<p>Too lazy to look for previous threads- its the first day of spring!</p>
<p>D2 has stated she is going to live off campus next year (sophomore year- her sister lived on campus -or in college housing all four years- but she was also on financial aid- * that would be the difference between a private LAC & instate public*)
For D2 living off campus I expect will save money, but obviously other concerns-
What should I think of and what have others done?</p>
<p>( champing at the bit at the thought of moving out some of the furniture I have been storing in the basement for years- D1's place came furnished/with roommates who had lots of furniture of their own):)</p>
<p>Well, besides the cost of rent, you need to take into consideration what else is included in the rent - heat, electricity, water, sewer, trash, cable, internet? We needed to buy a window air conditioner. You should have renter’s insurance. Will she still be on a meal plan at her college or will she now need to buy groceries? Is she in walking distance of campus, does she need to pay for transportation or does she have her own car? Who is responsible for clearing snow and from where? These are all questions we had to find the answers to. I really don’t think it was any cheaper to live off campus than on campus. But that was ok. Your mileage may vary.</p>
<p>I had the same situation - first child lived on campus all 4 years, second moved off campus for jr. and sr. years. Two different kids, two different experiences. That second one is far more adventurous in general.</p>
<p>The only thing that springs (get it ) to mind is to be careful if you or your D have your names on the lease and to be sure to talk out cleaning responsibilities, utility/rent payments/food sharing etc BEFORE the move and make sure people are clear. </p>
<p>Does your D’s college have a roommate agreement/contract thing? My kids’ school does and they had to sit down and discuss things like this I think the first week and then sign it and turn it in. Obviously it would be a bit different for living off campus but if they could get ahold of a copy and then tweak it to fit their needs it may be a good jumping off point.</p>
<p>When I lived with roommates off campus the big issues were food: sharing stealing borrowing etc and housekeeping so if they can discuss and resolve those issues first I think your D will be starting on solid footing.</p>
<p>That second one is far more adventurous in general.</p>
<p>Totally.
Considering they both took a year off before college, but oldest lived at home while she volunteered with Americorps & youngest volunteered in India- my parenting techniques have been different.</p>
<p>I hadn’t checked out rents yet- but I was going by what it would have been at older daughters school. Rm & board also included building & grounds maintenance whereas tuition did not- and it would have been probably even or a tad cheaper to find a house to share. Also I think if they have a co-op like cooking arrangement, it could be cheaper just cause board doesn’t seem like that good of a deal. ( she is also practically a vegetarian, after her time in India & when we chose this school & their meal plan, that wasn’t a consideration- vegetarian options- seems to be chix patties/salad bar)</p>
<p>when S was starting to talk about moving off campus after his soph yr, I discovered a page on his school’s website for off-campus housing, which also included a few nice checklists. Since S goes to school 1200 miles away and I would not be directly involved in his apt-hunting, and since he has Asperger’s, had never rented an apt before and was pretty clueless about the entire process, these kinds of lists were actually very helpful.</p>
<p>Yep, very often the way. So be as sure as you can that all involved are on board.</p>
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<p>Yep, also true. But hopefully, S will be taking a summer course there and also continuing his PT job during that time, so he will be staying at the house for a while. Although last year we had to pay for 3 months when he wasn’t there.</p>
<p>My D has had a good experience living off campus. House-mates included two who had been RA’s so they were pretty good about getting everything worked out ahead of time. Each person cooks for the group one night a week - all are vegetarian. It’s cheaper than the dorm was.
