<p>My s who will be a junior next year wants to live off campus instead of in the dorm (he has a Hinman single now). A question to any of the NU students reading this...if you are off campus now - how did your housing costs (just housing $$, not food) for the year fare? Stay about the same as on-campus, lower, or higher? Thanks for any input from your experiences!</p>
<p>Mine were substantially lower, but it really depends on the apartment you’re in.</p>
<p>A lot of factors here.</p>
<p>The main (big) one is that you will very likely have to sign a year lease for off campus. If you are planning to stay over the summer, great, but it can be a PITA to find a subletter and if you dont (not uncommon), then you have to add that to the pricetag.</p>
<p>But yes, you can save (sometimes substantial) amounts of money by living off campus, especially if you are willing to share a room with someone. A single in 1835 Himan costs 8700 for the year, a double in bobb 7000. Sept-June is 10 months, giving you 870/mo and 700/mo respectively.</p>
<p>My 2.5 bedroom (2 beds, 1 “den” aka small bedroom) apt at Evanston Place, a pretty nice apt complex, was 2400/mo, and I paid 7500/mo (including utilities) to share a room with 4 total people in our apt. I know people who paid 450/mo off campus to live with someone else in a crappy house. I know people who paid in the 1500 range for nice singles at the nicest complexes in Evanston. </p>
<p>On the average, living off campus is absolutely cheaper. (Not to mention the huge savings from not having a meal plan).</p>
<p>Thanks, Arbiter and Suppasonic, for your responses! That really helps - one additional question, please. Are utilities generally included in the apartment prices where students live, or are they an additional expense? Thanks!</p>
<p>Once again, depends on the apartment. Most will include heat – electricity, gas, water is dependent on the property.</p>
<p>I live near Ridge and Noyes and pay $1025/month for a 1BR/1BA including water, heat, gas, cable, and internet (I just pay for electricity, which comes out to ~$30/month or so), and having just moved here after working in California, that was a very nice number to come by.</p>
<p>My son lived on campus the first two years, and then off campus junior and senior years. Off campus is considerably cheaper all-in. He lives in a house with a number of other students, each has their own bedroom, and the rent is around $700- $750 including all utilities (cable too). Having to pay for the room over the summer was not great the first year - but even paying those two months the cost was cheaper for the year. The next summer my son worked in Chicago for the summer, so not an issue. Not paying for the meal plan was a large part of the savings - I think the NU meal plans are expensive. He liked his dorm experience but I think strongly prefers living off campus - his house is like a small dorm with his best friends, just a block from campus.</p>
<p>Thank you, jrpar and Oyama! The information really helps as we are pretty much doing all we can to meet our EFC at this point and if the costs were going to be higher, that could be a stretch for our budgeting. It is nice to know what to expect from those of you who have done this already. I really appreciate from each of you the generosity of time/energy sharing the info. </p>
<p>Oyama: I have heard my S talk about the area near Ridge as some of his college buddies live in that area. Do you feel pretty safe in that area going back and forth to campus and the El, and is it mostly fellow students living in that area? </p>
<p>rpar: Did your son feel pretty good about the landlord and the upkeep from the management end of the apartment/house? I am not familiar with the Chicago area (from the deep South) at all except from what we have seen/experienced in visiting since becoming a NU parent. The NU community and everyone we’ve met in Evanston while visiting have been really, really nice and helpful.</p>
<p>Thanks again to all who have responded. NU is such an amazing place. Our family is thrilled to be able to experience all it offers to students.</p>
<p>The landlord has been responsive to my son and his housemates on several needed repairs. The house is in decent shape (although by my standards it is very messy!). Your question is a good one - I do think there are some landlords to be avoided, as in any college town. I would recommend that your son talk to the current tenants of any apartment/house he looks at to get feedback on the landlord.</p>
<p>My D will save about 3500 a SEMESTER ,living with a retired professor . She is a vegan and eats lots of grains and beans , so the food saving alone is dramatic . She will be 20 minutes from campus in a non student area ,but has loads of friends on campus . This is in Cambridge MA but I face the same issues .</p>
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<p>Personally, I feel really safe, but it’s because of my upbringing. I grew up in what would be considered “the inner city” before moving out to the suburbs as a teenager, so what some consider ‘dangerous’ is what I consider relatively safe. Almost everyone I walk past to and from campus (even at 2am when I have to stay in my office late) are mostly students.</p>
<p>There’s been a recent ‘string’ of crimes around the NU area, but really take a good look at it–when people shoving people to the floor and stealing cell phones are the worst crimes being committed, then that’s pretty good. Even at my undergrad institution (UCSD), which is in one of the most expensive/nice places to live (La Jolla), there were some cases of sexual groping and even a string of rapes during the four years I was there. Since moving here, I’ve been pretty at ease, though still vigilant.</p>
