Fuzzable
When you study at a school far from home, getting a place to stay is understandably one of the first things that you should take care of. Of course, on top of the list of places that you should consider is your college or university’s on-campus dormitory.
Dormitories have living and sleeping spaces that you usually share with a number of other students. More often than not, you will have one or two roommates and you might even have to share shower areas and common rooms.
If you are imagining cramped spaces, you are taking it way overboard. Modern design principles have found a way to make dormitories a lot more livable than they were before.
But just because they’ve been greatly improved doesn’t really mean that you have to zero in on them and stop looking for alternatives. Off-campus housing might be great for you, and in this article we present why.
An off-campus space allows you more freedom
When you have enough funds, there are off-campus spaces that you can get for yourself, and only for yourself. Living alone is going to be exciting for someone who values privacy and alone time so much.
In addition to this, an off-campus room can give you the space that you are comfortable with. Dormitories usually have standards to follow, but since schools want to accommodate as many as possible, they just comply with the minimum. Off-campus spaces usually don’t have this limit.
However, getting a spacious apartment outside of the school can come with a greater price, especially if you choose to be on your own. So, this is the downside of this option.
Living outside the campus allows you to experience life as it is
When you live in a dormitory, activities and life become as structured as the school itself. You will have curfews and you will have specific times for meals and other activities.
When you live on your own, you get to experience life at its rawest. By this, we mean that you get to create structure for yourself. You’ll draft your own rules and budget. You make your own schedule, and change it as you please.
Of course, the probability of making mistakes is high, but this is what makes it exciting. As we all know, it is in making mistakes that we get to learn. It is in rising from our mistakes that we get to win in life.
But because of all that, we have to acknowledge that the off-campus experience can really be overwhelming for someone who is so used to structure. Freedom is not always a good thing, especially if you have lived life under the orders or guidance of someone else until now.
Off-campus housing can be cheaper
If you are a practical person, then this is probably the most important benefit of choosing a room off campus. If you just know where to look, you can find cheaper deals than what you would pay for a dorm room on campus.
But the search and selection process for the right place can be tedious. In fact, a lot of people tend to shy away from the cognitively taxing task of having to compare prices, features, and inclusions. But as they say, those who toil get rewarded in the end.
Living off campus has its own share of good and bad things. How nice the experience is going to be will entirely depend on your perspective and values as a renter. So make an honest evaluation of what’s important and not before you pick a place.
