Happy October!!! As this week wraps up I thought I would write about the perks of living downtown during my Senior year. First of all, after living in dorms for two years and an apartment right on campus Junior year, I was ready for moving somewhere more off-campus yet still “on-campus.” A bunch of friends and myself thought it would be best not to live off-campus because signing leases and having only a few of them around next semester (one is graduating early and the other is doing an internship in Chicago) would make things complicated. Also, since none of my friends or myself are RAs, we had to stick with apartments instead of cottages like some of my friends are in. Therefore, we were limited in what apartments and housing were available to us and considered living downtown. When we finally heard back that we were living there, it was really exciting because there are a bunch of bonuses to living further away from campus:
- Close to all of the shopping and restaurants downtown
- WE LIVE BEHIND THE WINDMILL RESTAURANT
- Not as loud because underclassmen aren’t running around outside at obnoxious hours
- Not on a meal plan so you can eat whatever and whenever you want
- Lot more living space compared to dorms
- Some apartments have air conditioning–a bonus during those hot, move-in days
- Nice view of the downtown area and events going on
- Feel more independent
These are just a few of the obvious upsides to living downtown but there are plenty more! The only downside I have quickly realized is that it’s further from campus so I have to allow more time getting to class. Also, with winter approaching, it will be a hassle trudging through all of the snow to class, but it’s definitely worth it to live somewhere awesome!
If you’re currently attending Hope and reading this blog, I suggest looking into apartments downtown as soon as possible and searching for roommates because it gets stressful and overwhelming very quickly. All of the apartments require a certain amount of residents, so securing a group of people to live with is key. Also, I have friends that decided to live off-campus for their Senior year and they had to start looking for houses in the fall and start thinking about signing leases before Christmas break. It’s definitely something everyone needs to start thinking about to get your top choice!!
With that, I hope you all have a relaxing weekend and enjoy the rain. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @hopeleslie15