<p>My nephew is a freshman at a very nice LAC and is asking questions of his parents about moving into an off-campus apartment or house next year. He doesn't really have specific reasons for wanting to move, but is trying to find out where his parents will stand on the subject. He hasn't complained about dorm life and she was a bit surprised. She told him she thought it was too soon to move into an apt.--sophomores should still live in the dorm. She says there is a certain amount of comfort in knowing he is in a dorm and appreciates the experiences he is having getting to know lots of other students. She knows the subject is going to come up again and was brain-storming with me. I'm wondering. What things do parents consider when deciding whether to allow kids to move off-campus? I told my sister safety would be my big concern, although N is in a nice small town where safety isn't a big issue like it might be in a metro area. What has been your experience on this subject?</p>
<p>My son moved off campus as a sophomore partially because he loves cooking and couldn't stand the dorm food. He also found the dorm kids rather immature and ended up sharing an apt. with a more mature student. He had no problem meeting people in classes and clubs.</p>
<p>Both of my kids are at colleges (one at the University of Maryland at College Park, the other at Cornell University), where it is a given that you will move off-campus eventually because there aren't enough on-campus beds for everyone.</p>
<p>One advantage to living off-campus is that you usually get a better quality of housing. Many off-campus apartments have single bedrooms, and even if they don't, there's a living room and a kitchen area. So if one of the people sharing a double bedroom wants to go sleep or study and the other doesn't, the other person has somewhere to go. In the building where my son lives at UMCP, every apartment has its own washer and dryer, and each of the four single bedrooms in the apartment has its own bathroom. These things would be unimaginable in a dorm (and, admittedly, in most older off-campus apartment buildings -- but his building is only three years old).</p>
<p>A disadvantage is that people living off-campus do not have as many opportunities to make new friends as those living in dorms do. Apartment dwellers tend to stay in their own apartments, unlike dorm residents. My son has lived in an off-campus apartment building for well over a year now and says that he still doesn't recognize the other people in the elevator. (Perhaps this would be less of a problem in a smaller building, but he lives in a building that houses more than 1000 students.) He says that he is glad, in retrospect, that he spent two years in the dorms rather than one. It gave him the chance to make more friends before moving to the much nicer but more isolated off-campus building.</p>
<p>One thing to think about before moving off-campus is food. This is especially important if the student has no car. Is there a supermarket within walking distance? Are there adequate cash dining facilities on campus or a reasonable selection of restaurants and convenience stores near the off-campus apartment? In general, my son likes his off-campus housing arrangement at UMCP, but the lack of a supermarket within walking distance has been a continuing problem, forcing him to rely on junky take-out food more than he would like. </p>
<p>My daughter, when the time comes for her to move off-campus at Cornell, will face a similar problem with food. The least expensive and quietest off-campus housing is on the north and west sides of the campus, but those are purely residential neighborhoods, with no grocery stores or restaurants. If she wants to be able to eat conveniently without having a car, she will need to live in the much more expensive and noisier area just south of the campus (Collegetown, for those who know Ithaca).</p>
<p>I don't know that safety is necessarily a bigger issue off-campus. My son has had the unique experience of having bicycles stolen both on campus AND from the bike racks outside his off-campus apartment building (right within view of the security cameras, yet). Some modern off-campus apartment buildings have extensive security. Others don't, but if the neighborhood is reasonably safe, this may not be necessary.</p>
<p>My son is moving off campus next year, but he will be a junior. He does not have much of a choice. The down sides could be transportation (if your nephew does not have a car, it might involve getting one and paying for insurance, and other car costs), shoveling in winter, I think that off campus will run 1k more than on campus for us, but the school's #s don't agree with that, and more off campus parties within the apartments (gets very loud on weekends). Also, we had to cosign a lease. What would happen if a roommate moved out/study's abroad for a semester, drops out, or graduates early? Also, some buildings/houses are not necessarily as safe, and are disrepair. Would your nephew have to mow a lawn, and shovel the driveway? You'd want to check into whether there is a place in the building to do laundry. Are the other parents stuck paying if one of the roommates does not pay the rent?</p>
