We’ve all been there before: those first couple years living in a dorm on campus, but then you finally get off and it is a totally different experience.

1. You can actually eat the food you like.

I mean, you no longer have to eat in the caf, you have the freedom to go to the grocery store and buy all of the foods you like.

2. You realize just how expensive groceries are and how much time it takes to prepare a meal.

That first trip to the grocery store is amazing until you see just how much you actually spent. Then you go home to cook your food and realize that it takes you over an hour till you actually get to sit down and enjoy the food your prepared.

3. No more room checks!!

You no longer have someone coming into your room to check to make sure you are doing everything right, now you can have real candles that are lit, extension cords, and power strips. And you just clean your room whenever it needs to be cleaned.

4. Rent.

You aren’t used to paying rent and when the end of the month draws near you know that means.

5. You have to drive to campus now and finding a parking spot there is exhausting.

You rush to campus and try not to be late only to find that there is no available parking space and the stress hits you. You then fear that you will get a parking ticket, even though you paid money to have a spot on campus.

6. Finding a parking spot at your home is very easy.

While finding a spot on campus is challenging, you can always find a spot at your off campus home.

7. You feel more like an adult.

You have an apartment or home with multiple bedrooms, a laundry room, a kitchen, a living room, and some kind of yard. You feel like you have an actual home away from home.

8. Once you leave campus for the day you don’t want to go back.

The drive really isn’t far, but you still don’t want to go back once you are home. You usually end up staying on campus for over six hours just so that you don’t have to drive back and forth.

9. You have to make more of an effort to see people.

You get so used to your little space, but all of your friends aren’t just a dorm away anymore. You have to make a conscious effort to get together with people, but now you can invite them over and you have a real space for them to come and hang out.

10. You enjoy spending time in your off-campus home.

It’s really refreshing coming home to your apartment/house at the end of the day. You feel at home in your new space that you have picked out and designed. Off-campus living is where it is at.