A Vivid Experience Through my Lens
I was fortunate enough to live on the University of Tampa campus for three out of my four years of college. I was one of few juniors that was able to receive on-campus housing, while most moved off campus. People have told me that they like the independence of living off campus, while others have said they miss the convenience of living on campus. But I wanted to know how it felt to undergo a complete shift in my routine. Would it be stressful? Rewarding? I could only imagine the experience, but I knew living it would be a lot different than just hearing the perspectives of others. For my senior year, unsurprisingly, I did not receive on-campus housing. The thought of paying rent worried me slightly, but I felt more excited than worried. This was the chance for me to experience a new chapter, and whatever challenges came my way, I knew I had to figure it out, whether I liked it or not.Â
Now you’re probably reading this and thinking, “Ok just tell me if I should move off campus or not!”Â
The experience is different for everyone, depending on:
- The school they go to
- City vs. Remote location
- How far they live from campus
- Car or no car
- The building they live in
- Â Roommates vs living alone
- Cost of living
And so much more!
Throughout this article, I’ll share my personal experience living off campus. I’m going to make this discussion as thorough and vivid as possible so that you really get a taste of the on-and-off campus comparison. Hopefully this will help you if you’re considering or having to move off-campus (or if you’re just curious). For those who already live off, maybe you’ll be able to relate to something I mentioned.
Living On campus
Best Year to Live On Campus…
In my opinion, freshman year was the best year to live on campus. It was fun because I lived in Mckay Hall which is a small building, and I was friends with a lot of people in my building. It’s so much easier to make friends when you live on campus freshman year because everyone in your class is also trying to make friends…which of course makes it easy to build a community in a short amount of time. After freshman year, building a supportive group becomes a marathon instead of a sprint.
It’s Easier to Be Spontaneous
If I found out that an event was happening on campus within an hour of starting, I could just walk right over. It was easy to hang out with people because most of my friends lived on campus. We could easily meet at someone’s dorm or another spot on campus like the dining hall. I could walk downtown or go on the riverwalk anytime. If I wanted to study somewhere outside of my dorm, which I almost always did, there were plenty of beautiful study options right outside my doorstep.Â
Pre-Class Prep
One thing I miss about living on campus is that I could wake up 30 min before class started. I didn’t have to plan anything. I would just get dressed, eat something quickly, and walk 5 min to class. I didn’t have to plan too much, which meant more sleep for me!Â
Eating
Cooking was minimal. Sophomore and junior years, I had kitchens. I was still required to buy a meal plan so I only had to cook breakfast and would just buy lunch and dinner. Publix is a 20 minute walk from campus. Since it was a pretty long walk, I would go every other week, and I held myself to a rule that I was only going to buy as much as I could fit inside my reusable bag. In the mornings I would eat eggs and spinach with toast and peanut butter everyday. Most of the time, I would grab a meal from the dining hall for lunch/dinner. I absolutely loved the food there, and I’m not even gonna lie, I had PLENTY to eat. The downside was that I didn’t really know what I was eating. Obviously, I knew what the food items were, but it seemed like they put a lot of oil in the foods so everything was likely very high in calories.Â
Living on Campus After Freshman Year
Sophomore and junior years, people didn’t make much of an effort to get to know other people in the building. Straz and Palm were also larger buildings. Freshman and sophomore years, I knew a lot of people on campus. Most of my friends moved off campus junior year so when I was still on campus, I felt like I was on an island surrounded by a sea of freshmen and some sophomores. I rarely saw people that I knew on campus (with the exception of people in my classes).Â
Personal Life and Campus Life Felt Combined
It was easy to go to on-campus events and I enjoyed many of them. However, if I saw on social media that people were participating in something that I couldn’t (even if it was an off-campus event), I would have FOMO. On campus, if I saw people at an event I couldn’t go to, I felt FOMO as well. Because of this, I felt more pressure to have a super active social life. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE to socialize and meet new people. I would just feel bad sometimes when I needed to spend some time alone.Â
Living Off Campus
Campus life and personal life feel separated
I feel like I have more freedom to craft the life I want. I feel like a young, independent adult that lives in a big city. My life doesn’t feel tied to the campus community, or what everyone else is doing. I started visualizing my ideal life, and one scene that I imagined was myself playing pickleball, becoming good at it, and playing with my friends and people I met online. I’ve already started working towards that vision. Since I’m not on campus, I don’t feel FOMO and I don’t have many opportunities to compare myself to others. I have more flexibility to choose who to have in my life (whether they’re a UTampa student or not), as well as more flexibility to form communities and participate in specific events off campus. Meanwhile, I still have the freedom to foster the communities I have on campus within my classes and extracurriculars, and I still have the option to go to on-campus events and fitness classes. I have the best of both worlds!
No Slacking Allowed
There is a lot more planning involved. I have to wake up at least 2 hours before I have to be somewhere. My apartment is a 35 min walk from campus so I leave at least 40 min before class starts. Sometimes I’ll leave an hour or more early because I want to have extra time to cool off or I want to do homework on campus. Since it’s hot out, I wear shorts and a tank top on my walk and once I get to campus, I change.Â
Cost of Living. Is it More or Less Expensive?
Living off-campus is cheaper for me. This is because 1) rent is lower than most apartment buildings in the area, 2) I’m sharing a bedroom with a friend, which drives the rent even lower and 3) I’m not paying for a meal plan which is significantly more expensive than just buying your own groceries. Of course, living off-campus is only cheaper depending on where you live. Most students I know pay around $1400 a month for rent. I’m paying less than half of that. I’m more careful with my money since I have to pay rent. I make sure to work at least 16 hours a week, and I don’t spend too much money on transportation. I also don’t spend my money on anything unnecessary like packaged sweets.Â
Lifestyle Upgrade!!
My lifestyle is much healthier because I’m walking everywhere and I’m cooking all of my own meals. I always walk to school. Usually, I’ll also walk back, but if I don’t feel like walking, I’ll take the trolley home. Sometimes I’ll take Dash home. I only take the Dash under 3 conditions 1) It’s raining 2) It’s dark outside or 3) I’m about to be late. I try to avoid the third. Cooking has also been incredibly easy. I don’t have to plan to go to the grocery store as much as I did living on campus, because my building is closer to one. I go to Publix almost everyday and I never have to worry about running out of food and having to take significant time out of my day to do a grocery run. I keep my meals very simple. I have a list of staple ingredients that I use and I cycle those meals every couple days. Some may think it’s boring but at least I’m eating healthy. I’ll include a link to a helpful Youtube video if you want to learn how to make time to cook and eat healthy when you have a packed schedule.Â
Final Thoughts
As an underclassman, I really enjoyed living on campus, especially freshman year. I’m very thankful that I had this opportunity, which made it very easy for me to foster a supportive community. Things would have gone completely different if it were otherwise. I might’ve felt more isolated, since the most common way to develop deep connections was by getting together with people on campus through dining, events, study sessions, etc. Junior year, living on campus was convenient, but I felt kind of separated from other students that lived on campus because they were younger, and most people I knew moved off. As a senior, I prefer living off campus. I’ve had the last three years to create my community and adjust my life to living in Tampa. I feel like I have an even greater sense of independence than before. I like the challenge of figuring out how to define more aspects of my lifestyle when certain conveniences have been removed, like close proximity to classes. And because of this, I feel like I have a fresh start, and I have the chance to define who I am and what I want my life to be.