There comes a point in college when you decide it is time to move off campus and become a real adult. As amazing as this may sound, unless you take the right steps to prepare, it can turn out really terribly.
Living off campus for the first time ever, here are some things I've learned during the process.
1. Look into your landlord.
Ask your friends if they have heard of any good landlords or landlords they have had the best experience with. You do not want a poorly experienced landlord or someone you will feel uncomfortable with. Also, a good landlord has nice houses. A bad landlord will have ratchet houses.
2. Research rental prices.
Make sure you are paying a fair amount for the house you are looking at. If the house isn't worth the price, you could very well find a better house with a lower monthly rent. You don't want to be over-paying for your rent when you have books and food to pay for.
3. Determine the distance to campus.
Make sure you are OK with the distance between the house and campus. You don't want to live two miles from campus and have to leave 20 minutes early just to make it to class on time. Trust me, that extra 20 minutes of sleep will feel so much better than walking down scary roads alone to class. Try to coordinate with the buildings your classes are in and find houses that are closer so you can leave 10 minutes before class starts and still make it on time.
4. Be careful choosing who to live with.
Definitely live with girls or guys you get along with. Otherwise, it will be horrible. You have to get along with the people you live with in order to keep the house clean and orderly. Also, if you don't like the people you are living with the experience just isn't as great as it should be.
5. Create cleaning rules and schedules before you move in.
Cleaning schedules will be your best friend. Dirty houses are the worst, like seriously. Just thinking about walking barefoot and stepping on crumbs or clumps of hair gives me the chills. Work out a schedule with your housemates on how the dishes will be cleaned, how the garbage will be taken out and how the floors will stay crumb free. It's most definitely the easiest way to keep your house clean.
6. Consider the noise level.
Depending on where you live there can be a lot of noise either from other students or citizens who live in your town. Make sure on Saturday nights you're OK with hearing the groups of people walking home from the town bar obnoxiously yelling or laughing with each other. If not, make sure you find a house that you won't have to deal with loud outside noises.
7. Keep safety in mind.
Make sure your house is safe! This means have outside lights next to your front and back doors that work. Do the windows lock? Can someone pull out your air conditioner and break into your house that way? Remember to check your smoke detectors if your landlord neglects to.
8. Decorations are key.
Decorate your house to make it feel more like home. Living on your own can be scary and the more decorated it is, the more it will feel like home and safe. Get together with your housemates and take a trip to Target. You can decorate your living room, bedrooms and kitchen! This is probably the most exciting thing when moving off campus, at least for girls.
9. Are there enough bathrooms?
If you are living in a house with four other girls you better make sure there is more than one bathroom. Sharing one bathroom with three or more girls is never a good option. So, when you take your house tour before signing the lease remember to count the bathrooms and make sure it's enough space for everyone.
10. How's the parking situation?
Not everyone has a car and not every house has a big driveway area. If four out of the five girls or guys living in the house have cars you should probably make sure the parking is big enough for four cars and not two. Some houses come with eight parking spots where others have none. Make sure you take into account all the housemates that will have a car. It's never fun to be blocked in by someone else's car because you have to fit six cars in four spots.
11. Getting locked out sucks.
ALWAYS CARRY YOUR KEYS. You no longer can get into your house with a swipe of your ID. Now, if you leave your keys at home and get locked out, you have to wait outside until another housemate can let you in.
12. Will your house be a party house, or nah?
Is having a party in your house going to be worth the clean-up the morning after? If you decide it is, you should also make sure the rest of your housemates are OK with a party being thrown in your house. It might also be a good idea to lock your bedrooms too. You never know where everyone will be doing who-knows-what, and you don't want random people looking around in your room.
13. Who's bringing which house necessities?
Things like a vacuum, plates and utensils, cooking supplies, toilet paper, paper towels, and furniture are pretty important to have a house. Before you splurge on a Keurig make sure you have forks and knives to eat with. Also, make sure everyone agrees on who owns what when it's time to move out.
14. Sharing costs is crucial.
Spitting money between housemates for things like paper towels, toilet paper and kitchen appliances is a good way to save some money. Also, buying food from the grocery store and cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner will save you so much money instead of ordering every meal. It would also be good to remember to turn off lights or fans that no one is using. Setting a summer budget or putting money away in a savings account is also a good way to save money and track what you are spending.
15. Make time for bonding with your housemates.
Saving the best for last, make sure to bond with your housemates. These people are hopefully your best friends and don't take seeing them every day for granted. Sure, sometimes they get on your nerves, but that's normal for people you live with. Plan fun movie nights or a girl's/guy's night out every once in awhile to remind everyone house much fun you all are.
It'll start out with awkward encounters at first, and then it'll click.
