Townhouse…
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Since your OP was eaten, I’ll assume from the title that you’re about to start college and want to know if you should move into the dorms or get your own apartment. If that is the question, there is only one answer: you must live in the dorms. Even though living in the same room as another person can be a hassle, there’s no better way to meet lots of people right away than to live in the dorms. If you make an effort to be extra social your first week, you’ll be set for the next four years. It’s worth it.
If you live in an apartment your first year, you’ll be that weird guy who is constantly trying to strike up conversations between classes before wandering off to eat his lunch alone under a tree.
Agreed. First year - live in the dorms. You may hate it, but it may also be some of the most fun you’ve ever had in your life. And you can always bail after the first semester, but it’s much harder to get into the dorms the second semester and you’re more likely to be paired with a tool whose roomie bailed on him.
I’ll agree with the first year dorm, after that whatever is more convenient to you. It’s nice to have a private bathroom and kitchen, but it’s easier to adjust to college and make new friends in the dorms.
I’ve never lived in the dorms and I regret that. I went my first couple of years at college hardly knowing any one. I was the weird girl under the tree eating lunch. It took until I reached the upper level classes of my major before I got to know any one. Even then they were more just acquaintances than friends.
I thought I was lucky to get an apartment my first year, and the rest of my time in school, too. But I look back and really regret not having spend at least one, maybe more, years in the dorms. I realize that the dorms can be an unpleasant place to reside, but I know that I missed a lot of fun and social opportunity.
Now I’ve been out on my own for a while, own a house, have a job…and the thing I’d most like about an opportunity to relive college would be the chance to spend some time in the dorms and experience all the good imes I appear to have missed.
But you couldn’t get me back in undergrad without a struggle.
Ugh, woe is me.
My OP is actually different than everyone’s assuming (and I spent so long writing it, too). Grr.
Okay, so let’s say I’m a sophomore at the University of Michigan. Let’s further say that I’ve lived in the dorms for two years so far, and for next year (junior year) a friend and I were planning on getting an apartment.
So, one of us (namely, me) is less and less sure that an apartment is necessarily a better move at this point the further we go into the looking-for-one process. While it has many advantages (the fact that it’s not a dorm), it also has disadvantages (somewhat farther away from campus, $900+/month (without electricity or cable) vs. whatever I’m paying now for the dorm that must be cheaper than that). This causes yours truly to think that staying in the dorm (in a single room, of course) might be a better choice.
Stupid eaten OP…
$900 a month for rent? No way I would do that.
That would mean $450 for your share. That’s more than what I pay for a one bedroom by myself. That’s also a lot of money to depend on your friend to have each month.
Excuse me, but I was that guy.
I don’t have much in the way of advice for the original poster, who’s facing a bit more in the way of expenses than I was. But eschewing the dorms from the moment I started college in favor of a one-room apartment was the best decision I ever made. Seriously. No fire alarms going off in the middle of the night, a continuously - and immensely! - clean bathroom, no having to adjust to a filthy, horrible roommate, home-cooked food, 700 square feet to myself … ahhh.
The experiences of others may differ, of course, but I work in a dorm - between the fire alarms, the noise, and the dirty toilets, I don’t see how anyone can enjoy it. I’d urge anyone who’s going to a college in an area with cheap apartments to avoid the dorms entirely.
I forgot to add that almost all the leases available around here appear to be for 12 months, and I’m not especially interested in spending the summer here.
You’ve pretty much covered the tradeoffs.
One thing you should think about, though, is food. I’m assuming that in the dorms, you’ll also receive a cafeteria pass, and so you’ll never go hungry. Even if the food isn’t so hot…
I moved out of the dorms after my sophomore year, and although I had a blast, I was starving half the time.
The other big consideration is roommates. I don’t know about AnnArbor, but in Boulder there weren’t any affordable one bedrooms… I generally found two and three bedroom apartments, and shared the rent.
Problem was, I never had all the rooms occupied for long… I was constantly struggling to keep the rent paid.
One year I rented a room in a boarding house, but got fed up with the shared bathroom, shared kitchen, flaky co-tenants, scary co-tenants… etc.
