With everything going on, I decided that living off-campus and taking classes through the hybrid model was the best choice for me this semester. The only problem was that I had never lived off-campus before and was not exactly prepared for all the challenges that come with being a bona fide adult. During my first 2 years at BU, I lived in Claflin Hall and Danielsen Hall respectively. I had a dining plan for both years, so my food needs were pretty much taken care of without a second thought. Given this, the change to apartment life was a bit dramatic for me.
- Setting Up Utilities
-
So, contrary to popular belief (or just mine), apartments do not usually come with utilities just set up and ready for use. You have to go out of your way to call separate gas, electricity, and WiFi companies in order to have amenities in your apartment. Now, I know this may sound like common sense but it was honestly much more difficult than it might appear. My roommate and I had to call multiple companies to see if they even serviced our building. Then, we had to wait a couple of business days for them to get set up.
- Initial Household Shopping
-
There are a lot of things you need to function in an apartment. There’s the obvious things like furniture and detergent and then there’s the not so obvious, like disinfectant spray and a shower drain. You don’t actually realize what you need until you run into issues because you don’t have that item.
- Groceries and Cooking
-
Cooking is much more difficult than it might look. During the first supermarket haul, you have to stock up on spices and ingredients that’ll last you for months. After that, it’s much less tiresome and expensive to do a weekly or a bi-weekly grocery haul. Two weeks into living here and I’m still realizing just how many things I’m missing in my kitchen. Another annoying side effect of having to actually cook is the trips to and from Trader Joe’s. I’m getting some serious gainz from toting my groceries back and forth.
Even though there are a lot of unforeseen responsibilities with living off-campus, I’m having a great time overall. The independence is well worth the minor headaches, and with COVID-19, apartment life has definitely made me feel safer.
Want to keep up with HCBU? Make sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, check out our Pinterest board, and read our latest Tweets!