International Ambassadors

Most people who live off-campus share apartment or house with several close friends. When I first came to the US, I rented a room in a private house. At the very beginning, everything seemed stunning. The garden is pretty, the furniture is unique, and the house owner seemed to be quite friendly. But with time passed by, more and more problems came out. The house in the US is not well-protected, that means people can easily crash into your room through the window. Some of my friends told me their computers had been stolen. Also, some of the house owner can be disasters. My former house owner is a very mean person. She tried to let us pay her more money by cheating us. Last December, I couldn’t stand it anymore and I moved out to Chateau, an apartment building in Dinky town, which is within walking distance to the campus.

There are several apartment buildings around campus. Those off-campus apartments are much cheaper than living on campus. Chateau is a very good representative. In most cases, 4 people will share an apartment with two bathrooms, one kitchen and one living room. Although furniture are not provided, they are very cheap in second hand stores, and sometimes you can just pick them up at the first floor when someone else through them away. The rent is around 350 per month, including electronic fees, water, cable, and internet connection. Compared with living on-campus, it saves a lot of money. Also, since there are only 4 people living together, it is much safer than living with 6 or 8 people in a house. I feel much freer now, and I also make more friends living in this apartment building because we can always meet each other in the playing room of the building.

In short, according to my personal experience, if you want to live off-campus, I would strongly recommend you apply to apartment buildings instead of houses. I wish you a good luck!