<p>I've seen my fair share of posts from people complaining about commuting... I know there are people out there with something positive to say. </p>
<p>Did you have a hard time making friends and overcome the difficulties? What do you like about living at home? How do you deal with odd meeting times for clubs? Share your experiences.</p>
<p>At UC Davis, nearly everyone lives OFF CAMPUS after thier first year. The on-campus apartments are very limited, and extremely small for the price - plus there are parking & drinking restrictions because it is still on campus.</p>
<p>My apartment is about 3 miles from campus, a few friends of mine live about 2 miles from campus, etc. My boyfriend lives at his parent's house in Citrus Heights (Sacramento area) - so he's the real commuter. I also have another friend that lives with his dad in Vacaville which is about the same distance away as Sacramento, but in the other direction so traffic is much better. Although I don't know from first hand experience, I can tell you that if they could afford to move out of thier parents house - they would. Thier parents still treat them like it's high school - calling them when it gets late at night asking when they'll be home (or outright yelling at them to come home immediatly).</p>
<p>In general though, I don't think it has affected thier social life that much because instead of just driving back right after class, they'll hang out on campus or at other's friends apartments doing hw or something until that evening when you have plans. If it's thier parent's calling - they might not answer the phone. If it gets really late at night, they'll crash at someone's apartment, no biggy. I've made all of my new friends in classes so it's not like living locally has helped me much.</p>
<p>Pearlinthemist, don't really consider it commuting when people live with college friends in an apartment really....more like when they live at home with their family and commute.</p>
<p>Anyway, to answer the OP's questions:</p>
<p>Did you have a hard time making friends and overcome the difficulties?
yes it sucks...the number of people i am "friends with" can be counted with both hands maybe. and i am a ver social person (at least i WAS until this fall).</p>
<p>What do you like about living at home?-very cheap; saving 5,000+ dollars this semester. i don't have to care about sharing a bathroom with 10+ people, since I have my own. </p>
<p>How do you deal with odd meeting times for clubs? -i really don't go to any clubs at all. I'm waiting to get involved next semester when I move on campus and have fully "settled in" (i am a transfer student)</p>
<p>From gemstar66:"Pearlinthemist, don't really consider it commuting when people live with college friends in an apartment really....more like when they live at home with their family and commute."</p>
<p>Bad points: Yeah, I totally agree with tat statement. I find that when you are staying with yr family, there are still restrictions: parents will be concerned whether you excelled in yr studies( esp for typical asians like me), or whether goin out too often will affect yr studies, and you cant stay out too late by the way. </p>
<p>Another bad point is that you might not really have the "college experience", which depends on individual. And u dont get to mix with a lot of people or hang out with the same people.</p>
<p>Gd points: Yr family is able to take care of you: like cook for you when you are busy, bring you go out and eat, and help you buy food( well, at least for my case), and little bits of stuff here and there....</p>
<p>But, seriously i would still like to have a dorm experience but kinda afraid to transfer now cuz i m worry tat as a transfer students, you might not meet ppl, cuz ppl will stay outside when they are juniors, which is an irony!!!!</p>
<p>Yeah I'm a satisifed commuter! No, no hard time making friends really, I just look for people within my major for the most part. The best part about liviing at home is that I still have good relations with my family members and they're always there for me and I try to be there for them. Furthermore, money saved is money earned, right?</p>
<p>As for odd meeting times with clubs, I'm not in any clubs, I was interested in the anime club but not 9PM-12Midnight interested (although there's another commuter on there, guess he doesn't mind).</p>
<p>All in all, I'm glad that I'm commuting and so Thankful that I didn't make the mistake of attending the private, 10+K per year private college a state away when I'm going in state at this college and I get to stay at home, w00t!</p>
<p>what school do you guys(commuters) go to?</p>
