Let's Get Real About Living Off Campus

By Brittany Loeffler on February 19, 2017

Most colleges and universities require their freshman class to live in dorms on campus.

Living in a dorm is all part of the college experience: sharing a tiny space with someone you found on the Internet or were randomly matched with and forgoing a full kitchen in order to eat microwaved meals for a year. It’s a great place to meet new people and make friends.

After living in a dorm you may be given the chance to move off campus, which can have its advantages and disadvantages.

Cheaper Rent

Living in a dorm can be a little pricey depending on where you choose to go to school. The average amount students spend on living in a dorm is around $10,000 per year. If you move off campus, rent is sure to be much cheaper.

Think about it: if you split a three-bedroom apartment with three roommates for $1,500, you’re only paying $500 per month. That’s only $6,000 for a full year! You only live in a dorm for about eight months out of the year.

If you are taking out student loans or are trying to save some money, off-campus living is something to think about.

via Pixabay 

More Space

When you live in an apartment or house off campus, you are guaranteed more space than when you live in a dorm. You will most likely have your own, private bedroom that is bigger than half of a dorm room.

A huge benefit of living off campus is having a full kitchen! Having a kitchen means you can forget about paying for a meal plan and eating processed food for every meal and finding creative ways to make dinner in a microwave. This gives you the opportunity to cook fresh, healthy meals and allows you to save money on food.

Variety

Living off campus offers you and your roommates a variety of apartments or houses to choose from. This all comes down to what kind of lifestyle you would like. If you and your roommates are extremely social and want to have friends over all the time, you may want to consider a house with a large living area. If you are someone who likes their privacy, try to find a place with private bedrooms and private bathrooms.

There is also a variety in the rent prices. Some people may be able to spend more on rent per month than someone else. Just remember you get what you pay for most of the time.

via Pixabay

Apartment Hunting

One of the most tedious things about living off campus is finding a place to live. It isn’t as easy as telling your school you’d like to live on campus and they pick out a room for you. This requires some more research on your part.

Uloop has a great section where students can find off-campus housing, and even roommates, around their university. Other websites such as Trulia, Zillow, and Apartments.com can also be useful. Some students will use Craigslist. If you choose to use Craigslist just remember to be careful.

Living off campus will also expose you to signing a legal contract, i.e. a lease, and working with a landlord. It is important that when you find the perfect place to live, that you read over the lease carefully and fully understand it. Ask your parents or friends familiar with renting to read over the lease with you. If you have any questions about the lease or have a term you’d like to change, don’t be afraid to ask the landlord about it. Most of them are accommodating!

Research your landlord before signing the lease. If something seems sketchy in the lease or your landlord makes you feel uncomfortable, you may want to find another place. There are plenty of websites where tenants can review their landlord, such as whoseyourlandlord.com. Remember, you will have to go to your landlord whenever a problem comes up with the house and you want them to be there to help you.

Commuting to Campus

Depending on which college you attend, your commute may change a little when you live off campus. If you live in a city, you may still be able to walk to campus each day for classes. Sometimes if you live in the suburbs or somewhere rural, you may have to have a car in order to get back and forth to campus.

This is definitely something to think about when you decide to live off campus. Determine how far you are willing to travel to get to campus because it will definitely be a longer commute than when you lived in a dorm.

via Pixabay

Freedom

When you live off campus, you have more freedom than living in a dorm. There is no limit as to how many guests you can have in your room or how many people spend the night. There are fewer restrictions on what you can and cannot have in your room, too.

With this freedom comes responsibility, though. This is a great stepping-stone to learn how to live on your own and become a well-rounded adult.

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