Off-campus living offers choices

Jun. 21, 2009 – A great debate after the freshman year of college is whether to keep living in the dorms.

Sure, everyone might have heard the horror stories that are caused by living in such close quarters: the roommates who leave stale food out for weeks, the floor neighbors who blast their television until 4 a.m., stumbling in on a roommate and his or her “guest” at the least opportune time. These are only a few examples of the tragedies of the dorm experience.

But living in the dorms is also a great experience in bonding.

“It’s important for students to live in the dorms their freshman year,” said Dave Kerber, manager of Varsity Villas apartment complex. “You meet a lot more people than you would usually meet elsewhere.”

Depending on what kind of living preferences a person has, finding a place to live off-campus after freshman year might be the best option.

Leon Brown, a leasing consultant at Fountain Park Apartments on East 10th Street, said he believes space and cost of living are the two biggest factors that motivate students to move off campus.

“You have access to more of the Bloomington community, and living expenses are a lot cheaper,” Brown said. “And there’s a lot bigger space as far as an apartment to live in rather than a dorm.”

Ricky Brown, leasing and marketing director of Millennium Property Management, cites the freedom of off-campus living as another perk of leaving the dorms.

“There’s a progression from living with your parents, then living in the dorms, then dealing with your roommates and paying your own bills,” Ricky Brown said. “Here there’s no authoritative figure on your floor and a lot more independence.”

He went on to say the amenities provided by the properties owned by his company on the west side of town, like Rolling Ridge apartments on West Second Street, are another benefit. Some examples he cited were 24-hour gyms, tanning beds and access to art studios on site.

Both Fountain Park and Rolling Ridge representatives cited their off-campus location as being ideal for students who want a more peaceful living environment, “away from the party atmosphere but still close to campus,” Ricky Brown said.
As for Varsity Villas, people flock to the complex for its dorm-like community.

“Our place pretty much speaks for itself,” Kerber said of the complex’s reputation.
However, with more space and freedom comes more responsibility. Kerber believes that although bonding with others is essential to the college experience, learning this new responsibility is also imperative.

“Depending where you end up living, I don’t think you want to live (in the dorms) all four years either,” Kerber said. “It’s definitely good to get out there and pay your bills for the first time. It’s the first of many contracts you’ll sign in your life.”

Many students looking to get off campus begin their hunt for houses and apartments in the fall. High-demand complexes like Varsity Villas have usually filled their capacity by January, but other apartment complexes farther off campus reach their peak time for signing leases in the spring. In other words, it’s good to keep an eye out for off-campus digs early in the year if moving away from the dorms might be a good option.