Living Off Campus, As Told by Ron Swanson

Now that we are juniors, my friends and I decided to live off-campus. Living in a house, as opposed to in the dorms, has been quite an adjustment. My college experience this year has been very different from past years. I love living in a house as I have more space and feel much more independent; though, there are definitely certain aspects that I miss about campus life. Adulting has not been easy. Here is living off campus, as told by Parks and Rec’s very own Ron Swanson.

Freedom!!!  

When you live off campus, you can essentially do whatever you please. You no longer have to abide by the rules of res life. No more quiet hours, room checks, and you can feel free to light as many candles as you please! No disrespect towards res life,  I had great experiences with my RAs both freshman and sophomore year, but it does feel nice to no longer feel like i’m  being monitored.   

So.Much.Space. 

My freshmen dorm room was a shoe box. My sophomore dorm was an upgrade but I was still confined to a small space. Now that I live in a house and have my own room, I feel like I finally have enough space to be organized and relax.  

Food Shopping and Cooking 

For those who live on campus: appreciate your meal plan. Sure campus food isn’t always the greatest but at least it’s cheap and you don’t have to cook. I will forever miss the days when I walked five steps from Seton to Lindas and never cooked a meal. Now I find myself constantly spending all my money on groceries.. And then there is the task of actually cooking.  

Campus food becomes a treat  

Like many, I didn’t appreciate campus food when I had a meal plan. Now, when I come home after a long day of class and realize I have to either heat up some ramen or defrost some chicken if I want to eat a proper meal, unlimited food at 63s sounds amazing. 

Paying Rent 

Watching the number in my bank account decrease every month when I pay rent is physically painful.   

No fighting to do laundry 

Fighting for a washing machine was probably my least favorite part about living on campus. Everytime I wanted to do a load of laundry I had to race dozens of other kids to get to one of two machines first. Having a washer and dryer in my house feels like such a luxury.   

Landlords 

Landlords…they’re always sure to text you when rent is due but ghost you as soon as something needs to be repaired. 

All in all, as hard as adulting can be, living off campus has been a great experience. Sure, I definitely miss dorm life at times but I have no regrets about the decision I have made!  

• freedom
• landlords
• laundry