<p>By the way, I want to detach from my family as quickly as possible. That is one of the reasons I decided to leave my state. Besides, I don't think I would be able to concentrate with my family constantly bothering me about everyday things. As supportive as my parents are, they can be distracting sometimes, especially since they speak a foreign language often, which I always pretend to understand/listen. Also, I believe living in a dorm will help me become more social and independent. As a prospective out of state student at a huge state university, I will have to work and get involved in all kinds of actitivities to help with the high tuition and build an impressive resume. I don't think I would get such pressure from a commuter school; Actually, I bet I would wallow in the same lifestyle I was fostering in high school without challenging myself academically or sociallc in such circumstances. To me,there is something bleak about taking the subway everyday to the other extreme of the city then coming back home everyday--not really a motivating prosepect. So, I hope going out of state and living with a group of drunken college people and obtuse frat boys will be a constructive experience : )</p>
<p>Vail, you seem pretty jubiliant about your routine. Which school do you attend?</p>
<p>PS. I am not at all into the whole party scene.</p>
<p>I wasn't saying that I was a commuter... what I was trying to say was that since nobody lives on campus together that it doesn't really matter socially how far away you live. Some people move to apartments with friends in Sacramento, or other towns nearby just to save on rent. (& for those unfamiliar with the area, Davis is surrounded by miles of farmland so the closest towns are ~8 miles away) </p>
<p>I don't consider myself a commuter since I live within Davis. My boyfriend & my other friend do commute because they live at home with family & drive 15-20 miles everyday to campus. I've seen boards where people were complaining about how since they commute they don't make any friends, etc.. & I just don't think it matters - make friends in classes. People who commute can have social lives just like anyone else - and unlike everyone else they don't have to pay rent & utilities every month - just be sure you can stand living with your parents.</p>
<p>it would have bothered me before but after being at college for a bit I wouldn't be bothered by it</p>
<p>i wouldn't want to live more then a few minutes away though</p>
<p>im not a commuter but heres a bit of fresh air</p>
<p>do what's right for you. living on campus isn't for everyone. if your main focus is friends and partying and being social obviously living on campus is better. but if your priority is saving money, doing better in academics while having a support structure then commute! theres no reason to conform to what "everyone else" is doing. not everyone needs to be social. for some, social comes first, but others academics and money does. you have to live the life the way you want.</p>
<p>that being said, if you are worried about being as social as everyone else dont commute. it just doesnt have to be a priorty.</p>
<p>Being social isn't the problem per se, it's more that it's also tied in with success in other in other areas like getting a good job or getting recommendations for graduate school. Not having a rich social life can be a source of embarassment when talking to others. People who are more social and more involved are just looked more highly upon by others than someone who just goes home after class is over.</p>
<p>why can't you get a good job or get good recs for grad school if you're a commuter....?
you can still be involved on campus, have an internship, go to office hours, etc.</p>
<p>social life is better on campus but besides that, its not a big deal</p>
<p>Jeez, I said POSITIVE.</p>
<p>I commute, but it's not changing any time soon, so I'm just going to have to deal with the diminished social life and whatnot, but I'm more curious as to whether or not anyone actually has anything positive to say about commuting... I know there were a few positive posts, but it seems like everyone's quick to be negative about it. It's not that bad. Really.</p>
<p>i believe i did several positive things about commuting.</p>
<p>_
Vail, you seem pretty jubiliant about your routine. Which school do you attend?_</p>
<p>Indubitably I'm jubilant! For privacy reasons, I don't disclose what school I'm attending on these boards, but I will say it's a small liberal arts school with 3-4K students attending, most of whom live on dorms or in University Apartments (as upperclassmen). </p>
<p>I'll admit mark19, that I felt similarly to you when I made the decision in that Wal-Mart parking lot that day by telling my parents I'd rather attend the instate school and live at home than move out of state, but my attitude quickly changed in the first couple of weeks when I could come home to my family and stuff after a long day at school. Why do you think the husband enjoys saying "Honey, I'm home!" after a long day of work, he's probably not really saying it to his wife/significant other/whatever as much as he's saying it to HIMSELF. He's home. And that's where I'm at, after a good day at school where everything seemed to go right, or after one of those miserable days where a professor irritated me (yet) again, I can still come home to the same people I've been coming home to all my life.</p>
<p>I tried to post last night, but the server messed up and ate it.
