10 things they wish they'd known before moving

1. Location
“Most likely you’ll be living in a neighborhood with other college students. If you want to sleep well at night, invest in some earplugs.”
Benton Huang, sophomore

2. Finding a place
“In my experience searching for houses and apartments, I have found that it’s often more difficult to agree on a location with your potential roommates than you would think.”
Jake Henning, junior

3. Roommates
“Be up front! I ended up living with a friend from high school who I was never especially close with, but we’ve gotten along great by dividing tasks and bills fairly and ... by having spoken out about our expectations and living preferences.”
Aamena Ansari, junior

4. Repair charges
“You have to be careful with how you treat your rental property because some companies will try and gouge you with unnecessary charges because they think students will not know any better.”
Henning

5. Food
“It is difficult to plan out what to buy that will be enough food for a month and will not expire too quickly. I don’t mind making my own meals, but planning them out at the beginning of the month is tough.”
Henning

6. Utilities
“Unfortunately, your off-campus house isn’t affiliated with your bursar account, which means you have to pay your bills promptly in order to keep getting the services you desire.”
Huang

7. Laundry
“If your house doesn’t have a washing machine, make sure you know where the closest
laundromat is.”
Huang

8. Housekeeping
“No one is there to clean your bathroom like in the dorms. Magic Erasers, bleach and toilet bowl cleaner become your best friend.”
Kristina Carson, senior

9. Clothing
“You have access to fewer closets. Living in a dorm with 50-plus girls made going out pretty easy. You learn to rewear clothes in different ways.”
Carson

10. Toilet paper
“Figure out who’s buying the toilet paper. Don’t sit on the toilet with an empty roll.”
Huang