Things To Consider For Your Housing Amenities Priority List

By Francine Fluetsch on November 17, 2015

As we all know, living off campus can be really expensive.

In order to make sure that your money will be worth it, you and your housemates should compile a list of priority amenities that you would be willing to pay a bit extra for if the place you are looking at contains these specific things.

image via upscquestions.com

You don’t want to get too picky, as you will never find something that meets all of your needs and is still in your price range, but if an apartment or house hits a few of your wants, you can justify paying the price a little more.

Here are a few ideas to get you started about priority aspects that can bump up the value of a housing option.

Close to campus

This option will score high on your list especially if you don’t have a car. Being close to campus means you can save money and easily walk to and from your place. This is great for when you have early or late classes, because you won’t have to get to a bus stop freakishly early or wait a long time after your class is out. You can simply walk or bike home.

When I was looking for a place, this option was at the top of my list, especially since UC Santa Cruz is up on a giant hill, and living in town means up to an hour commute by bus, something that I really didn’t want to deal with.

Built-in washer and dryer

Consider going over your budget for a place that has a washer and dryer. Make sure to look this up carefully. Some places say they have a washer and dryer hook-up, which means you would have to buy your own machines!

Obviously that would be a lot of money, so picking a place that already has them would be your best bet. This will let you do laundry during a busy day, or when you just want to have a lazy Sunday and don’t want to go anywhere.

You won’t have to worry about anyone stealing your clothes out of a community washer, and won’t have to save up any quarters or stay at a Laundromat.

Assigned parking

If you have a car, assigned parking by your place can be another thing that would really come in handy. After a long day at school, the last thing you want to do is drive around, aimlessly looking for a parking spot. Some places allow each car to have assigned parking, and then have some free for all guest parking, which is really nice when you have family come visit or when you have to move in.

The place I’m in right now doesn’t have guest parking, which is rather frustrating, so I would definitely be willing to pay a bit more for a place that had it.

Your own room

Sharing space is something everyone hates. After you’ve had to endure it in the dorms, the last thing you want to do is share your space when you move off campus. Having your own room means you can have a big bed, have your own space to relax, and freedom to live how you like in your own section of the house. Trust me, this is worth paying more rent for. Seriously. Do it if you can.

Even if your single rooms are small, it will just be you in there so it won’t matter all that much. You will appreciate being able to go to sleep when you want, staying up doing homework as late as you have to, and having friends over when you want.

It also helps you get along better with who you have to live with, since you won’t be on top of each other 24/7, so there are lots of positives to having your own room.

Dishwasher

This might be lower on your list, but it really can be a perk, especially if you are worried about splitting up the chores. A dishwasher can really save time and keep your space looking clean. Dishes pile up faster than you think without a dishwasher, especially if you live with multiple people. Having a dishwasher also means that you have a built-in disposal in your sink, which will really help you out.

When you don’t have a disposal, you have to make sure nothing, and I mean nothing, falls down the sink, and then you have to scrape it out and it’s nasty. A disposal will help you quickly take care of leftover food bits on your plate, and the dishwasher will do the rest of the work. The only thing you will have to fight over will be who has to unload it, and who has to buy more dishwasher liquid.

 

These are just a few ideas, but you get the gist. Think about the things that you would love to have in a place, and narrow it down to one or two and then consider that with the price of the place. It will really help you out in deciding.

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