When you think of college, a lot of images and feelings come to mind. My first thoughts are of all the homework that comes with a semester. All of the books, the cost of those books and the impossible amount of highlighting done to them. I also think of the walks around campus to various classes. There is usually one person walking around who is taking their personal freedoms to the extreme, such as wearing a onesie to class on a daily basis. There is something new every day.
Of course I think about the parties as well. All the kinds of parties. Study "parties," house parties and even getting together to throw a little something for that new "Game of Thrones" episode. College students are extremely apt a finding a reason, any reason, to make an ordinary event a party.
But one thing that pops into my head occasionally is the choice of where I have decided to park my carcass for my entire college career, outside of the dorms. And that would be my lovely, small apartment. Why did I choose to rent an apartment instead of a house? Well there are a couple reasons that stick out the most for me.
1. I don't have to mow a lawn
Not only do I not have to mow a lawn, I don't have to buy a lawn mower, buy gas for the lawn mower or even drag myself outside to mow said lawn. The less work I have to do outside of classes, the better. Way better.
2. The maintenance person
From my experience at other college student's houses, they have to either call the landlord or fix it themselves. At my apartment, I just have to call the main office or put in a work order. Sooner than later, a friendly maintenance worker comes around to fix things up! Almost as good as ordering Domino's, though they do take a bit longer. And there's no pizza.
3. Rent is usually cheaper
I found that the closer you get to campus, the more expensive the rental houses become. They are used to having party-heavy college students move in and sometimes trashing the place. So, therefore, the rent goes up for a place that may not be as nice as the apartment just down the block. You also may end up rooming with more people than you would like to make rent even out, which leads to my next point.
4. You don't have to rent with 4-plus other people
You may not have as big of a place to stretch your legs out on the couch, but at least your knees wont be touching two other people while you do so. I found that less people equals less drama. There are less chances of cliques or people grouping up on another. Plus things are much more quiet. That can mean more sleep and sleep is something we college students get very little of.
While I am sure there are many more arguments for and against renting an apartment over a house, these are the ones that circle around in my head the most. In the end, people each have their own reasons for both and you should choose the one that fits your lifestyle the best.
