Living Off Campus

After freshman year, there are many options when living off-campus. Whether it be a house, apartment, or a greek chapter there are always available spaces. In my sophomore year, I lived in an apartment ten minutes away from campus and there were so many aspects about living away from campus that I loved.

Wherever you end up living after the dorms there are transportation services everywhere. There is a city bus service that stops around the outskirts of campus. This can be beneficial depending on your location. In my sophomore year, there was a bus service that the apartment complex owns. Every half hour it circles to and from campus. Almost all apartment complexes offer this service. Besides the bus service, I had my car so on occasion I liked to drive to campus when I was running late or if I knew I’d be on campus longer than normal. It is fairly easy to purchase a parking pass, it is dependent on your location, but you can buy one through the IU parking portal/office or the Bloomington parking portal.

One of which is the freedom and ability to be more independent. Living in a dorm gives you independence, but being separate from campus allows for your true character to thrive. When you’re in your dorm it doesn’t allow you to engage with people that aren’t freshmen. Meeting new people around you like your neighbors or different events the apartment holds gives you a new perspective on living.

One of the things I enjoyed was having the ability to cook for myself. Cooking is one of those activities that let me decompress after a long day and do something that I love. I always cooked with my mom ever since I was young, but I haven’t had the opportunity to cook for myself until I had my own space. After freshman year, living off-campus provides a new sense of growth and perspective to your life. I love living off-campus and there are so many aspects of it to look forward to because you have the option to do anything you want.