I'm a commuter and love it!
I live about 20 minutes from school, so it's not that far of a drive and I get to keep my dogs! I've made tons of friends, but I'm that random kid that talks to just about everyone in a class. I am in a few clubs, and I just drive back in for meetings. Probably the hardest part has been dealing with my peers. Some of them think that it's really cool that I get to live at home, but some people (including some professors) can get really mean about it if they find out.
Overall, I think I'm much happier than my friends in the dorms. I don't have to eat cafeteria food or put up with an obnoxious roommate (or worry about getting sexiled!). I have a large (compared to my schools dorm rooms) room all to myself that stays quiet and has room to do all of my projects.</p>
<p>That's the spirit HelloKiki! I've seen some people here like to boast about how they are dorming in order to be more independent, etc., but it could be argued that its actually commuters who have more independence!</p>
<p>-Don't have to eat on the college's schedule
-Not reliant on the college for food (or a whole lot of other stuff)
-Can have peace and quiet in our rooms when we want it and when we don't
and quite possibly one of the best...
-Bathrooms and showers not being used by strangers you don't even know or trust.</p>
<p>I commute back and forth to school and I couldn't be happier. I did, however, have one year completely on my own, and so I have had my away-from-home experience before the last year and a half.</p>
<p>Personally, I greatly appreciate the division between my home and school lives. When my work on campus is finished, I can leave everything - classes, professors, even fellow students, and the campus environment - and go home for some rest and privacy. At home, my family more or less leaves me to my own devices. Living at home, I find that I sleep better, eat better, do my various chores (laundry, cleaning, etc.) more easily, and I am much more comfortable and less stressed. </p>
<p>In terms of my social life, I have several good friends at my university, mostly through my participation in one club. I always carefully structure my class schedule to facilitate staying the evening that the club meets. </p>
<p>I would much rather have this kind of privacy and comfort (especially at this point in my life) than be randomly placed in a tiny room with someone I don't know and have to share everything in common.</p>
<p>I used to ride the bus and train to school last year. Now that I'm driving, I'm fine. The gas can be a pain in the butt, but it's cool. Oh yeah, and the lack of a social life sucks too.</p>
<p>I commute and have no problem with it. I like it and have no problem being involved on campus either. There are pros and cons of commuting though:</p>
<p>PROS:
1. Gas is still less expensive than board fees.
2. You don't have to eat cafeteria food at all if you don't want to.
3. You have a car so if you've got a car-less friend who lives on campus you can give him a lift if you need to.
4. Often you can find a better library off campus if the one on campus doesn't have what yo need.
5. There's often more to do off campus than on campus.
6. Living at home you can have pets.
7. You can always get stuff you need.
8. It's easy to find/keep jobs off campus.
9. There is no risk of an annoying roommate, stupid RA, or floor of people who don't stop blaring their awful rap music.</p>
<p>CONS:
1. If you don't like your parents or siblings, you're usually stuck with them (unless you own your own place or live out of your car).
2. My big complaint is that I don't have access to the dorms, and there are often meetings in one of them...so I have to wait for someone to open the door for me and sometimes it takes 15 minutes for a guy to show up.
3. You have to wake up earlier if the weather is bad and you have to take your time driving.
4. Sometimes you don't hear about events until the day after they happen.
5. If you're like me, your trunk gets messy because it becomes the equivalent of your high school locker.
6. Parking permits often cost money.</p>
<p>But this is 9-6 in favor of commuting.</p>
<ol>
<li>Another con is it's hard to get in the habit of studying at home. Don't know about you guys, but home makes me sleepy.</li>
</ol>