{"id":1700,"date":"2015-02-19T09:00:28","date_gmt":"2015-02-19T14:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/?p=1700"},"modified":"2015-02-17T18:21:38","modified_gmt":"2015-02-17T23:21:38","slug":"stacy-the-decision-to-move-off-campus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/2015\/02\/19\/stacy-the-decision-to-move-off-campus\/","title":{"rendered":"Stacy: The Decision to Move Off Campus"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m the type of person to have a five-year plan, and then follow it religiously. My plan for college housing was to live in Warren, then 1019, then StuV for my junior and senior years. I\u2019m currently a sophomore and when my friends and I were talking about housing for next year, they all decided they wanted to move off campus for our junior year. I didn\u2019t know the first thing about getting an apartment. I hadn\u2019t done the research or even thought about it. So, for others who find themselves in a similar predicament, here are some basics and tips for moving off campus.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Find a good realtor<\/span>. There are plenty of companies in Boston \u2013 make sure to find one that has a plan for undergraduate college students and has apartments and houses near the BU Campus.<\/li>\n
  2. Choose whom to live with<\/span>. Living off campus is more responsibility. Make sure you\u2019re choosing to live with people who will agree to roommate terms and want the same things, regarding housing preferences, as you do.<\/li>\n
  3. Convincing the parents<\/span>. I made a spreadsheet on Microsoft Excel showing my dad how living off campus is actually cheaper than living in StuV 1 or 2. Up front there are a lot of fees (first month\u2019s rent, last month\u2019s rent, application fee and lock fee) but after that it is a lot less overwhelming and you don\u2019t have to use the dining hall, which is absolutely amazing.<\/li>\n
  4. Be fair about choosing rooms<\/span>. Luckily the girls I\u2019m living with all wanted different rooms so we never had an issue, but make sure you use a fair method in deciding who gets what room.<\/li>\n
  5. Read the lease at least three times<\/span>. Ask questions about items you don\u2019t understand. This is a legal document, so make sure you understand all of the rules and agreements you are signing to.<\/li>\n
  6. Lastly, take a deep breath<\/span>. I got overwhelmed with all of the up front payments, finding a place without my parents helping me, signing a thick legal document and leaving the safety net of a 24 hour security guard and a dining plan. However, living off campus is cheaper and gives you more freedom, more space and is a more independent lifestyle that I didn\u2019t realize I wanted until I signed the lease.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So, if living off campus isn\u2019t in your long-term college plan \u2013 don\u2019t be opposed to it. Have an open mind. I\u2019m so excited to have an apartment with my best friends\u2026 and also to have an actual kitchen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I\u2019m the type of person to have a five-year plan, and then follow it religiously. My plan for college housing was to live in Warren, then 1019, then StuV for my junior and senior years. I\u2019m currently a sophomore and when my friends and I were talking about housing for next year, they all decided … Continue reading Stacy: The Decision to Move Off Campus<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2018,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1700"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1700"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1701,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1700\/revisions\/1701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}