Best to live on campus or on campus?

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>Is it better to live on campus or off campus? Right now, I am heavily leaning towards living on campus. </p>

<p>Obviously, it varies from college to college. But at my school, living on campus is more expensive, but it is in the heart of college life. It is close to dining services, and the school hires maids to keep it tidy. Also, there are RAs to enforce order when people are too rowdy.</p>

<p>Living off campus may be cheaper, but you will have to find your own food. You can eat out, which is less healthy and more expensive, or you can cook, which takes more time and requires trips to the grocery store. Getting to class takes a bit longer, and you often feel left out of the heart of the campus. Club activities take place near the dorms, so it would require a pretty lengthy walk.</p>

<p>I'm pretty good friends with my suitemates, and would like to stick with them. However, a lot of them want to live off campus to save costs. Should I sacrifice living with my friends to be in a better housing situation?</p>

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Living off campus may be cheaper, but you will have to find your own food. You can eat out, which is less healthy and more expensive, or you can cook, which takes more time and requires trips to the grocery store. Getting to class takes a bit longer, and you often feel left out of the heart of the campus. Club activities take place near the dorms, so it would require a pretty lengthy walk.

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<p>When you say "living off campus", do you mean with parents or finding an apartment? If you want to live at home, I would say don't do it. Even though you're in college, your parents will still govern your life socially. You won't get the opportunity to assert your own independence, and you'll lose part of the college experience.</p>

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<p>He obviously means an off-campus apartment, hence him having to cook his own food.</p>

<p>I've lived off-campus (and obviously on).</p>

<p>Pros of living off-campus in my experience:
1. Signficantly cheaper
2. Freshly prepared food, even by my absolutely inexperienced roommates and myself, tastes A TON BETTER than the dining hall. Also cheaper.
3. A much bigger, fully furnished living space with a balcony.
4. Personal washer/dryer - no more lugging lbs of clothes up and down stairs, waiting for machines, having people move your stuff out, etc.
5. More bathrooms per person (2 for 3, instead of 1 for 4).</p>

<p>Cons:
1. Location, location, location -- our place was at least 3 miles away from campus. A nearby train was the only reasonable way to get to and from school. 7 min get/wait for train, 7 min ride, 7 minutes get to specific campus building. It was 20-25 minute commute to and from. By far the biggest annoyance.
2. As a result of distance, casual acquaintances are more lazy to come to your place.
3. If there's a 30 min or 1 hr ice cream social, or free coffee somewhere, it's not worth the commute at all - you need a good reason to go to campus.
4. Our place wasn't filled with students, so there was more of an isolation factor - although it wasn't too bad, and sometimes it's good to "get away" from the university.
5. Clean your own bathrooms and rooms (not as bad as you think).</p>

<p>Overall, off-campus usually has a lot better living space and better food. You don't feel so much like a child anymore. And I really think it promotes independence and autonomy that is useful. You'll learn that going to the grocery store and preparing food isn't as difficult as you think, especially when you're picking out the food you want to eat, not some frozen garbage the dining hall is serving up.</p>

<p>The only problem is the distance. However, many schools have apartments ON CAMPUS or like, they are across the street/ 2-5 minute walk from campus. </p>

<p>Frankly, if I could get an apartment right next to campus (I personally cannot) - that would be the best of both world's and I'd gladly do that. But in the meantime, I'm planning to be on-campus for my final year next year, because the social aspect is just much easier when you're nearby, and I figure I have plenty of time to live in an apartment after school anyway.</p>

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<p>For freshman year though I would definitely recommend being on campus.</p>