Student Housing

A new academic year is around the corner in September. Finding apartments near a university in America can be difficult. Not only freshmen are looking for a place to move in but other undergraduates may also want to move to somewhere better and cheaper. If you are one of them， you’d better start early.

When I was a graduate student in America， I was fortunate to live on campus. My school provided me a one-bedroom apartment in a three-story building. Living on campus has its pros and cons. But I see more advantages. Some of my classmates moved out of university housing because the rent was high for them， and they also thought they could have a freer life if they didn’t need to follow the dos-and-don’ts under the school’s housing agreement. Well， for me I liked living on campus. So I could get to my classes on time. I could participate in the activities on campus easily without worrying about transportation and such， which may have changed my mind about going.

The cost of rent vary， depending on location， the facilities and many other factors. Generally， if your university is in one of the big American cities like New York or Los Angeles， the cost of rent is much higher than say， Morgantown in West Virginia or Lewiston in Maine. It isn’t uncommon that American students share the cost of rental among several roommates. You’ll notice there are ads on campus， at the end of the summer and the beginning of the semester， that are all about looking for roommates. The place that they share can be a large apartment with multiple rooms or a single family home or a townhouse. These’re the common housing types in America.

If you decide to live by yourself， you may look into the possibility of renting a condo[公寓中的獨立單位] for singles or a studio apartment. This type of housing is economical in space and in price. It has become popular in recent years especially in populated[人口稠密的] American cities.

Again， if you don’t like the hassle[激烈的辯論]， living on campus is a good solution. For instance， instead of paying utility[公共事業] bills separately from monthly rent， tenants[房客] usually pay once， for an agreed amount to the school if they live on campus. And if something needs fixing in the campus housing， the school will take care of the maintenance[維修，保養] cost. That really saves a lot！