<p>For anyone who might know...</p>
<p>what's usually cheaper, moving to the BSC for next year (non-apartment) or finding an apartment? BSC includes food/utilities, but I dunno...</p>
<p>It really depends on which apartment you decide to get. BSC should have lots of good information, so I’ll give you my spin on my apartment.</p>
<p>I have a 10x13.5 room /w walk-in closet to myself. The apartment is actually a 2bd/1ba, and my portion of the rent is $870/mo. My flatmate has a slightly smaller room and pays $780/mo.</p>
<p>In terms of food, I make do with 60% frozen meals and 40% eat out at nearby restaurants (avg $6/meal). It figures to $200/mo.</p>
<p>I split my utilities 50/50 with my flatmate and my portion averages $12/mo for gas/electricity, and $15/mo for internet/landline.</p>
<p>Expenses will be much lower if you get a roommate. Make your decision!</p>
<p>I personally like my setup a lot because there’s a lot more privacy than in the dorms or coops. I could save more if I wanted to, but I figured that my expenses are already a fraction of what I spent last year in the dorms and feel that it’s worth every penny.</p>
<p>Thanks! Nobody i know w/ an apartment will tell me that (forums are diff, i guess). i guess anything other than the dorm is cheaper…</p>
<p>It’s true, everything other than the dorm is cheaper. In the dorm, you had all these things you had to pay for, even if you didn’t use them (phone line, activities budget for RA+floor outings, too many mealpoints). The reason for going into dorms is supposedly for the social experience…my experience was pretty negative, unfortunately, since I found more often than not I was annoyed by the noise the other kids made in their fun, while I was stuck in my room trying to study. Oh, the woes of being a chemE hit hard and early. I really wanted to get more out of dorms and enjoy living in such an environment, but I ended up canceling my contract for spring to instead move into a quiet northside apartment. Sigh.</p>
<p>BSC is really cheap for what it is. If partying is an issue for you, then there are a lot of quieter coop options, especially for girls (there are still spring openings for girls in 4 houses). If you like partying, then even better because there’s always booze available. And yeah, lots of food, and good food at that- local produce/meat, organic, etc. The room sizes are pretty decent too, I was really surprised.</p>
<p>Ooohhh…My apartment/condo complex is apparently right next to the Euclid Hall co-op. It’s quiet. =) If only I knew of the co-ops beforehand, I might have chosen that option rather than Berkeley’s unit dorms. Bleh.</p>