I found one roommate who was reliable and trustworthy, but after he graduated, I went thru a string of deadbeats the next year.
If you want adventure, go with the apartment.
If you want stability and minimal stress, go with the dorms.
I’ll have to say, though, that I had a blast in college. I didn’t know how good I had it, though…
Well, what is it specifically about the dorm you don’t like? And how important is it to you?
It may not be right for you (it takes a certain type, perhaps) but I’m pretty happy with my decision to live in the North Campus co-ops–and I hated the four years I lived in the dorms (admittedly I didn’t go to U Mich for undergrad so I don’t know what those dorms are like–and I never had a single.)
I hate to break this to you, but rent is not reasonable everywhere. I don’t know about the town the OP lives in, but where I live it is just not possible to get a one bedroom apartment for that price. Hell, you would be considered lucky to get your own room in a multiroom apartment for that price. And I don’t even live in Berkeley, where you might have to pay that much to share a room with someone.
Actually, I’m pretty sure that is about how much my brother pays to share a one bedroom in Isla Vista.
Typical dorm stuff. The noise and the ew.
Funny you should mention co-ops, actually. I looked into that a little last year when a friend of mine was looking to get into one, but I just can’t see myself in that setting at all.
As far as the price goes, it’s doable (we’ll both be working), but our parents will be paying the majority of it, so there is that to consider.
Thanks for the responses so far, guys.
I realize that rent is high in a lot of places. I just couldn’t imagine being able to work to cover the rent and still be able to do well in school.
How much does the school charge for room and board?
Also, since your parents will be paying for a good portion of it, what are their thoughts on where you live?
If you do decide to get an apartment, my advice would be to try and find a place within walking distance to campus. My attendence improved greatly when I moved to an apartment that didn’t require me to drive. I didn’t have to leave as early and I didn’t have to deal with the hassle of finding parking.
They’re pretty indifferent to it, actually, as long as we stay within their price limit (somewhere below $1200).
At my former university - I moved into the dorms to meet others / all the benefits / etc. Hated it.
So what, right?
Well … Then I did a financial breakdown and discovered that it was basically the same price to go out and rent a tiny, cozy little studio and live alone in peace and quiet.
I really cannot recommend living off campus (and alone) enough. It’s absolutely smashing.
— Peter Wiggen
Well, I did it. 30+ hours a week, carrying 18-20 semester hours. For four years.
It wasn’t easy, and I wish I didn’t have to…but my grades stayed up. I just gave up sleeping. It was either sleep or drinking…and I wasn’t about to stop drinking.
FYI to all who are wondering, Ann Arbor is quite expensive, particualrly the apartments and houses within walking distance of campus.
However I find it hard to believe you can’t find a 1-bedroom apartment for less than $900. I live 2 blocks from Rackham and I pay $600 for a small 1 bedroom. And 2 guys who are willing to share a single room fer god’s sake should be able to share a 1 bedroom.
BUT you may get screwed over the summer – you’ll never make rent on subletting (I once subletted a large 2 bedroom apt on Thompson & William for $400). So if you can’t afford to lose that, the dorm may be cheaper over a 12-month period, even if it’s NOT cheaper on a month-to-month basis (and I doubt it it).
Have you considered a co-op?
When I went to school, I lived in the dorms for the first 2 years, and loved it. All the fun and social benefits as advertised.
My 3rd year, I lived in the dorms, but didn’t like it as much. Most residents were younger than me and I was in more difficult classes, which led to my priorities being quite different from most residents around me. It was less fun.
My 4th year, I moved into a 4-bedroom house (for $400 TOTAL a month – yeah, Marquette, MI!) with 3 other guys. It wasn’t too bad, but I didn’t get along with one of the guys very well.
In total I went to school 4 1/2 years, and with most of my hard classes out of the way, plus not wanting to haggle for a half-year lease, I moved back into the dorms, this time on a floor with more upper-classmen. It was great.
My recommendation: upper-class dorms. You’ll have plenty of time to live in apartments for the rest of your life.
I say apartment. I love it. If your neighbor is blasting music at 3am while you’re trying to study for a killer midterm, you can call the cops. You don’t have to rely on an RA or the good graces of the people blasting the music.