Now that another year has started here at Virginia Tech and the first week has ended, hopefully everyone has situated into their schedules and living arrangements for the year! Personally, for me, this is now my sophomore year at Tech, and it already feels so much different than freshman year. For me, it’s clearly my first time living off campus. Finally free from the dorm life, which feels so strange, but super nice at the same time. Having experienced both types of rooming now, here are some of the differences and perks between off campus and on campus living:
Freedom
By living off campus, you have much more freedom as to how your schedule will play out. You can catch any bus that happens to stop by your apartment complex. You can easily make your own meals and not have to entirely depend on the dining halls, or wait in long, ridiculous lines for food. It’s just such a refreshing atmosphere being off campus!
Space
One of the biggest perks of living in an apartment off campus is having so much more space. In my case, I am fortunate to have my own bedroom, let alone one with a generous amount of space. It is so nice to finally have a space of your own, that you don’t have to share. There are no expectations or certain things you have to consider because now it is just your space and how you would like to use it.
Accessibility
One of the perks of living in a dorm would be the actual proximity of being on campus. It’s so nice to be walking distance to the entire campus. Being off campus, you have to ride the buses or walk at least around 20 minutes or more to get to campus, but being in a dorm you can easily just cross the drillfield and be on that side of campus.
Separation
Now that I’m off campus, I find it so helpful and great to have a separation between school and home, almost as if it’s high school again. By being in an apartment, it’s like you can leave all the stressful energy behind at Tech and then come home and feel relaxed. There’s no bad energy in the room and I feel like I can finally sleep peacefully, which is something every college student deserves!
There are differently both pros and cons to both living on campus and off campus, but it depends on the person and situation!