<p>I've already gotten pretty frustrated with dorm life, and I've been really considering looking for an apartment for next semester or next year. I've lived in an apartment before so I won't be new to paying rent and the responsibility of apartment life- so I don't need that lecture. I just don't really have the personality that fits with dorm life. I'm a junior and a transfer student, surrounded by a bunch of freshmen. I could list a number of issues I've have with housing, but I think one of the biggest is that I'm paying a ton of money for this dorm and I just don't think it's worth it. </p>
<p>Anyway, to my question. To those who live off-campus, do you like it? What are your experiences?</p>
<p>P.S.: because I know people love to turn these threads into debate threads, I'd really appreciate this not turning into a "but you have to live on campus or else you'll ruin your college experience!" thread. I'm just looking for experience and stories from people who live off-campus :)</p>
<p>I don’t live off campus but almost was this year until I got off the waitlist for on campus dorms 
(so I’m pretty much useless for advice), but if you feel frustrated with dorm life then you definitely should get an apartment!</p>
<p>You get the perks of not dealing with immature underclassmen AND it is generally cheaper to rent an apartment than living on campus.</p>
<p>living off campus has its perks. If your a junior and you live with freshmen, i dont blame you. I also agree with your point that living on campus is a complete rip off and stupid once you are a soph or older unless you can’t get friends to live with. I think you should try to make a friend or multiple ones that would live off campus with you so you dont live alone which would suck.</p>
<p>This:</p>
<p>“I’m a junior and a transfer student, surrounded by a bunch of freshmen.”</p>
<p>is usually the precise make-up of someone who is going to be much better off living off campus.</p>
<p>I was also a junior transfer student surrounded by a bunch of freshman. Would have preferred an apartment for my second year but it was not possible. I chose a single in a different dorm this year and if I encounter the same problems I am just going to keep my door shut and hide from them. lol</p>
<p>^ SINGLE?! Luckyyyyyy. My school is on a lottery system for housing and I got a real crappy number, thus not eligible for a single. I dread meeting my new roommate in 2 days. I hope she’s nice and respectful ::gulps::</p>
<p>But yes, OP, live off campus. It’s not worth it living with a bunch of freshman … or sophomores … heck, even some upperclassmen. Not saying to be a total hermit, hahaha, but an apartment might suit your needs best.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. I really don’t mind actually being on the campus, but when I have classes at 8 AM and everyone else decides that midnight is the perfect time to bring all of their friends over, that gets annoying. Especially when it happens every. single. night. Plus, like I said, just the quality of dorm life…not worth it when I could pay the same amount and have my own apartment.</p>
<p>I think the only thing I really worry about is that I’m not completely anti-social here! So finding a roommate I can trust is probably a good idea because otherwise I’d go insane.</p>
<p>I’m in pretty much the same position OP, and I’m probably just going to get an apartment in a month or so or at semester, whenever my parents will agree to it (since they’ll be paying for most of it). Dorm life is just not for some people, and it sounds like both of us would just be happier living off-campus.</p>
<p>I just moved into my apartment,</p>
<p>and I LOVE IT.</p>
<p>The only negative is that I have to bike to campus, but you can twist that and call it a perk since that’s a healthy workout.</p>
<p>EDIT:</p>
<p>Apparently since I’m receiving a tuition discount I’m required to live on campus until senior year 
But I might try to get an apartment the college’s apartment complex. </p>
<p>…anyone have any experience living in one of those types of places, where it’s not a typical dorm room but apartment set-up, although still on campus?</p>
<p>
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<p>I lived in an on-campus apartment at Georgia Tech my last year there, and I was very happy with the set-up. My roommates were randomly assigned, but we got along very well. Having your own room is definitely worth the additional cost, in my opinion. You share the living room, the kitchen, and the bathrooms, but your room is yours.</p>
<p>Regarding living off-campus, do you plan to stay where your college is for a full calendar year? If so, then living off-campus can be less expensive (if you’re not required to live on-campus, that is). The per-month cost for living off-campus for twelve months is going to be less than two regular semesters plus a summer semester of living on-campus. If, however, you’re going home during the summer, then living off-campus isn’t necessarily cheaper because you’ll still be paying for the full twelve months, but you won’t be there for three months. The rent is a sunk cost unless you can sublease it, which can be a hassle and may not recoup the entire cost. If that’s the case, then living on-campus for two regular semesters is less expensive than living off-campus for two regular semesters but paying for a full calendar year.</p>
<p>It’s a bit weird, because mathematically it means 9+3 > 12 but 9 < 12-3.</p>
<p>I’ll just have to see if I can get an on-campus apartment after next semester. It’s really only $200 or so more than a dorm, and I definitely think that’s worth it!</p>
<p>If 9(x+200) < 12x, where X is the cost of the off-campus apartment (incl. utilities), then it is a wise move.</p>
<p>My fiance is living in an on campus apartment this year at his school and it is AWESOME. I am endlessly jealous.</p>
<p>I didn’t like the dorms much. Too loud when I wanted to sleep, yet whenever I was loud I would get in trouble with the RA. Stupid rules against drugs and alcohol. And the worst part was having a roommate. And I’m not one of those people who doesn’t like living with people, but I think having two people live in the same room is a bad idea. People need space and I think they need a personal place to sleep. My roommate freshman year wasn’t exactly a bad roommate as far as being loud, but it’s really hard to sleep with your rommate just typing on his keyboard for example, even if they are being quiet otherwise.</p>
<p>I don’t see any good argument for how the dorms are better than an apartment. Apartments are generally cheaper for a 12 month lease than the dorms are for the 9 month lease. I pay $1100 less for a 12 month period than I would to live in a double in the dorms at my school. You get your own room as compared to sharing it with someone. (If you’re getting a single room, than apartments start becoming like $3000 less than the dorms). You have to share a bathroom with maybe 1 other person tops, but like in my new apartment I get my own bathroom. You don’t have to buy an expensive meal plan, so you save even more money. No stupid drug and alcohol rules. You have a kitchen and living room…</p>
<p>There is really nothing the dorms have going for it over an apartment.</p>
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<p>I didn’t find that to be the case in Atlanta, hence my 9+3 > 12 but 9 < 12-3 rule.</p>
<p>I never took summer classes at my school, nor did I do a summer co-op or internship in Atlanta, so signing a 12-month lease wasn’t worth it for me. A ninth-month school contract was better for me because I didn’t have to deal with subleasing or accept a three-month sunk cost.</p>
<p>Akhman24 nailed it. I bet they did not talk about the cramped quarters in the college brochure :D</p>