Photo courtesy: Alight West Tenn
For many students living off campus opens up a whole new world. There is no residential assistant supervision, the amount of fire alarms are dramatically lessened, and students are exposed to the elements of the world without the utopian atmosphere of a campus.
There are some students who have lived off campus since their Freshman year, while others have transitioned into off campus housing as their collegiate years waned.
Kinnedi Bonner, a graduating senior, stayed at Florida A&M’s Village for her first 3 years of college but felt her time on campus had come to an end.
“Honestly just being a senior I didn’t want to be housed with underclassmen.” Bonner said.
Bonner, who is now a resident of Forum at Tallahassee, loves that she now has the ability to separate school and home as it has given her the chance to “break away from campus.”
Despite the change of scenery Bonner expressed there are still similarities among on and off campus housing. The most blatant being the response time of maintenance, response times are strikingly identical and she notes “you have to stay on top of both.”
Everyones’ off campus experiences has not been as seamless as Bonner’s.
Jayden Dubious, a sophomore at FAMU, has never stayed on campus. Dubious spent his freshman year at Seminole Grand, which has since become ReNew Tallahassee, and currently lives at Alight West Tenn.
Dubious shared his biggest issues with staying off campus, the management.
“My experience with management can be frustrating at times when it comes to needing direct responses to certain issues, such as package pick-up and other amenities,” Dubious said.
Ryan Elizabeth, a sophomore at Florida State University, has never stayed on campus. She is a resident of Statehouse Varsity. Elizabeth makes it clear that the maintenance team goes above and beyond to accommodate residents.
Elizabeth is most thrilled by her proximity to FSU.
“I can walk to all of my classes or really anywhere on campus in less than 20 minutes,” Elizabeth said. “I believe I get to experience life in an apartment while still having the benefits of being “on campus.”
While Elizabeth is pleased with her housing situation her statements were not void of grievances.
“Appliances are constantly breaking. Our freezer does not make ice, in order to get our dishwasher to start there are a couple tricks you have to do,” Elizabeth said.
The general consensus appears to be that the pros of staying off campus outweigh the cons. There are experiences that you will get living on campus that you won’t get anywhere else, but the same can be said for those who stay off campus.