Advantages to Living Off Campus
September 30, 2015
Most colleges require freshmen to live on campus for their first year. They do this to help ease the transition from a high schooler under a parent’s watchful eye to a college student with complete autonomy. But, after that first year, college students are left with the choice to continue living in the dorms or to set off in search of their first apartment or house. This can be a tough choice for some. There are some absolute advantages to staying in dorms: closer to campus (obviously), less stress, near cafeteria food options.
But, I think that most college students in their senior year benefit most from stepping out of their comfort zone and finding off-campus housing. By the time you’re a sophomore you’re pushing twenty years old, and by that age you need to start learning to fully take care of yourself. This includes paying rent, bills, taking care of a place, cooking, etc. These skills can only be learned by doing them.
Below are some of the major advantages to finding off-campus housing:
Usually Off-Campus Living is Cheaper
Look, everyone knows that college is very expensive. Most likely you’re taking on a fair amount of debt to be there. Why not cut down on some expenses by looking for alternative, cheaper housing than the dorms. The dorms have to hire people to run them: cleaning crews, cooks, RA’s, repairmen, etc. Those costs are forwarded onto the students who live in them. Apartments are usually a much cheaper option. Sure, you’ll have to do some of that grunt work yourself, but isn’t that what being an autonomous adult is all about? Do some quick math to compare the cost of an apartment you like with the monthly cost of a dorm room. You might be shocked by how much you save.
You Get to Pick The People You Live With
So you may have the opportunity to chose your dorm roommate, and that’s great, but you do not get to choose all the people on your floor. A dorm room is essentially a bedroom. All the other common areas are the rest of the “living space”. You are forced to share that living space with all manner of people, some of which might annoy or anger you. If you move into an apartment or rent a house, you can choose your roommates. Perhaps you want to live with your best friend, if you get an apartment you are only sharing your living space with that one person.
You Get More Space To Spread Out
Dorms rooms are tiny! So tiny! If you rent an apartment you are almost guaranteed to get twice, sometimes three times the amount of space. By the time you’re a sophomore you probably want to spread out more than the size of a standard bedroom (or less, if you’re sharing a dorm room). Moving off campus will allow you that space, which you can furnish and decorate however you want. That is huge! You can start to make your place feel more like a real home instead of a temporarily living situation. The ability to craft your living space to your personal specifications is an empowering feeling. You will finally feel like a real, bonafide adult.