Off-campus housing offers alternative to dorm life

Flipping through classified ads is only the start for students in need of a place to live. The search for off-campus housing will lead to many options.\nAngie Stewart, property manager for the University Commons apartment complex, 1150 Clarizz Blvd., said living off campus is more like home than living on campus.\n"Students can have their own bathrooms, along with a washer and dryer the entire apartment shares."\nCraig Feldman, a sophomore, said he enjoys his off-campus apartment lifestyle.\n"The freedom to do what I want in my apartment is a big change from on-campus living," Feldman said. "I also enjoy not wearing flip-flops to shower, which wasn't always an option in the dorm."\nCertain rental properties offer studios or houses as opposed to apartments.\nJosh Cain, property manager of Renaissance Rentals, 1300 N. Walnut St., said off-campus rental living is perfect for the serious student.\n"A one-person studio is quiet and ideal for people who want to get away from noise and be right on a bus line," Cain said. "By living off campus, students don't have to drive in order to gather necessities such as groceries."\nConcerns that living off campus will force students to set an early alarm or be uncontrollably late for classes appear unjustified, Stewart said.\n"Most of our residents use the Bloomington bus service to get to campus," Stewart said. "The bus picks up every 20 minutes and seems very acceptable for students to use."\n"The transportation is free and perfect," Feldman said. "It's easy to get from where I live to anywhere on campus." \nSteven Hoffman, director of finance for Pavilion Properties, said he is supportive of off-campus student living.\n"Living off campus gives students a freedom and a chance to expand horizons, while growing into a young adult," he said.\nSusie Johnson, assistant director of Bloomington Housing and Neighborhood Development, said students should make sure their rental homes are in compliance with HAND standards. HAND looks for health, safety and maintenance issues among rental homes.\n"If students have a health and safety violation with their house or apartment that the landlord refuses to take care of, they can call HAND and file a complaint."\nJohnson said little things, such as garbage disposal, can end up being more of a headache than students expect.\nStudents are often unaware of Bloomington's "pay for use" sanitation program, which involves applying an orange sticker to garbage cans so garbage men know what to pick up, Johnson said.\n"If students don't attach those stickers they can be fined $50 for improper disposal of garbage, said Johnson. "I would love it if we wouldn't have to write any trash tickets this year, but I have my doubts."\nBy placing a $1 sticker on every trash can, students can avoid the costly penalties. Stickers are available at most local grocery and hardware stores.