She is so far away that we didn’t get to get rid of any of our old furniture. The house is also turning out to be farther from campus than she likes - looking for some place closer for next year.</p>
<p>Good advice from all the posters above, so I won’t duplicate information. Here are some thoughts about concerns you didn’t mention but may be thinking about. When my S (sophomore at large state U) moved off campus this year, I quietly freaked out. Would he study? Would he get up earlier to catch the bus to go to class? Would he spend too much time watching movies on the nice flat-screen TV that came with the apartment? Fast forward, and he’s had a great year. He cooks, bakes bread, and shops the grocery store sales. They have friends over for dinner. He keeps up his usual social life, hops on the bus or rides with friends to campus, does laundry, cleans the apartment (!), and generally lives a student life that sounds like fun to me. He goes to class, does things on campus, and his grades are excellent. He socializes on weekends but not at the frat party level. There are no roommate issues that I know of. The bottom line: If you have a mature and responsible kid before he/she moves off campus, you’ll have a mature and responsible apartment-dweller–and a happy one, because he/she isn’t crammed into a room in a noisy dorm, eating college food that they’ve gotten really, really tired of. By the way, we have saved money, even though he’s living in a furnished place with rent that’s on the high end. He’s close to campus and on a free university bus line–a heck of a lot cheaper than having a car, which we would have to provide.</p>
<p>Edit: We will pay for about three weeks at the end of this summer when he won’t be there. He hopes to be able to sublet to someone next summer. Even if he doesn’t, the net cost to us is less than the dorm plus meal plan.</p>
<p>Emeraldkity- I know a young woman who lives off campus at Western and her rent is very inexpensive. I think her Mom said it is something like $300 for her own room in a huge old house. Her D loves Western and loves living off campus. Her Soph year she did have to do some scrambling to find housing. She had secured a rental with several friends and during the summer the house had some damage and was not going to be livable. The girls ended up not finding anything together. My friend’s D found her room via Craigslist.</p>
<p>Both my S’s moved off campus after freshman year. S1 moved to one of those student apt. complexes where each bedroom in the apt. rented separately so no roomie was responsible for anyone other than himself. He lived there for two years (riding a bus or driving to classes). </p>
<p>They all moved to a house within walking distance to campus for senior yr. because they were tired of the commute (even tho. only a few miles).<br>
The house was a dump but they were happier there in the midst of the college community where all the action was.</p>
<p>In the apt. all expenses were included in the rent. In the house, S1 and one other roommate assumed responsibilty of bill paying. Both were 12 month leases. We had to co-sign for the apt. but not for the house. The boys had to pay ridiculous fees upon vacating the apt…had to pay for whole apt. to be painted…that was standard, had to pay for new mini-blinds and some other stuff. They left the dumpy house just as they found it…a dump.</p>
<p>S2 is a soph this year and also living in a dump of house just two blocks from campus.
He has three roommates. S2 pays the cable/internet bill for all but evens it out by paying less rent. Makes for less money changing back and forth. Their electric,water and trash pick-up comes on one bill from the city. We give him a monthly allowance for food/bills/incidentals</p>
<p>His friends that moved to swankier apts. miles away are now trying to get into the old close-in campus neighborhood. </p>
<p>In both cases, location trumped luxury. It might be different for girls though.</p>
<p>Have had off-campus living experiences with both daughters and it is fine. I second and third all of the above information. Make certain lease is checked very carefully about what is covered by rent and what are the responsibilities for the landlord. We have had both really good responsible landlords and really bad irresponsible landlords. One of my daughter’s friends was pre-law and inserted a clause into lease regarding the state of the house when they moved in, reserving the right to hire a cleaning service, the cost of which was to be deducted from first month’s rent if house was not delivered broom clean. Given the state of the house… when they arrived more than one day’s worth of cleaning service was really needed. Clarify any ongoing construction/renovation work-we have had this happen 2x. Clarify leaf and snow removal-who is responsible. If the landlord is absentee and in a different city, the likelihood of them handling snow removal and any repairs----broken washing machine, leaks, and the dreaded “mice” is unfortunately not to great.</p>
<p>My son loves living off campus, but the cost depends on where the school is located. Where my son goes to school, living off campus is more expensive than living on. So don’t assume it will be cheaper until you check it out.</p>
<p>Also the quality can very considerably. Luckily, my son found a brand new townhouse to live in. We pay more than avarage for it, but it’s worth it to have everything in perfect condition and things like central air, good insulation, new appliances, etc.</p>
<p>Possibly the biggest thing to be concerned about is roommates. As Sax stated the roommates all have to come up with the rent. It’s generally the one who has signed the lease who is on the hook. Are the roommates going to be reliable?</p>
) to mind is to be careful if you or your D have your names on the lease and to be sure to talk out cleaning responsibilities, utility/rent payments/food sharing etc BEFORE the move and make sure people are clear. </p>