Apr 20, 2016 at 5:33pm PDT

Before heading into the Bartram, I took some time to stand and just take in the sites of the Swamp and O-Dome from so far away. That should give you an idea of how tall this parking garage is. #TheBartram #BeautifulView #Sunset

A photo posted by Gonzo (@gonzo5182) on Feb 21, 2016 at 2:00pm PST

Campus Lodge: 

Concluding my journey for the day, I returned to @campuslodgegainesville and took some pics of my very own apartment and our nice state of the art gym! #LiveLifeInTheLodge #Home #CampusLodgeForTheWin #TheJourneyEnds

A photo posted by Gonzo (@gonzo5182) on Apr 20, 2016 at 5:37pm PDT

Apartment Hunters: Valentine's Day