Okay, so living in the dorms offers you a lot of convenience and is pretty simple. Your housing options are chosen for you, you’re close to everything you need, your friends are right down the hall, and you never have to worry about landlords. Is that all there is to it, though? It’s not, and there are actually some really great benefits to choosing off campus student housing. These days, there’s plenty of choice when it comes to real estate for students, and plenty of rental space available when it comes to off campus student housing. The only question is what is right for you? Read on to learn about four great benefits of choosing a life off campus and then make your decision.
You Will Gain Life Experience
Nobody really wants to take on a new responsibility. Studying in a university brings a lot of challenges anyway, so you might not think that taking on the responsibility of finding and maintaining your own off campus student housing rental is a good idea. But it’s actually a pretty good way to get some liftoff into the world of adulthood. When you find your first space for lease and move in, and you’ll suddenly be responsible for understanding and signing contracts, for communicating with professionals and other adults such as your landlord, your property manager, or people on maintenance. It’ll be up to you to budget for rent and for bills and to do the cleaning, cooking, basic maintenance, and grocery shopping. All this experience might seem daunting, but it’s really a great way to prepare for real life.You Can Never Start Building a Rental History Too Early
Paradoxically, it can be very difficult to rent if you’ve never rented before. If you are looking for student housing options, most landlords will understand that a college student has never rented before. Once you’re out on your own in the adult world, however, you can find it difficult to rent any nice house or apartment unless you have an established rental history. Getting an apartment or other off campus student housing while you are still a student is pretty easy and a great way to begin building your rental history.
You Can Set Your Own Rules
The dorms have a lot of rules. There may be curfews and restrictions. You might not be allowed to have overnight guests. Most dorms also have a resident advisor who keeps an eye on everybody and enforces the rules. If you have your own apartment, though, you mostly set the rules. Now of course, all apartment buildings have some rules. There will probably be rules about pets, noise levels, and how many people can live in one space. But in general these rules are not nearly as restrictive as anything that you will find in a dormitory. You can leave when you want, come back when you want, have guests any time you like and for as long as you like, and do whatever you want so long as it is legal and does not infringe on the rights of other people.You Get More Living Space
Let’s face it: the dorm room is a really small space. You’ll be sharing it with at least one roommate, and while it’s possible to do a lot to fix up a dormitory room and make it your own, it’ll never be the same as having your own off campus student housing. Apartments are much larger, and even if you just rent a room it will still probably be larger than a dorm room and you will not have to share it. You’ll also have access to all of the real living space amenities that apartments come with: a private bathroom, a real kitchen, a living room, and storage. If you do have to have roommates, there’s more room for you to spread out.
These are just some of the benefits of off-campus student housing. The choice is yours, so make the choice that’s right for you.
