As we adjust to a relatively “normal” life on campus, we also learn a lot about our new life situations. This learning curve is particularly steep for students living off campus. For many people living off campus, this is the first time in their lives that they have lived alone without the supervision of family or even home assistants. There are a lot of things people don’t tell you when you decide to live on your own – you need to communicate with an owner, obey neighborhood and community rules, and keep track of lots of little things, like knowing when the day is coming. garbage collection is. Here are some tips and tricks on the things people don’t tell you when you live off campus. For juniors or seniors, you may have met them before, but for anyone considering an off-campus facility in the future, it’s never too early to get the scoop.

Grocery shopping becomes a skill: it takes strategy and time to improve.

Without the simplicity and ease of getting to the closest on-campus dining hall, those who live off-campus typically have to shop for groceries, even if you buy an on-campus meal plan. If you plan to prepare the majority of your meals at home, you need to be strategic about budget and spacing. You will likely be sharing a fridge, freezer, and pantry with your roommates. I also recommend dividing the shelves early on, so you know where your food is, making sure you don’t overbought or let the food go bad. College life made easy and Spoon university provide meal ideas, coupon resources, and list ideas to get the most out of your grocery shopping experience. Stocking up on frozen foods like frozen vegetables or microwaveable dinners (Trader Joe’s is great for this) is also essential for getting good meals when you’re short on time.

Dividing and paying the bills becomes a test of responsibility.

When you live on campus, all of your room and board costs are included in your tuition payment. Once you leave campus, there are several other bills that you usually don’t count when living in a dorm. Besides the rent this can include electricity, WiFi and cable, heating, water and renter’s insurance, it all depends on your landlord and whether you live in a house or an apartment. With that, you and your roommates have to decide who takes responsibility for ensuring that bills are paid monthly, as well as distributing the costs fairly. Setting up a system up front makes the process as seamless as possible and ensures that you won’t have to scramble to track down payments from your roommates at the last minute.

The need for cleaning and chores becomes more and more evident when you live in your own home.

When you make the transition to college, you quickly realize that cleaning and chores are essential, even though you probably don’t have anyone harassing you to do them. Living in a shared space usually means there is more room to keep clean, but the famous saying, “a lot of hands do light work” is certainly applicable as well. Creating a schedule or chore chart can help you and your roommates hold each other accountable for the cleanliness of your living space. Chores can include wiping down surfaces, taking out trash, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, rearranging pantries, cleaning the refrigerator, and many more. The most important thing is that everyone knows their role and how they can lend a hand.

Parking spaces are scarce, it takes maturity and thought to see who can bring a car

When students decide to leave campus, they usually assume that they now also have a secure parking space for their car. Unfortunately, when living in the inner suburbs of Boston, parking tends to be tight, sparse, and strict. Most homes with eight to 13 tenants, which is often the norm off campus, likely won’t have space for everyone to bring cars. Therefore, all roommates should sit down and discuss who can bring a car, who needs it based on academic commitments or jobs, and if they would be willing to share, as examples. Additionally, those with Massachusetts license plates are eligible to apply. street parking permit, which allow you to park on Foster St., South St., and more.

For juniors, you have to take into account roommates who go abroad and sublet well in advance.

With so many BC students traveling abroad each year in their junior year, sublet and lease changes come into play. Some students may only seek to live off campus for one semester. rather than two, which the household as a whole should take into account, as those going abroad may either seek to sublet to someone. This can mean that people you don’t know end up subletting a room in your house, which everyone in the household should agree to first.

Graphic presented by Olivia Charbonneau / Editor-in-Chief of Heights

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