The Pros And Cons Of Off-Campus Housing For Your Freshman Year

Although many college students choose to stay in dorms for their first year of college, some discover the joys of off-campus housing and never look back. Off-campus housing provides college students with the opportunity to share an apartment or even a house with other students. Here are some pros and cons to help you decide whether off-campus housing will be the right fit for the lifestyle you want to have as a college student.  

Pro: More Freedom

Living in off-campus housing means that you can do a lot more with your personal space than you can when living in a dorm room. While you need to check with your landlord first, most off-campus rentals will allow you to paint the walls to suit your tastes, bring your own furniture, and park anywhere on the property you want. If you are the one picking the property, you also get to choose which room within a home will be your own.  

Con: More Responsibility

A lot more responsibility also accompanies that extra freedom. You may have to be solely in charge of collecting rent and money for bills directly from your roommates. You will have to clean and maintain the property yourself if you choose to rent a home, whereas the college takes care of upkeep on the dorm buildings. You will be facing a far greater amount of responsibility when you live off-campus; yet, this will prepare you for doing so in the "real world" after graduation.

Pro: Greater Privacy

A dorm does not allow much privacy. Even if you really like your roommate in a dorm, it can get frustrating to never have some downtime where there is peace and quiet. When you live in off-campus housing, you will likely have your own room for privacy. Beyond that, when you have a whole apartment or home, there are other options for privacy as well. Living in a regular neighborhood, instead of on a campus, also is likely to be much more quiet and conducive to downtime and solitude.

Con: Less Support from the School on Housing Matters

While the college is there to oversee housing problems and roommate feuds when you live on campus, there is not going to be as much support from the school when you live on your own. In fact, the school may not get involved at all. This means that you will have to address problematic roommates on your own, bring up issues that you have with a roommate's late payment directly to them, and try to solve your own issues that otherwise would be handled by the school.

Finally, keep in mind that you can always ask for help when something goes wrong in off-campus housing. If it's serious you can call the authorities, and you can otherwise reach out to parents or your landlord regarding issues with roommates. You may also talk to someone in the residential life and housing department at your college if you change your mind and want to see if dorms are available.

Contact a business like D&D Property Holdings LLC to learn more.


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