<p>DS is spending this summer working on campus. He will be moving into Ridgecrest East in Fall 2013. He will be traveling May 5-May 19th. So he will need a place to live May 19 until Fall term begins. Do you recommend that he live in the dorms or should he look to sublet a room off campus? He has a bike & likes to cook.</p>
<p>I would recommend he stay on campus. Son had an internship last summer about a half hour from campus, and he was able to live in the dorm. In fact, he lived in Ridgecrest East, as Ridgecrest West was reserved for conference housing, kids involved in research programs, like REUs. It looked like high school students were living in Riverside complexes. In fact, there were a lot of kids living in the dorms, so your son will likely run into either people he knows or make friends. As for cooking, he can use the kitchen in Ridgecrest, as others on this forum say their kids do.</p>
<p>At the end of the second summer session, son was able to move his belongings into his school time room, which was in Riverside at the time, and it was a big plus for us. We had rented a storage unit through the end of August, and were able to clear it out at the beginning of August and get a small refund. Although son could have stayed in his room and continued in his internship until school started, he elected to come home for a rest before school resumed. But, since your son is working on campus and if he wants to stay there for the whole summer, he would be able to. He won’t be kicked out of housing when the second summer session ends.</p>
<p>This is, of course, if things go this year like they did last summer. I would call and check with housing to be sure.</p>
<p>The cost was really not bad, and it was worth the peace of mind we had with knowing he was safe. I gave him my car for the summer, he parked in the Ridgecrest garage, and did his regular grocery shopping like he does during the school year. He walked to mass on Sunday and did his laundry in the dorms. Two of his best buds were also on campus for the summer and he tried to get together with them when he wasn’t working.</p>
<p>Congratulations on your son getting a summer job. That’s fantastic. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me, or I can respond on the forum if you’d like as well. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for your input. I’m trying to let him handle everything but it certainly helps to have people with experience weigh in. He’s too busy with school to answer all my questions. I am trying to let go of my one and only even though he is thriving at Bama.
Roll Tide!</p>