Opsis Cooperative

It’s actually a pretty great place to live. I’ve lived here my entire 3 years at law school, and it’s been a very pleasant experience. The price, the culture, and the community all made this apartment an excellent place to live.
Opsis is a «co-​op» or a cooperative house. The idea is that the entire complex and its sister co-​ops are completely run by its tenants. Most basically that means you contribute labor to help maintain the premises. In exchange you pay much less rent. In fact, it has to be one of the cheapest apartments in west campus. Especially considering that you get your own bedroom and your own bathroom. Yep, that’s right – every apartment is a fully-​furnished 2 bed 2 bath.
But the labor demands are not extreme. You perform one hour of labor a week, and then once a semester the entire house (20 tenants) comes together at an event where they tackle larger projects. There’s also a management caretaker that conducts specialized repairs. The management does infrequently hire people to perform professional maintenance.
Probably the best thing about Opsis is its culture. The risk of living in West Campus is that you’ll get sucked into the undergrad party scene and lifestyle. Law school demands serious attention to your studies – so I could not afford to surround myself with neighbors who party hard. Because Opsis explicitly targets international and grad students – people who care about their studies – it’s an oasis of responsible, mature people.
There’s also a sense of community here that really suits the life of a committed student. The co-​op system focuses on building a community, so here at Opsis they host social events every month and have house meetings every two weeks. House meetings are undoubtedly the worst, but they’re necessary – and they help teach you to make collaborative decisions with fellow tenants that impact the immediate community. You also perform labor with another tenant – the person I’ve worked with for the last two years has actually become a great friend of mine!
Now, there are a few things to complain about. As a member of the community, you inevitably have to deal with people to sort out communal issues, which can actually be a drag sometimes. The building is old and the bathrooms are poorly designed. The furnishings are generally of mixed quality.
Still, for the price and the location, Opsis remains a great investment. It has helped me save a lot of money, and has been a welcome refuge from the stresses of law school.
Austin has become a very desirable place to live, and as affordable housing close to campus and downtown becomes more scarce, Opsis stands out as a great place to live for the committed student. Highly recommend.

I LOVE Opsis! Perfect place to focus on schoolwork while still living cooperatively in a close-​knit community. Highly recommend to grad students and current co-​opers that need a little more space/​place to concentrate. Apartments are the perfect size for two people. Cat lovers will feel at home here. However, there is a unicorn infestation but most members don’t seem to mind.