A College Student Guide to Living Off-Campus

Students can live on or off-campus. Both have their perks, but if you’re the kind of student who prefers to live off-campus, you’re going to have to do it right. One thing you have to do is decide where to live, and the following guide will help you choose the right place.

Proximity is Vital

One important feature your new home should have is proximity. Living on campus means you won’t have to travel to get to school, but if you live off-campus, you will. You should be as close to your school as you can be.

Houston is a large city, and that means you can live pretty far from your college, and that’s not going to be a good experience. Traffic is going to get in the way. You don’t want to worry about waking up or leaving home earlier than you need to because you don’t live close to your college. Find a place within a few miles that you can walk to if necessary. Further could mean cheaper rent but could bring certain issues.

Smart Amenities

Proximity is a good thing to look for, but you also need to consider the perks. Living off-campus gives you a chance to stay at wonderful apartments that cater to your life as a student. No matter what size school you are at, there will be some great housing options. Most notable, the UH apartments in Texas offer great amenities for off-campus students.

Student-focused complexes do their best to give you amenities that would make your life easier, or make sure you’re happy when you’re home. Since these complexes know that you’re a student, they have study rooms and computer rooms for you. That’s not all though. Some offer 24-hour gyms, outdoor fire pits, grills, pools, and a dog park so that you can have fun, too.

Roommate Option

Living off-campus should also give you a choice about how you live. Some students love to stay off-campus because it means they don’t have to share their living space with anyone. That kind of peace can be valuable to some students. Some students love living with others, and that’s okay.

The only difference is they’d like to have a choice regarding who they’ll be staying with. If that’s you, then choose an apartment complex that gives you that choice. Staying with others means you won’t be lonely, and it also means you’ll be paying less in rent. You might even pay less on food depending on your living arrangements.

Security is Key

Living on campus means you are living with a bunch of your fellow students. That does feel pretty safe, and the campus is usually secure enough. All that goes away when you’re living off-campus. You have to make sure you’re going to be in a secure location.

Some off-campus locations offer no security, while others do. If you’re going to be staying in an apartment complex, then you want to make sure they have 24-hour surveillance, a security guard, or maybe you want to make sure the apartment complex only grants access to residents. In essence, you want to feel safe enough to walk around your apartment complex, no matter the time of night.

Surroundings

It can be easy to overlook what’s around you when you’re looking for a place to stay. Yes, you want to be close to your college, but you also want to pay attention to what’s around you. If you focus too much on the apartment complex alone, you might end up in a place that makes it hard for you to live. For example, you don’t want to be too far from a grocery store.

One of the perks of living off-campus is that you get to cook your food, but that’s going to be challenging if the nearest grocery store is hard to get to. It may also be a good idea to see how close you’ll be to entertainment options, such as the movies or maybe a bistro you like to frequent. Being able to choose an apartment complex that is close to everything makes your life easier.

Now, you know what you need to look for if you’re going to be living off-campus. Take your time on your search. You need enough patience to find the perfect place to live.