I always imagined it to be more glamorous.
This year, I decided to not only live off campus, but to live alone.
To say the least, three weeks in, it’s been nothing short of an adventure.
At first I was very excited, then nervous that I wouldn’t like it, then excited again.
Getting things situated was the hard part.
During college, I got so used to coming into a fully furnished room. All that I had to bring was my stuff, (which, I have a lot of, this was one of the factors that encouraged me to make the move).
When I arrived to my apartment, all that was there was a bed frame that I had bought off of the previous renter.
I had a bunch of stuff that I could take from my house at home, but moving things in was so time consuming.
Did I mention that I didn’t have power for a few days? Unlike Empire, I had to make a call to get my gas and electric turned on- talk about adulating.
Living alone, there’s no one to blame for dirty dishes in the sink, or a rotating schedule of who takes the trash out next. It’s just me, myself, and I.
Believe it or not, it’s made me be on time to on campus events. When I lived on campus, I would wait until the last minute to leave my room to go to class.
Now that I live downtown, I factor in driving time (7-9 minutes on a good day,) wait for pedestrians to cross the road, finding close parking, walk to class, and still make it there early. I usually leave at least 30 minutes ahead of time, just to make sure I’m not in a rush.
There’s no more parking lots, or the security and safety of living on campus, but so far I think I’m doing fairly well.
In my new space, I find that I’m able to have a much clearer mindset, and I actually get a lot of work done. Especially when I wake up early every morning.
Not only am I saving money by living off campus, I’m also getting to discover the town that I go to school in on my own. I can walk to a bunch of places I probably wouldn’t if I lived on campus, and I realize that there’s so many students who live off campus, so we’re in this together!
If you’re considering living off campus, my best advice is to not only do your research, but to also ask yourself whether you’re ready to make such a big change.