<p>The positives in our son's case are his own room and bathroom. My son goes to a school with good on campus food so cooking is not the issue. He will take out a commuter meal plan.</p>
<p>These are just a few positive and negatives that I thought of, and I am sure that there are more, and vary from campus to campus. Also, I would think that residence life would offer information about specifics of off campus housing in your nephew's area.</p>
<p>Some off-campus landlords have each individual resident sign a lease. This way, if one person in an apartment moves out, the others are not responsible for that person's share of the rent. But on the other hand, the landlord can put a stranger from the waiting list into that spot. This is the policy at my son's apartment building in College Park. (And one corollary of this policy is that only people of the same gender can share an apartment, which some students might consider a disadvantage.) </p>
<p>In other places, subletting is rampant. At Cornell, competition for the "best" off-campus locations is so intense that people are signing leases right now for the 2008-2009 academic year. (That is not a typo.) Obviously, some of those students will take leaves of absence, decide to study abroad, or otherwise change their plans before the actual 2008-2009 academic year begins and will need to find other people to take their places in those apartments. There are people advertising sublets every day in the local newspapers and on Craigslist. It's almost like musical chairs.</p>
<p>Positive for my D is it costs less to be off campus and since she's decided to live in the city year 'round, she won't get booted in May & have to try to figure out where to go. Yet to find a negative. (oh, D is a sophomore, and living with a young family in NYC)</p>
<p>Cost will probably be a big factor for my parents.</p>
<p>I'm really excited to live in a dorm, because I spent 10 days in a dorm this summer for a summer conference I went to at SDSU and I loved it...the bustle of people around me, and I was fortunate enough to have a great roommate I got along really well with. But it's not for everyone.</p>
<p>Also, I think living in an off-campus environment will make him even more independent. But if he's in a smaller city, transportation could definitely be a problem (I'm planning on going either to San Francisco or Sonoma, both of which are relatively large cities ((SanFran is obviously huge and people take PT everywhere there anyway, so it wouldn't be much of a problem, but safety would be much more of an issue))).</p>
<p>As Marian stated, apartments can me in high demand. The lease which my son just signed is for 2008. There are long waiting lists, and for some units people wait overnight in line just to be able to get a lease. My son told me that some apartments are rarely totally empty and available for rent bc fraternities pass the units down from one student to the next, and friends let friends know about empty rooms/apartments. There might be 4 rooms in apartment with 2 seniors and 2 sophomores. As the seniors graduate, they pass their rental onto a frat brother, or a friend, and it is never listed.</p>
<p>One of the advantages of living off-campus... less likely to be infected with whatever-is-going-around.</p>
<p>My S moved into an apt. soph. year. It is one where each kid has an individual lease. The complex is completely populated by college students. S enjoyed dorm life for freshman year but one year was enough for him. He really enjoys apt. life. There are really no drawbacks for him.</p>
<p>We have 2 college sons in apartments right now, too.Ah...., such fun to visit and while driving through the parking lot think, "we are paying for all this".</p>
<p>Marian -- regarding Cornell and Ithaca. Eons ago, when I was a grad student there, we all eventually moved all the way downtown to the streets bordering and on the other side of the Commons. I have never been in such good shape since, due to trudging up East Hill every day!</p>
<p>I think it also depends on what is offered at the colleges. Many colleges are touting themselves as being residential colleges and enticing students with nice on-campus housing. My son (college soph) is living in a dorm where he has his own room that opens up into a study area, has a full size kitchen and a very large family room. He shares this with 11 other people and they chose to live together. This is half of a dorm wing but very unlike the freshman dorms. He has about a 10 minute walk to any class or dining hall. The building is one year old and air conditioned. He parks his car in the parking lot outside. For someone like him that doesn't cook and prefers things to just happen instead of making plans, this is the perfect living situation.</p>
<p>Housing is available for all four years. If there is much effort involved in getting off campus housing, I think he will just stay where he is, at least for another year. The only thing I don't know is what happens if he does a study abroad.</p>
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Marian -- regarding Cornell and Ithaca. Eons ago, when I was a grad student there, we all eventually moved all the way downtown to the streets bordering and on the other side of the Commons. I have never been in such good shape since, due to trudging up East Hill every day!