<p>Regarding the El: from my apartment, it literally takes me 2-3 minutes to walk from my front step to the El, so yeah – in those 200 yards or so, it’s pretty safe!</p>
<p>And in my building? It seems to be mainly graduate students. I’ve bumped into only a few of my neighbors, but they’re all PhD students (like me), which is nice since noise hasn’t been an issue one bit so far. I don’t really notice who else lives nearby, but there are actually a lot more families residing in Evanston on Ridge Ave and the parts west of it.</p>
<p>Don’t forget about the Evanston Shuttle for those late nights on campus - it runs pretty late into the night. The Evanston Loop Shuttle operates daily from 6:00 pm to 3:08 am during the academic year.</p>
<p>[Evanston</a> and Campus Loop Shuttles: University Services](<a href=“Campus Shuttle Routes: Transportation & Parking - Northwestern University”>Campus Shuttle Routes: Transportation & Parking - Northwestern University)</p>
<p>And don’t forget [SafeRide:</a> SafeRide - Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.northwestern.edu/saferide/]SafeRide:”>Safe Ride - Northwestern University)</p>
<p>When my D lived off campus, she called them a couple of times.</p>
<p>Wow! Thanks Kleibo, NUgraddad, Oyama and everyone for the terrific responses! I really appreciate it - and you probably wonder why I don’t ask my s, but this helps me to gather a bit of information without firing at him what might seem like a million questions! He will do his own planning with roommates for next year, but this definitely helps me understand the financial side and eases safety concerns about the areas near campus/downtown when he talks with me about it! My husband and I LOVE Evanston and we really enjoy it when we visit. I wish a great week to everyone and thank you again for your time and thoughtful responses!</p>
<p>t-bone parent - And if you want to live up to your posting name, take your kid to Pete Millers for dinner, and get him a t-bone.</p>
<p>[Pete</a> Miller’s of Evanston and Wheeling near Chicago: steak, seafood, banquets and jazz.](<a href=“http://www.petemillers.com/location.html]Pete”>http://www.petemillers.com/location.html)</p>
<p>Bon appetite!</p>
<p>Nugraddad - Ha! Thanks for the recommendation! Will do! T-bones and jazz - satisfies both t-bone passions!</p>
<p>My sister gave my daughter a gift card for Pete Miller’s and she said it was the best gift she’s EVER gotten!</p>
<p>But that’s off topic so to stay on topic - Evanston Place is a great building, across the street from campus and Whole Foods, large rooms, storage and laundry on each floor, outdoor pool (heated so it does get some use), full gym, free coffee and package receiving. It’s a bit far from Jewel Supermarket though so she rides her bike there and uses the saddlebags for the groceries. Evanston Place is one of the more expensive places, my daughter lived in a less expensive and not quite as nice building last year which was further from campus but closer to Jewel Supermarket which was a plus. Oh and given their recent snow, daughter said kids who lived in houses were grumbling about having to shovel their sidewalk, something she was very happy to not have to do!</p>
<p>Our experience (son is a junior) is that off campus is several hundred dollars a year cheaper than the NU dorm. S’s fraternity, where he’s lived this year and sophomore year, including social dues and full meals, is about $500 cheaper than current-year double-room, full meals at Shepard dorm where he lived freshmen year.</p>
<p>Our son lived at the frat last summer without a meal plan and was able to eat out several times a week & cook in (mostly microwaving frozen meals) a lot cheaper than the NU or frat meal plan. He saved a lot on breakfast, especially, just eating cereal.</p>
<p>He’s already signed a lease for next school year with two frat bros to rent a 3-BR small house, two blocks off mid-campus (within NU campus police patrol area) for $2175 a month. That breaks down to $725 month per student, plus estimated $25 for utilities. Meals extra. I was surprised that they’d heard it was best to sign a lease this early (they actually signed in December for a lease starting July 2012), but they’d heard best places go quickly. Parents of all three students had to sign a guaranty for payments on the lease.</p>
<p>Subleasing for the summer is not a problem for them as they plan to stay in the area for summer internships and classes. </p>
<p>Some of S’s friends live this year in a house near Foster & Ridge (further off campus) and reported a girl’s purse stolen while walking (by herself!!) near the house. I figure the closer to campus and NU police, the better.</p>
<p>Thanks amtc and midwest mom!! Great info - I appreciate it!</p>
<p>I’ve been reading along with interest as my S will also be a junior in the fall and is planning to move off-campus. S’s roommate attended the off-campus housing fair (held last week or week before) but a list of landlords to call isn’t much to go on. They don’t know many people who live off-campus so it’s a venture into the unknown. I also appreciate all the info above!</p>
<p>My S and his roommate are looking for something near Tech. Are there apartments near there or mostly houses? I can’t really remember that area - S is in Hinman so we’ve spent more time around south campus.</p>
<p>We were up by North Campus just a few weeks ago for the first time in 3 years; my daughter was in a show and we had dinner there between shows. There’s a small grocery store and some restaurants (we ate in one), don’t remember seeing any apartment buildings but it was very cold so we weren’t sightseeing much! There was more there than I had thought though. She does have friends who live up there happily. I think options may be a little less expensive but I’m not sure.</p>