<p>My D lives in a 2 bedroom a stones throw from campus. She and her roommate found the apartment either on Craigslist or Marketplace, I can’t remember. It’s nicer than any student apartment I lived in, though the kitchen is, in her words, tolerable but not great. This is a girl who bakes and she’d prefer a better oven, but she’s less than a block and 1/2 from the Reynolds Club and close to the Midway Ice Rink, and that’s worth pretty much everything to her. Her landlord is not one of the big property managers, as a matter of fact she and her family used to live in the apartment. My son, who graduated in 2007, was more tolerant of being further away and wanted more space. He lived about a mile from campus, but never found that to be a problem. His landlord was not MAC, but they did own several properties in Hyde Park. Apparently, after he and his roommates graduated the apartment underwent a complete renovation and is now quite lovely. Just advise your son to look critically at the options, ask questions (particularly who is responsible and how things will get fixed, if broken), and have honest discussions with the potential roommates about expectations and how rent and utilities will be paid.</p>
<p>This could be helpful. Your son should have seen it already: [Gimme</a> Shelter: The Chicago Weekly’s annual guide to Hyde Park housing | The Chicago Weekly](<a href=“Garuda Casino — Malaysian Online Casino Review Site”>Garuda Casino — Malaysian Online Casino Review Site)</p>
<p>Do they guarantee housing all 4 yrs.?</p>
<p>collegesgirl: they sure do!</p>
<p>collegesgirl: they sure do, but you should recognize that one of the reasons they can (and do) is that off-campus housing is so nice, cheap, and plentiful that not that many students WANT to live in university housing after a couple of years. In total, at any particular time a little more than half of the undergraduates live in university housing, mostly first years (who are required to) and second years.</p>
<p>JHS is correct. And further, it may even be less expensive to live off campus. There is some effort to try and convince Chicago students to stay in University housing longer. The new south campus dorm is supposed to be more attractive to third and fourth year students, I can’t say if this is indeed the case.</p>
<p>Of course it’s less expensive to live off campus. If it were more expensive, it would be impossible for the University to guarantee housing availability to over 5,000 undergraduates with fewer than 3,000 university-owned slots available.</p>
<p>Our first year daughter is in the south campus dorm and is itchy to move off campus - if not next year by junior year for sure. What are the true draws for off campus living at uchicago? Lower cost, more freedom? And what is MAC?</p>
<p>The draw depends on the kid, the location and the roommates. </p>
<p>some get lower costs, perhaps trading convenience to campus for lower price, perhaps a smaller room and such. Meals are another huge factor. Obviously cooking for oneself is cheaper than dining out, whether in the dorm cafeteria or a restaurant.</p>
<p>Others don’t get lower costs, but get beautiful quarters. You must remember that Hyde Park was developed as a nice residential community with many pre-war apartment buildings of all sized, from those having 3 units, one per flow, to those having many. But often these places are quite large, and some have been decently cared for. So you can get a lot more space.</p>
<p>For other, and this was true for my D, the attraction was living with a larger group of friends, including grad students. </p>
<p>Finally, some do it to escape the first years and younger students.</p>
<p>Both of my kids moved off-campus as sophomores. The attractions were, in rough order of importance to them: (1) your own room, (2) your own kitchen, (3) cost, (4) more space, (5) nicer space, (6) less drama/noise/messy drunks, (7) to some extent, better location (i.e., in one case almost two miles closer to gym and then-girlfriend, in the other case easier to go downtown). Also, it turned out they sort of appreciated the separation between “work” and “home”.</p>
<p>Overall, it was a completely positive experience for both. They affirmatively enjoyed it, widened their social circles (including more 3rd and 4th years), saved money, felt more mature. They still spent 90% of their waking hours on campus, and were completely engaged in classes and ECs. I was surprised at how great it turned out for them, because I never lived off-campus in college.</p>
<p>Depending on how you calculate cost they probably saved ~$1,000/yr. It could have been more if they had gone for cheapest space. The “depending” relates to how you value using the apartment during the summer, what you compare that to.</p>
<p>The summer piece is definitely something to consider. Both of my kids stayed in their apartments for at least one summer, but for the others they needed to find sublettors. The competition can be fierce and the search can be stressful. If you will need your child to sublet their apartment during the summers, make sure they understand that before signing the lease. There is an abundance of available apartment space during the summer and sometimes you have to sublet for less than full rent. One summer my S (and his apartment-mates) sublet to a group of young Irish men working on Navy Pier for the summer. It worked out, but I have to tell you, he held his breath until they received the last rent check. Another summer he was there, but one of his roommates sublet their room and it was a fiasco with the subtenant not paying his rent and leaving, and full rent still being due to the landlord. This issue also arises if your son or daughter plans to study abroad. My D and her roommate have been successful in finding sublettors for the time they are abroad, but I know of others who have had a difficult time filling their rooms. Consider what your feelings will be if you are paying for 12 months but only occupying for 9.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the off campus housing suggestions</p>
<p>My son (freshman) wants to move off campus next year. I feel it’s too soon. He’s in the south campus and feels its more like a prison and too removed from the local community and public transportation. Curious to know what other parents feel about living off campus. Good thing or a bad thing></p>
