For all of you Queens students that
are considering the move off campus in the future, I advise you take a look at
this. I’ve found myself involved in
debate of this topic quite a bit recently.
As a commuter who moved off campus junior year, I feel that I’ve got a
valuable perspective to share.
Of course there are benefits to
living off campus that make it a very tempting option, but is it really worth
it? It is important that you weigh your
options and take the time to determine the right place for you to live. When living on campus, there is a feeling of
community that you just can’t find once you move out of the dorms. In most cases, when living off campus you
will end up with three or four roommates tops.
On campus, you’re living with a hallway full of other people. Living with a hallway of people can be viewed
as a good and bad thing. Good, because
there is always someone to hangout with.
Living off campus, your number of people to hangout with in close
proximity is limited. It is much less
likely that my scheduled free time is the same as one of my four
roommates. When living on campus the
number of people with the same scheduled free time as you are much higher.
Of course there are benefits to
living off campus that make it a very tempting option, but is it really worth
it? It is important that you weigh your
options and take the time to determine the right place for you to live. When living on campus, there is a feeling of
community that you just can’t find once you move out of the dorms. In most cases, when living off campus you
will end up with three or four roommates tops.
On campus, you’re living with a hallway full of other people. Living with a hallway of people can be viewed
as a good and bad thing. Good, because
there is always someone to hangout with.
Living off campus, your number of people to hangout with in close
proximity is limited. It is much less
likely that my scheduled free time is the same as one of my four
roommates. When living on campus the
number of people with the same scheduled free time as you are much higher.
The café is our next topic of
discussion. Yes, there are the good and
the bad days in the café, but the best thing about it is that it’s always
there. The café provides you with food
that you do not have to prepare yourself, an option that is not available to
you living off campus. For those who
like to cook, myself included, living off campus gives you the freedom to whip
up your own meals in your own kitchen.
While this can be the best perk to living off campus, there are those
days where the last thing I want to do is cook dinner. The freedom doesn’t stop there when living
off campus; there are many more freedoms available to you when you move off
campus. But with those freedoms you also
pay a price.
That price comes to you in the form
of gas bills and the monster we all know too well, parking. Queens does not provide a very
commuter-friendly parking infrastructure.
I always find myself wishing that I’d stayed on campus while circling the
parking lot hoping that someone will be leaving. Being a short walk away from all classrooms
is a perk to living on campus that certainly shouldn’t be taken for
granted. There have been times that I’ve
circled campus for over a half an hour trying to find a legal parking spot,
which are very vital minutes.
The parking issue is the most
important thing to consider when making a final decision, but many factors need
to be analyzed when debating the move from campus. I urge you to weigh and re-weigh your options
before browsing real estate.
Jeremy Bugbee
I prefer to live on campus. Wireman is my favorite. I am living by myself in a double right now. share the bathroom with girl that in a single. It is really comfit. so lucky I think I am. I have friend that she live back home since she is from here. She told she have to get up 6:30am every morning to drive to school. But save a lot of money but she said she miss the day that living on campus. I dont want to get up so early in the cold for sure!
ReplyDeleteI agree Jeremy,
ReplyDeleteIt is vital for all of one to weigh out options when deciding to move off campus. I think living off campus though gives a student a sense of responsibility one would not get when living on campus. For example, I live off campus and I have to worry about buying groceries, and cooking my own meals. It sounds fine, but sometimes when you have a very busy day it can be very time consuming. The cafe, and coffee shop provide students with easily accessible meals, and as many students might take it for granted, at-least it is already there and ready for you to eat timely every day. Driving is another factor, I don't have to drive far, but when I forgot something in my room that I need for that day I can't easily go grab it in my dorm room. There are plus sides to living off campus. Like not worrying about RA's or paying for CHEAPER HOUSING! Queens housing, let's be honest, is quite pricey (you save a ton of money). And you get more space for your buck!