Apartment Life: Pros and Cons
This is the second part (sequel) to last night's post (Apartment Life: In Review). In this post, I shall cover some of the pros and cons of living in an apartment versus a residence hall (dorm).
PROS
Your Own Kitchen = Your Own Food
This is a plus if you know how to cook or at least operate a microwave. No more overcooked, dried out, over salted meat, no more soggy noodles, no more disgustingly addicting nacho cheese, and certainly no more of lunch's main feature showing up cold during the dinner hour in the dining hall. You also get to cook your meals when you want to eat instead of operating on the dining hall's schedule. Make a large meal and feed of the leftovers for the rest of the week.
Your Own Bedroom
I was lucky. I ended up with an awesome roommate freshmen year but that still doesn't beat having your own room which is why I opted for a single sophomore and junior year. In an apartment, each person gets their own room so whether you just want more privacy or would like to have over a nighttime visitor, you don't have to tell your roommate to scram beforehand.
A Real Shower
I don't know what the dorm showers were like at your dorm but ours were claustrophobic-making. There is no reasonable way they can provide multiple, full-size showers on every floor. That is understandable but that doesn't mean I had to enjoy trying to dry off in a coffin sized shower while trying not to dry off the rest of the stall. To think, some couples actually managed to take showers together in those itty, bitty stalls. Another plus, in an apartment you can store your toiletries in the bathroom instead of hauling them out every night.
No Card Swipe
While our apartment has a security door for the stair tower, it definitely beats having to pull out the good ol' I-card to swiped through two or three doors just to get in and out of the dorm. By junior year, the magnetic tape was so worn it took a handful of swipes to get through any of the doors and into the dining hall.
Party Time!
Host a dinner party for your friends, lab partners, or study-mates. Now that you have more than one room, you can actually fit people comfortably around a table or on the couches and chairs in your living room.
CONS
If You Can't Cook
Prepare yourself for a long year of microwavable dinners, canned soups, and sandwiches. The nice thing about the dining hall is that the food was ready for you when you got there. No assembly required and not dirty dishes to clean.
Neighbors and Friends Aren't Closer
Unless you and your friends live in the same apartment complex, you probably won't be able to run downstairs to your friend's room to do physics homework together or fuss up a storm about your core classes like you were able to in the dorms. Most of the girls I used to hand out with in the dorms are now scattered around campus in different apartments and we don't hangout as often as we use to.
No RA or RD
Got a problem? Suck it up. If it is really serious, your best bet is to call the nonemergency police number or your landlord. Anything less than serious is your problem to deal with. There is no RA or RD to mediate the problems between apartment tenants. Also, there are no friendly BSWs (building service workers) to greet you every morning around the building. The dorm my roommate and I lived in had some of the friendliest BSWs. I really miss that aspect.
Lack of Community Togetherness
You might have scoffed at this one at the beginning of the Fall semester when the RAs tried their damnedest to promote community and floor togetherness between residents but think back on how many people you met during that time who you are still friends with? Next time you see your RA, you need to thank them for their efforts. When you get out into an apartment, there is no one there to make you meet and greet with your neighbors. I know two of my neighbors by name out of the entire complex. I knew everyone on my floor by name freshmen year. That's quite a change.
IN CONCLUSION
Invaluable Learning Experience
Residence halls are secure and structured. You can focus on classes instead of having to cook for yourself and some of your friends may live a few doors down so your are never without company. RAs and RDs organize various activities and socials during the semesters so you can meet people within the comfort of the dorm. Apartments, on the other hand, promotes real independence and is a great learning experience. You have to cook, go shopping for groceries, keep your own bathroom clean, and manage your time accordingly. Also, most colleges have tenant unions which provide students with valuable information about looking for an apartment, signing a lease, and dealing with tenant-landlord issues. If you want to know what living in an apartment is like, then doing it during college may be the best time when you have so many resources at your disposal.