<p>As noted above (and many other places), both my kids moved off campus after their first years and it worked out well for both of them. No terrible problems (some minor, educational financial screw-ups in one case), some real benefits, and meaningful savings. It’s not necessarily for everyone. (I would say not for the really immature and socially awkward, or people who do not form and maintain friendships, or people who are really incapable of cooking or cleaning up after themselves, or people who are tempted to play video games all day.) But it’s nothing to fear.</p>
<p>Personally, if I were living in South Campus I would think it was too removed from the local community and public transportation downtown. And the comparison to a prison gets made a lot. My son and his friends believe it was designed on panopticon principles.</p>
<p>How is south campus like a prison? I get the distance issue, but don’t understand the captivity factor.</p>
<p>My S lives here now. It is on the edge of a quasi-ghetto. Reminds me a bit of parts of the South Bronx. He didn’t like it because he feels exposed, too visible. All the glass and open spaces makes observation easy and easy to feel you are being watched. I do not share this perspective at all but I understand how my S could say that. Interesting - it was deigned from an (older)adult perspective, not that of a 19 year old. Last year he was in a real s_ _ _ t hole = Shoreland, which he loved. Go figure!</p>
<p>some of my son’s reasons are that he doesn’t like the kids in his house. he would be moving in with 6 other people he feels he’s really bonded with. i just wish he would give dorm life a little more time. wonder how distracting off campus life could get? my son tells me that perhaps i’m having trouble “letting go”. sure, it’s not easy trusting an 18/19 year old is making 100% good, sound decisions- even when it is my wonderful son!</p>
<p>Neither of my kids felt close to more than a couple people in their houses, either, and because of the large number of freshmen in most houses, dorm life pretty much guarantees that you are surrounded by a fairly high degree of immaturity. For my kids, one of the advantages of living off campus – in addition to having a lot more, and more attractive, personal space and better food for less money – was having fewer distractions and a lot less drama. They were not monks or anything, but they chose to do their partying someplace other than where they lived, so they were able to keep their apartments as a calm haven. It helped that they both enjoyed cooking.</p>
<p>They both continued to spend the vast majority of their time on campus – there was no separation from the life of the university at all. And they live/lived in close proximity to other students – but no RAs. My son’s small apartment building last year was like a theme house for one of his ECs – not everyone in the building was involved, but there were eight apartments and at least one or two people in each did the EC, so there was great community. My daughter and her friends did a dinner co-op: Every week, a different apartment would host one formal, sit-down dinner for the whole group (ten people, four apartments). They all loved it, but it didn’t involve a tremendous effort. And, of course, living in the real world taught them a lot about what it takes to live in the real world.</p>
<p>drdom,</p>
<p>I think you are insulting a lot of UofC employees, faculty and students who live in the south campus area by calling it a “quasi-ghetto”. Either that, or someone has lived a pretty sheltered life. </p>
<p>When I lived in Hyde Park three years ago, I walked that area many a time. It is no ghetto, not even close. True, quite a few years ago, that description might have fit. True, areas a few blocks from there are pretty tough. But that is true of many urban neighborhoods. </p>
<p>If your kids truly think that way, then maybe the place for them is a Lincoln Park high rise? :)</p>
<p>I absolutely love living in a hyde park apartment, but it has its pros and cons.</p>
<p>Pros:
I’ve learned how to cook and also can invite people over for dinner.
I get a nice, big room all to myself 
I have a wonderful desk and can get a lot of work done at it with little distractions.
I can invite friends over and not worry about annoying my roommate.
I have more privacy and feel more grown up.</p>
<p>Cons:
I have to pay bills.
I have to cook and buy groceries.
I don’t have a resident head or resident assistant to turn to if I need someone to talk to/have a problem.
It’s a farther walk from campus, especially from the libraries.
I’m no longer a few steps from a big group of people on nights when I don’t want to do homework.
There’s no front desk security person.
Although you can still stay a member of your House, you will no longer be as connected to your House and all the fun events they host. </p>
<p>I think making the decision to move out of the dorms is a hard one. I chose to move out because I really wanted my own room and a lovely kitchen in which I could learn to cook. An apartment isn’t a good choice for every second year, however. It’s ideal if you are living with your best friends. But if you have more friends than your roommates it can be more difficult to keep in touch with all of them, and if you’re not good with that you could become isolated. The House atmosphere is a really great one and if you are fortunate enough to make friends with your housemates, you can have an absolute blast living in the dorms for four years. Housing is guaranteed all four years and it’s convenient. You don’t have to worry about bills or cooking, which is great if you’re absent minded or on a tight schedule. </p>
<p>Have your son make a similar pros and cons list and really think the benefits and detriments over before making a decision. Also, if he’s not fully confident that all his roommates will get along for the next three years, caution him before preceding. In the dorms if you and your roommate aren’t compatible you can make arrangements to switch rooms. In an apartment, your lease is signed for an entire year…</p>