CSU Student Dishes Thoughts on Affordable Housing

Reagan Fitzke is a sophomore at Colorado State University. During her free time, she enjoys drawing and reading. She has a lot going on between juggling school and a social life. However, Fitzke didn’t plan on having to make time to worry about affordable housing.

Currently, Fitzke lives in Ram’s Village. Ram’s Village is an apartment complex just west of campus that offers one, two, three, or four-bedroom apartments. We sat down in her apartment on a snowy day, surrounded by books and cozy blankets, to talk about concerns regarding affordable housing in Fort Collins in the upcoming years.

Parra: So what style do you live in?

Fitzke: In a three-bedroom.

Parra: Did you know your roommates before signing a lease?

Fitzke: Yeah I did, we lived in the dorms last year. Both of them were roommates and I just lived down the hall.

Parra: And how do you like them?

Fitzke: They’re good. We had some problems last semester, but it’s all good now.

Parra: What happened?

Fitze: ….

Parra: Why did you guys decide to live at Ram’s Village?

Fitzke: It was cheaper than a lot of the other places to live but it was still nice and it was really close to campus. They had lots of buses to campus which makes it easier to go to school.

Parra: How did you guys go about searching for off-campus housing?

Fitzke: I had a couple of older friends last year who were telling me good places to check out and we looked on websites of the ones that seemed affordable or interesting. We looked at different amenities and floor plans and figured out this one is the best for what it costs and we just went with it.

Parra: And how much does this apartment cost?

Fitzke: $630 per person.

Parra: Is that price point affordable for you?

Fitzke: Yeah, I think anything under $700 per person is affordable. I’m living here again next year because it stays under budget. I’m not a huge fan of the community laundry. But every place that had laundry units in the apartment were $200 more expensive than this.

Parra: You still have two years left as a student. Does it concern you that you’re going to have to keep searching for apartments that stay at or under budget?

Fitzke: I’m a little bit concerned about it. It seems like every year prices go up. I’ve been thinking about affordable housing way more since living on my own because this is my responsibility now. It’s kind of crazy to think that there are these $400 apartments but you have to live with three other people in a cramped area. You have to think about comfort versus cost and most of the time you can’t have both.

Parra: You said you noticed prices go up every year, why do you think that is?

Fitzke: I’m not really sure. I feel like more people are moving here and it’s getting harder to accommodate to that.

Parra: Have you noticed all the new apartment buildings that are going up next to campus?

Fitzke: Yeah I have. But they don’t really benefit me. They’re really expensive and it’s great that students can have more options but how is it helping me if I can’t afford it?