The very first decision you need to make (after you choose to attend UTD of course) is where you should live. There are lots of options, and I'll lay a few out here, but of course you can always reach out to some of the current students and see where they live.
First, we do have on-campus housing that many of our grad students choose and which your stipend can cover, but it might be a bit more expensive than some of the off-campus options. At UTD, the apartment-style housing is in University Village, which is quite large and is very close to many of the buildings on campus. To learn more and see specific options and pricing, you can go to their website here. Just note that the prices listed are per bedroom so if you apply for a 2-bedroom apartment, you will have a roommate.
Additionally, if you'd like to live off-campus, there are many apartment complexes within a few miles of campus, as well as several neighborhoods which frequently offer rental houses.
If you're worried about transportation, or just don't want to pay for parking, you should know that not only do you get a free DART pass (the public transit of the Dallas area), UTD actually has its own "Comet Cruisers" which are DART buses that take you to and from campus. Here are the routes taken (as of Summer 2020) so you can find housing near a stop.
For off-campus housing, here are a few of the apartment complexes current students are living for an idea of what works on our budget.
One major perk of attending UTD is how close we are to all kinds of entertainment options. Dallas has some of the best restaurants, bars, museums, and stores there are. There is always live music to be found, from major stars touring in the area, to smaller venues hosting local acts. In addition, we're close to several parks if you're looking to get outdoors for a day or go camping for the weekend. Below are some of our favorite places, but of course there are way too many for us to ever be able to list in one place.