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<p>My daughter is only a first-semester freshman, but she says that when you go to the Commons (which she has already done with some friends), you walk down the hill but take the bus up the hill. This is a lazier generation. Also, I think the bus service has improved.</p>
<p>My parents bought a condo near my school and I lived there during my college years. After I finished school and moved out on my own, he turned around and sold the property and made quite a bit of profit on it. Enough to offset the monthly fees + utilities and still give him some extra cash. </p>
<p>I could never stay in a dorm. When I was in high school, I went to a summer camp which required us to stay in the dorms for two weeks. I only lasted one night before going home. I just couldn't stand it.</p>
<p>For the OP, there are many pros and cons to living off-campus as covered by most of the posters above. If it's something he wants to do, make sure he knows what he's getting into. If he's mature enough to handle it, then I don't see the problem.</p>
<p>Things to consider- rent, utilities, cleaning, groceries, distance, laundry, internet & cable speeds, cooking, roommates. Wouldn't let underage son move off campus for this year, waiting to see what he wants for next year now that he knows people living off campus. I remember last Oct he first broached the idea, some do sign this early for next fall, but often better deals will be later where he's at. Right now he has an ideal location, with dorm foods available am to midnight, high speed internet, etc.</p>
<p>My son finally moved off campus senior year, and was so proud of his apartment, and roomies! He's had a less than fun time in the dorms. But as he was a distance from campus, his involvement with evening activities decreased to an extent. We cosigned a lease, and was probably a good introduction to adult life. </p>
<p>The other big issue is the summer. In the university town I live in, the summer sublets are quite the scene, as leases run Aug 15 to Aug 15th. Many families take quite a loss, sublet in the summer for much less than the full rent to get some money in after school ends in May. My son, who likes to sublet when home in the summer, has paid less than half the regular school year rent for his sublets.</p>
<p>My D had to start her lease last April in order to have an apartment set for this Fall. That meant paying a deposit plus rent and utilities all summer. We also had to buy or scrounge all the furniture including a bed, desk, wardrobes (no closets in her room), drapes and a window A/C unit. Then there were the Costco/WalMart trips to stock up on toilet paper, kitchen and cleaning supplies. Don't forget about the internet. That mean wiring the apartment and buying a router. My D's computer would not connect. That meant several calls to different Indian support centers and it finally took to 2 computer geek students an afternoon to get it working. Of course, the parents were also involved and had to submit financial information and co-sign the lease. Even with all of the expenses and aggravation, apartment living makes sense. The dorms are so expensive that even the initial cost and rent will be much less. My D is very happy with her apartment. She has good roommates who are relatively quiet and share her early morning schedule. She is also happy with the food situation. She really disliked the dorm food and the mandatory meal plan was very expensive. She is not missing out on any school activities or involvement. Her apartment is only one block from campus. Even that close almost all of the renters are young professionals, not students. My D likes the atmosphere. It makes her feel like a young adult.</p>
<p>There have been a couple of negatives so far. First, they decided to have a big apartment warming party. As I understand the story, that ended up with about 70 kids and alcohol. Fortunately there were no issues or damage except for a stopped up toilet. At least they had enough sense to realize that was a really dumb idea and there would be no more big parties. Next, I understand that the apartment cat will be spending the winter break at our house. I am not too happy about that since we are already dealing with 3 other cats who own our house. The biggest negative: my D loves her new apartment and considers it her first home. She is not planning on coming home next summer. She wants to get a job and stay in her apartment.</p>
<p>Same here, my S now lives in his apt. year round. He has a part-time job during the school year that gives him full-time hours in the summer. He refers to it has "home" and "his house".<br>
His apt. complex is one of those built just for students so each roommate (4 of them) has their own bedroom/bathroom,has their own separate lease, pays the rent online which also includes all the utilities plus cable and internet. The complex is about 4 miles from the campus and has it's own school bus that runs back and forth every 30 minutes. It's a great way to start off in a first apt. with only one bill to pay monthly.</p>
<p>Packmom, son will have a similar set up, and the apartment is already furnished.</p>