If you have ever lived in a dorm or are currently living in a dorm, I’m sure you feel some of the drawbacks of living on campus. I highly recommend for all of my college peeps to move off of campus ASAP.
Something that irked me while I was living on campus was the fact that I felt like I couldn’t be independent. To have people in my dorm, I had to check them in at the front desk and could only have a limited number of people in my room at a time. Having an RA, or residential assistant, was nice because there was someone I knew I could go to if I had a problem while living on campus, but at the same time, it made me feel like I was a child. I felt like I could handle disputes on my own and it made me feel like I was at camp and the RA was my camp counselor. Living in an apartment allows me to feel like I have more of my own space.
Living off-campus also means that you have options! You’re able to compare and contrast spaces you’d live in; filtering out what aspects are the most important to you. Being in a dorm, there isn’t that flexibility. The amenities offered are what they are. When searching for a place off-campus to live, you can filter by price, size, amount of bathrooms, location in relation to your school and whether or not the place accepts pets. This flexibility allows you to have some control over whether your environment is the one that will make you healthiest and happiest.
Personally, living in a space where I’m able to express my style makes me feel so much for grateful for my space. When I lived in a dorm, I wasn’t supposed to light candles, incense, plug in my wax melter, or nail anything into the wall. I need all of those things! Not to mention, the dorm was furnished with hideous, brown bland furniture. Now that I have an apartment with two of my friends, I’m able to decorate my space much more freely, which puts me in such a better mindset.
Even though buying furniture for a space might seem like a huge financial setback, I was able to express my style through buying furniture pieces that I liked by thrifting and going to yard sales and finding pieces for a high value at a low cost. Living off of campus has been so much more cost-effective! Living on campus also costs about $200 more monthly.
The value of what I was getting wasn’t too hot, either. The money spent furnishing my apartment ended being way less than the monthly rate to live on campus in the long run.
All in all, living off-campus has put me in such a better mindset. I feel more free and like I have a space for myself. It has allowed me to feel like more like an independent bad b*tch, and I recommend if you’re able to live off-campus, do it, so you can feel like one too!