After two years of dorm life, many upper class students at Emory cannot wait to get off campus. With the brand new freshman dorms at Emory, the living really isn’t so bad, but living off-campus allows you to customize your experience and create boundaries among your academic, social, and personal spheres. Finally you can be responsible for your own place without the restrictions imposed by an RA, you have much more space, and you can decorate exactly to your liking (without getting charged $50 for every thumbtack hole you made in the wall). Living off campus seems like a no brainer, but like everything else, it has its pros and cons.
The Pros
Freedom: The first advantage of off-campus living that pops into our minds is simple: freedom. No email blasts about a late night cereal party when you’re trying to study, no posters with a long list how to be a respectful resident, no monthly meetings with the RA, and your choice of shower time doesn’t have to depend on anyone else. In the simplest terms, you have to freedom to do whatever you want, wherever and whenever you want to do it. Instead of studying in the lounge at the end of your hall, you can study at your kitchen table, on the couch or in your comfortable bed. If you need to run out for an errand or study break, you’re allowed to leave your books and computer out. Dinner doesn’t become a hassle when you realize your hallmate is still using the stove. And better yet, it’s clean when you’re ready to use it (and if it’s not, well, that’s on you…). With the freedom of your own kitchen, you can keep a stock of fresh groceries and don’t need to rely on a weekly cycle of Doc Cheys, Chipotle, Everybody’s (repeat). Better yet, home cooked meals have been proven to result in weight loss! If this don’t sound good enough, perhaps the biggest perk of them all is the freedom to shower (barefoot!) for as long as you want– shutting off the water for 2 hours once a month to run mysterious “tests” will no longer be a part of your life. Living off-campus, you have to freedom to carry out daily activities in a way that is always convenient.
Privacy: Speaking of showers, this leads us into another great aspect of off-campus living. Although some dorms give you some independence with suite-style arrangements (i.e. Woodruff, Longstreet, Clifton), you usually have some version of a communal bathroom. You might only be sharing the bathroom with one other person, but you’re still sharing your sleeping/living/working/dressing spaces with someone else, too. As close as you may be with your roommate, there are just some days that you need your personal space. This is especially true when it comes to studying. If you’re not a library worker, you’re probably one of those people that is content writing papers in your pajamas, sprawled out across your own desk or bed. As long as it’s quiet, you’re good to go. It sounds perfect, until you think about all the time your roommate spends video chatting with her boyfriend, blasting music, or trying to get your attention when she sees a hilarious photo on Facebook. Hannah Kopelman, currently a junior at Emory says living off-campus has actually improved her ability to study: “I absolutely love it. I feel comfortable at home and I’m able to study because it’s quiet, and even when it’s not, I can close my door.” Living on campus, you sometimes find yourself waiting for that weekend when your roommate is out of town. It’ss not because you don’t love her to death, it’s just that you need some peace, quiet, and privacy. In this situation, “it’s not you, it’s me,” but tensions can arise as a result of living on top of another person. Living off-campus may very well prevent this from occurring.
Options: But, as Hannah also acknowledged, living in an apartment can leave you feeling a bit lonely. “I sometimes feel isolated from other students because I often just go from class straight home so I don’t interact with many students outside of my classes during the week,” she admits. If this is the case, Emory’s Clairmont campus could be the right choice for you, as you are guaranteed to be neighbors with hundreds of fellow students. It’s a perfect middle ground between the overwhelming feeling of being on campus 24/7 and the isolation of living a few miles away where nothing Emory-related seems to be in sight. Another bonus of Clairmont living is that all of the amenities are included, which is rare for other apartment complexes. On top of rent itself, furniture, heat bills, washer/dryer sets, cable and Wi-Fi are costly add-ons that come along with living in an off-campus apartment.
The Con’s (Just A Few…)
Transportation: Even though you’re living off-campus, we can’t forget that this doesn’t exempt us from going to school. How will you get to class every morning or make your biweekly CVS run? The biggest off-campus living predicament is how to get to and from: you need a car, and it’s not just a car. Your car needs gas. And a place to be parked. And it needs to be borrowed on occasion. Having a car as a college student is an entirely separate (and major!) responsibility and expense. It’s certainly something to consider before moving 3 miles away from campus.
The Lateness Factor: Bear in mind, too that rolling out of bed at 9:55 to make it to your 10am class in White Hall will no longer fly. Your trip to class isn’t just a quick walk, but rather, a traffic-filled trek. Even for Clairmont dwellers who avoid the cost of having a car, there will be a bus to catch. And, no, it’s not going to wait for you to brush your teeth and grab your backpack.
All in all, living off-campus seems like a pretty good deal if you’re willing to take on a few extra responsibilities and pay the additional costs. It’s a great way to de-stress by physically and mentally separating your academics from your personal life, which is often a challenging thing to do if you spend every hour of your life living on-campus. That said, everyone is very different, so before you make any big decisions, be sure to do your research!