“Our off-campus life has been a sitcom,” said Caroline Sasso A&S’13. While this sitcom may not be airing after Modern Family, it definitely sounds like it could. The storyline? Seven girls, one house, and one vision for junior year: fun. And so far, it seems like audiences wouldn’t be disappointed with Caroline’s off-campus adventures. “We found a skunk under our porch,” said Sasso. “We overflowed the dishwasher, flooding our entire kitchen. Our light switches didn’t work. We survived without television and Internet for two weeks into school. But, despite all of the madness, off-campus living has made us all closer.”
This is definitely shaping up to be a sitcom where anything can happen! So here are a few tips to help you make the most of your time away from the BC dorms:
1. Make weekly grocery store runs
Living off-campus means the BC dining halls are no longer five seconds away. For many students, making their own breakfasts, lunches, and dinners can seem like a daunting task. But there are easy, affordable, and fun ways for you and your roommates to cook your own meals. Try to find a time that works for everyone to take the T (or drive, if you’re fortunate enough to have a car) to the nearest grocery store. There’s a Star Market on Beacon Street, a mere five minutes from Cleveland Circle on the T, and a Trader Joe’s right in Coolidge Corner. Go with your roomies and purchase all the items that are on that week’s grocery list. At the store, make sure you look out for deals and sales. If there’s a buy one, get two free deal on English Muffins then grab ‘em! You’ll be saving money while stocking up on a quick and easy meal option. Once you’ve done your shopping, check out sites like Epicurious.com or FoodNetwork.com for creative menu ideas and simple ways to cook up what you bought at the grocery store.
2. Make a chore chart.
An apartment is much bigger than a dorm. You have a common room, a kitchen, more than one bedroom and bathroom, and just a lot more living space! Dirt, dust and grime can creep up on you pretty quickly, especially when there are seven roommates! But cleaning up is a cinch if you divide and conquer. Make a chore chart that will hang on your fridge and serve as a weekly reminder of the things that need to be done around the apartment. Write out what chores need to be done each week (clean the bathroom, swiffer the hallway, vacuum the common room, etc.), and then assign each roommate to a task. Make sure that you change up who does what so the same person isn’t stuck cleaning the toilet bowl every Sunday. A chore chart is an easy way to ensure that the cleaning gets done and that everyone pitches in.
3. Don’t forget about roommate bonding!
With so many different schedules, it’s sometimes difficult to find a time when everyone’s available for some roommate bonding. So make sure you set aside some time each week when you can all come together and hang out. If everyone’s free on Wednesday nights, then plan a nice meal, play chef, and have family dinner together. You all love Keeping up with the Kardashians? Then make some popcorn and watch the latest Kardashian drama together on Sunday nights. Sports fans? Have game day Sunday afternoons when you can all congregate in the common room and watch football on TV. Even grocery shopping counts as roommate bonding time! No matter how much or how little time you spend together, what’s important is that you’re making the effort to hang out with your roomies.
4. Be smart about throwing parties
You’re living in the real world now, remember? Part of that means that the RAs are no longer the only ones keeping an eye on you. The Boston Police are now a reality and they probably won’t be as nice or understanding as ResLife when they come to your door at 3 am to break up your noisy party. Getting written up isn’t the only punishment you can get for bad party behavior, when you’re living in an apartment off-campus. In addition, it’s important to remember that your neighbors might not all be rowdy college students. There are tons of families and older people living in the BC area, and they won’t hesitate to make a complaint if you’re disturbing the peace. You can still be responsible and respectful without sacrificing any of the “rage factor” when hosting a party in your apartment.
5. Make the most of Boston!
Living off-campus means you’re THAT much closer to the T, so start taking advantage of all that Boston has to offer. Shopping on Newbury Street always seems to be the fallback option, but try expanding your horizons and exploring a new area. Head to the North End for Italian pasta and pastries. Check out the latest exhibition at the MFA. Explore the markets and shops at Faneuil Hall. Head to Harvard for a day and take a stroll along the Charles River. You might love your apartment, but find time to get out and explore. It’s never too soon to start knocking things off your BC and Boston Bucket List!
6. Enjoy the outdoors!
From the door of your apartment, it sometimes feels that BC is so far away it might as well be China. But when the weather’s nice, try walking to campus instead of taking the bus. It’s an easy walk that shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes, depending on where you live. If you and your roommate both have class at noon, then leave the apartment at 11:30, enjoy some roomie bonding time while walking to school. If you’re on your own, plug in your iPod and get 20 minutes of fresh air and easy exercise. Before the cold weather hits, take advantage of the opportunity to grill and play outdoors as well. If you or your friends have an apartment with a grill in the backyard then buy some hamburgers and hotdogs and invite your friends over for a tailgate barbecue before the game.
7. Make your apartment a place you want to be!
It’s important to make your apartment feel like home. Whether you see your apartment as a place to study, relax, or both, you should always enjoy being there. So become BC’s very own Martha Stewart and do a little home sprucing and decorating. While you may have a hand-me-down couch in the living room, you can still make it feel like your own by adding a few decorative throw pillows from Target or Bed Bath and Beyond. Color coordinate the pillows with an area rug to add a few more personalized touches to your apartment. Go to CVS with your roomies and print out some pictures to stick on your wall. If you have enough photos (and scotch tape) you can even make “word art” by putting up the photos in a way so that they spell out words, like BC, or form shapes, like a heart. Decorating is a great way to bond with your roommates while adding that little something extra to your apartment to make it your own.
8. Don’t forget about your on-campus friends
Out of sight, out of mind right? Wrong! Just because you’re living in an apartment and a few of your friends are still confined to the BC dorms doesn’t mean you should forget about them! Invite your on-campus friends over for a mid-week dinner or a movie night. If this week you watch the latest episode of Glee in your friends’ dorm in 90, then offer to host the Gleeks in your apartment the next week. On the weekends, don’t be afraid to venture beyond Foster Street to find a party. After all, just because you left campus doesn’t mean all the parties did too!
9. Meet your neighbors
Whether it’s a family with children, a working college-grad, or fellow BC students, make an effort to meet your neighbors. It’s always nice to see a friendly face when you’re walking home from class and to be able to say hello to the people living nearby. While at first you may not know the BC kids living in the apartment above or below you, by the end of the semester you might be throwing joint parties together. So don’t be afraid introduce yourself and be a good neighbor!
10. Maintain a good relationship with your landlord.
You might not realize it, but one of the most important relationships you’ll have while living off-campus is with your landlord. Although you’ll probably never invite her over for a Friday night pre-game, it’s important to maintain a friendly (or at least cordial) relationship with your landlord. That starts with being respectful of the apartment you’re living in. Take care of the utilities and clean up after yourself. If something breaks, then don’t hesitate to call your landlord and let them know. Not sure how the washer/dryer works? Before you start randomly pushing buttons, give your landlord a call and find out exactly how to use it. Trust me, conflict and tension with your landlord are major headaches that you don’t want to be dealing with. Clear communication (or a homemade pie) is an easy way to keep your landlord on your good side.
So whether you find yourself on Foster, South, Strathmore, or Lake, being off-campus is definitely an adventure and worthy of sitcom-status! It’s a completely new and exciting part of Boston College student life and following these tips will help you make the most of it.