<p>I will attend UCSB this fall as a freshman and I am considering getting an apartment instead of dorming. I know a lot of you people say dorming is an important part of the college experince but I will be a lot older than almost everyone else (I'm born 86 and will be 21) and I think an apartment might be the way to go for me. I will have other stuff that will get me in to the social scene and where I can make friends so I'm actually not too worried about that. </p>
<p>I will leave the country for say 3 months every summer and 1 month every winter and I guess some of you might have it the same way (even though you won't leave the country but at least Santa Barbara). Does everyone get a regular lease for 12 months anyway? And if you do, do you take any actions to protect valuable stuff like a nice tv? I mean, IV has to be more or less empty during the summer months and would seem like a paradise for guys with dishonest intentions. Maybe a storage room or something would be to prefer. </p>
<p>I'm basically just trying to get a discussion going about apartments. As I will be a freshman from I foreign country I really don't know how everything works. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>