Choosing where you live is a big deal! Make your own list of pros and cons based on what you are able to do and do without before making a final decision for next year.
PROS
Your Own Kitchen = Your Own Food
This is a plus if you know how to cook or at least operate a microwave. No more overcooked, dried out, over salted meat, no more soggy noodles, no more disgustingly addicting nacho cheese, and certainly no more of lunch's main feature showing up cold during the dinner hour in the dining hall. You also get to cook your meals when you want to eat instead of operating on the dining hall's schedule. Make a large meal and feed of the leftovers for the rest of the week.
Your Own Bedroom
I was lucky. I ended up with an awesome roommate freshmen year but that still doesn't beat having your own room which is why I opted for a single sophomore and junior year. In an apartment, each person gets their own room so whether you just want more privacy or would like to have over a nighttime visitor, you don't have to tell your roommate to scram beforehand.
A Real Shower
I don't know what the dorm showers were like at your dorm but ours were claustrophobic-making. There is no reasonable way they can provide multiple, full-size showers on every floor. That is understandable but that doesn't mean I had to enjoy trying to dry off in a coffin sized shower while trying not to dry off the rest of the stall. To think, some couples actually managed to take showers together in those itty, bitty stalls. Another plus, in an apartment you can store your toiletries in the bathroom instead of hauling them out every night.
No Card Swipe
While our apartment has a security door for the stair tower, it definitely beats having to pull out the good ol' I-card to swiped through two or three doors just to get in and out of the dorm. By junior year, the magnetic tape was so worn it took a handful of swipes to get through any of the doors and into the dining hall.
Party Time!
Host a dinner party for your friends, lab partners, or study-mates. Now that you have more than one room, you can actually fit people comfortably around a table or on the couches and chairs in your living room.
CONS
If You Can't Cook
Prepare yourself for a long year of microwavable dinners, canned soups, and sandwiches. The nice thing about the dining hall is that the food was ready for you when you got there. No assembly required and not dirty dishes to clean.
Neighbors and Friends Aren't Closer
Unless you and your friends live in the same apartment complex, you probably won't be able to run downstairs to your friend's room to do physics homework together or fuss up a storm about your core classes like you were able to in the dorms. Most of the girls I used to hand out with in the dorms are now scattered around campus in different apartments and we don't hangout as often as we use to.
No RA or RD
Got a problem? Suck it up. If it is really serious, your best bet is to call the nonemergency police number or your landlord. Anything less than serious is your problem to deal with. There is no RA or RD to mediate the problems between apartment tenants. Also, there are no friendly BSWs (building service workers) to greet you every morning around the building. The dorm my roommate and I lived in had some of the friendliest BSWs. I really miss that aspect.
Lack of Community Togetherness
You might have scoffed at this one at the beginning of the Fall semester when the RAs tried their damnedest to promote community and floor togetherness between residents but think back on how many people you met during that time who you are still friends with? Next time you see your RA, you need to thank them for their efforts. When you get out into an apartment, there is no one there to make you meet and greet with your neighbors. I know two of my neighbors by name out of the entire complex. I knew everyone on my floor by name freshmen year. That's quite a change.
IN CONCLUSION
Invaluable Learning Experience
Residence halls are secure and structured. You can focus on classes instead of having to cook for yourself and some of your friends may live a few doors down so your are never without company. RAs and RDs organize various activities and socials during the semesters so you can meet people within the comfort of the dorm. Apartments, on the other hand, promotes real independence and is a great learning experience. You have to cook, go shopping for groceries, keep your own bathroom clean, and manage your time accordingly. Also, most colleges have tenant unions which provide students with valuable information about looking for an apartment, signing a lease, and dealing with tenant-landlord issues. If you want to know what living in an apartment is like, then doing it during college may be the best time when you have so many resources at your disposal.
Choosing where you live is a big deal! Make your own list of pros and cons based on what you are able to do and do without before making a final decision for next year.
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