<p>I have been debating whether I should be commuting or living in the apt's next year.</p>
<p>I live approximately 30 minutes away.</p>
<p>Does anyone know the approximate difference of costs from commuting and living in the apts?</p>
<p>How much are the rates of living in one of the APT's? Is food + other services included in the total fees for second/third/fourth years?</p>
<p>i’m living in VDC next year for 661 a month, fixed rent and a 12-month contract. generally apartments go for around that price but sometimes it varies… for example i think stanford or dartmouth (forgot which) is like $550 but that’s for sharing a room. it just depends on where you look and what type of apt it is, but generally you’re looking at ~600+ (not necessarily furnished or including utilities). i would recommend checking out the marketplace app on facebook and searching for apartments around uci to get a better idea of costs.</p>
<p>you can buy a voluntary meal plan if you want for the commons but after your first year you are not required to get one if you’re not dorming. and i have no clue what other services you mean. hope this helped!</p>
<p>Thank you for the reply. It definitely helps.</p>
<p>I’d go from the angle of compromise. My monthly rent is roughly $570 or so including utilities. However I’d say driving a car and other costs might be close to that amount. So here would be points for you to consider:</p>
<p>1) How much do you value your own room? Perhaps a larger area without roommates?
2) How about driving the 30 minutes to class? Perhaps there’s better use for that time? What about midday breaks, or in-between classes?</p>
<p>Just wanted to say I faced this decision last year and decided I will live at home next year (I dormed the first year). Although it would have been nice to get away from home and be closer to friends, I decided having my expenses cut in half (from around 24k to 12k) is very important. Although gas is expensive, I don’t think it would end up to be as much as renting an apartment (but I don’t know for sure).</p>
<p>UCI estimates that living at home saves the average undergraduate roughly $2,000 per quarter. Your mileage may vary.</p>