Post 75: Living On vs. Off-Campus

So, since I have had the opportunity to live both on and off campus these past few years as a University student, I think I would like to take this opportunity to talk a little about the experiences I've had with each. After all, there are a lot of people out there trying to choose which is right for them.


Keeping in mind, I lived on-campus at two different Universities and in two very different arrangements.


Starting from my earliest experience at UVic (yes, I am disclosing the name of the University), I lived in Cluster. Cluster, while an odd sounding name, is kind of like an apartment. It has four bedrooms (single-person), two bathrooms (toilet and sink), one shower in between, and a kitchen. The kitchen has two fridges, a decent amount of counter space, and a stove. It does not have a microwave, kettle, or other such appliances. The kitchen area has a table, and just to the side of the kitchen area is a common area.


The bedroom, I did not fully appreciate at the time for its size. The University I am at now had tiny bedrooms. The bedroom at UVic, was bigger by at least a foot maybe two in each direction. It also had two windows to allow in sun, something more rare where I am at now (the sun, not the windows).


It had a dresser and an actual closet. Where I was last, where I still attend, had no closet and more of an armoire with a place to hang things and drawers all in one, which had less space but also took up a lot of space in the room. It had a bed with a mattress, once again where I was last had more of a mat like you use in Gym class. There was a desk, which was basically the same.


The bathroom...well, I thought with fewer people it would stay cleaner...I was wrong. The bathroom itself was usually fine, but the shower certainly got grungy.


The common area was also pretty gross. Not that it was left gross, but more that the carpets were a nasty greyish color and had some mysterious stains of unknown origin. And it is school furniture, it isn't like there is a comfortable couch. It is a somewhat padded bench like thing. And unless someone brings a TV, it is not really a place where you'd want to hang out much.


The kitchen was my favorite thing about this place when I was there. I enjoy cooking, but even people who don't like cooking will probably enjoy the freedom of making things. Or, at least, buying pre-made things and re-heating them whenever they want.


From what I remember, which may have changed, the cafeteria was not 24/7. So, if you woke up at 3am starving, you were just out of luck.


The last place I lived in campus, was in the dorms. And as I have already said, my room was A LOT smaller. Or rather, since my room at UVic already seemed small, it was hard to imagine that it would be possible to get a smaller room. Although, I should probably point out that my friends who lived in the dorms (both single-person and two-person) had bigger rooms than Cluster. I guess, since we get the kitchen and our own little common space, it made sense we also didn't get big(ger) rooms.


Anyway, the room was small. It was small and had the bulky armoire, a desk, a bed, and a mini-fridge. The mini-fridge is kind of nice. It makes for a good place to store drinks and things. The common area for the floor also had two stoves, two microwaves, and a sink. It also had two tea kettles, but I don't know if those were ones that were provided or brought.


The bathroom, of which for our section there were three (one handicapped), was not as bad as I had thought it would be. There were two stalls with toilets (or a urinal, since one restroom was supposed to be the men's room) and a room with shower. The room had a good a mount of space between a little bench and the actual shower, so you could bring your stuff and change without getting wet.


I ended up in an all-girl wing of the dorm, so there were no awkward run-ins in the bathroom, but also no non-awkward ones anywhere else in the area.


Now, I've kind of catalogued more than anything else, I should probably talk more about my experience.


Honestly, I liked living on campus.


I think between the two places I stayed, I liked Cluster better. But, it was a bigger room and I like cooking.


In general, though, if you live on-campus you have more of an opportunity to meet people, commuting is faster (I woke up at 8:15 some days when I had an 8:30 class, and was never late) , you are more in-the-know about what is happening on campus, and it can be a lot of fun. But, you can't just expect to meet more people by living on-campus. You can go right from your class back to your room, you can avoid people and the cafeteria, and you may only meet your dorm mates in passing.


And just because you don't live on campus doesn't mean you won't meet anyone. A lot of the people I have met and talk to from both Universities, I met in tutorials or class. Tutorials are a good place to meet people, because you are required to talk and interact with people.


As the saying goes 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend', midterms and finals, essays and exams, bad grades and poor attendance are your enemy. So, go and find a friend with that same enemy, and no matter where you live, you will get through University for the better.


Right now I live at home, which is nice because my room (while, sadly, not much bigger than a dorm room) does have a bigger, better bed. It has a desk and dresser as well, but they are all mine. There is something about ownership that just seems to make them better. And, while I could no longer get away with waking up 15 minutes before class, with an hour and a half commute, it is more affordable. And I still have had the chance to meet people and make friends, so which ever way you go, you can't go wrong.


Though, I recommend looking at the room and thinking about what is best for you. If you like cooking, a place like Cluster would work well for you. If you really want to meet a lot of people, dorms is still good because dorms often go on outings together. I didn't, but I could have if I had wanted to. If you cannot do your own laundry, you should live at home or, at least, stay close to home (or learn!).


Also, look at the room online, if that is an option. So, you know what to expect and what you might need to bring. I brought a cork board to my last room, because it didn't have one and I used it a lot from Cluster.


Best wishes to all of you, especially to those faced with tough decisions right now.


That's all for now. If you have any questions, let me know.