Off-Campus Housing: Living, Learning, and Loving Life Away From School

By Karen Gray

Whether you are returning to school as a working adult, going to college for the first time, or moving up to a larger, four-year university from a smaller two-year one, living off campus as a student will present you with a unique set of challenges. While it can be a great learning experience, it can also be filled with uncertaint

• Language: English
• Publisher: Advanced Editorial
• Release date: Sep 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9780986404252

Book preview

Introduction

Whether you are returning to school as a working adult, going to college for the first time, or moving up to a larger, four-year university from a smaller two-year one, living off campus as a student will present you with a unique set of challenges. While it can be a great learning experience, it can also be filled with uncertainty, especially when you withstand events that you never thought you would have had to deal with before.

If you've picked up this book, living off campus is something you've probably been thinking about for a while. You might be strapped for cash, yearning for independence, or are bound by the rules of your school that make it difficult or impossible for you to live anywhere else. Whatever the case, this book will give you an overview of the issues that all off-campus students should know about, regardless of what school or program they are enrolled in. This book will also show you how to mitigate the more difficult issues you will face if not avoid them entirely.

In this book, you will find invaluable advice for dealing with a plethora of issues. These include the basics such as managing troublesome roommates, enduring long commutes, and constructing a proper and quiet place to study while at home. However, it also covers things you may not have thought about, like safety, how to buy renters insurance, or how to weigh the pros and cons and decide whether renting a room or living in an apartment is really the better option for you.

Of course, we’ll also talk about living with roommates. Living off campus with others won’t be the same as living with roommates in a residence hall. There is no advisor or office of student housing to call when you have trouble with the person down the hall making loud noises at 3 a.m. Even if you happen to get along well with everyone, there are other things you have to think about, such as roommates breaking their lease when they move out, roommates allowing friends or lovers to live in the house (and eat your food) without paying, having your rental going up for sale or foreclosure, and other generally unforeseen things that can make focusing on your school work very difficult, if not impossible, for a time.

If you plan to live with at least one roommate, then you’ll need to know how to plan for things like household meetings and assigning chores that will help bring a sense of stability to your living environment. Living with roommates can be rewarding and may even introduce you to people you'll become lifelong friends with, but it’s generally a poor choice for people who place a lot of value on their independence or who are very particular about their space and routine.

Some of you reading this book may still be living at home with a significant other or even with a roommate already. For you, the realities of what it takes to make things work and share living space are less likely to be issues for you…unless the reason you’ve picked up this book is to help you find answers to some of your unresolved problems. This book can help you with that and point you in the right direction for finding additional help if your situation is extreme.

This book also has a chapter on finances. Discussions about money are sprinkled all throughout, but we take an in-depth look at how living on your own can