KENTUCKY KERNELPR SUPPLEMENT

MARCH 8, 2010 WWW.KYKERNEL.COMMONDAY

Moving away from home and onto theUniversity of Kentucky’s campus, as 93 per-cent of freshmen do, comes with a great dealof freedom that can seem overwhelming.Moving off campus results in yet anothersurge of freedom for students, a freedom thatcan be exciting or terrifying. Living off cam-pus differs from living on campus, it is a dif-ferent experience altogether.! This is not tosay that one living situation is better than theother, but each location offers a different ex-perience. The experience of living off campusconsists of more than just house parties, deco-rating and not sharing a bathroom with 30 ofyour fellow students. !

Students who live off campus in anapartment or house have their own space forthem to design and utilize as desired. One ofthe most popular aspects of off campus livingis the privacy that this personal space entails;

an aspect that dorms do not always offer. Stu-dents purchase their own furniture for theiroff campus residence. In some locations,more than just the necessities for the student’sroom is needed like furniture for the livingroom, kitchen and any otherrooms have to be furnished aswell. !

Living in your ownapartment or house causesstudents to learn how to doeveryday household choresthey may not have previouslydone. There are dishes towash, floors and rooms toclean, laundry to do and trashto take out. Without the convenience of cam-pus dining, students find themselves buyingmore groceries and experimenting with cook-ing their own meals. Indoor chores are notthe only ones that have to completed, outdoortasks also exist for some people. If you live

in a house, the trash has to be taken out aswell as the cans be brought to the curb to bepicked up on a designated day. Depending onthe stipulations of the lease, yard work mayhave to be completed.!

Bills, Bills, Bills! Off cam-pus living comes with itsshare of financial require-ments and responsibilities.Students living off campuspay rent every month alongwith additional bills such aselectric, water and cable. Inorder to keep the cost ofthese utilities down, studentslearn to manage the use of

the utilities.!When living on campus, there is no

need to worry about how you are going to getto class. You’re already on campus, so youwalk. When students move off campus theconcept of transportation to and from class

becomes a concern. If close enough to cam-pus students continue to walk, but others mayhave to ride the bus or purchase a parkingpass.!!

Students enter a communitywhen renting an apartment or house off cam-pus. These students are expected to begood neighbors, especially if not completelysurrounded by residents of the same agegroup. Their involvement in the city ex-tends past just attending the school locat-ed there; students get to experience becominga part of the Lexington community not justthe UK community when living offcampus.

Starting a life off campus ismore than just house parties, decorating andnot sharing a bathroom. It is an educationaland exciting experience that can benefit stu-dents. Living off campus comes with greatresponsibility and ability to manage time andpriorities.

The off-campus experience Madison Griffin

PR Writer

There are dishesto wash, floors

and rooms to clean,laundry to do andtrash to take out.

Living Guide

College

MCCLATCHY

PAGE B2 | Monday, March 8, 2010

On- or off-campus housing:Which is right for you?

By Taylor Riley

At this point in the semester, students begin scram-bling to figure out where they are going to live in thenext year.

Finding a place to live can be extremely stressful,and when added to the anxiety of exams and home-work, the task can be hard to handle. The choice tolive on or off campus can be the biggest challengewhen deciding of where to live. Financial dues seem tobe a deciding factor when students make the decision.

Ashli Laeng, a pre-nursing freshman and BlandingTower resident said, “I pay $6,000 for housing fromAugust to May and have to leave during breaks. I ammoving into an apartment (next year) and for twelvemonths it will cost $3,410. I don’t have to leave duringbreaks and I have my own bedroom, bathroom and liv-ing space.”

Average costs of on-campus dorms vary upon area,but along with living arrangements, students also re-ceive dining plans. Double rooms in residence hallssuch as the Kirwan and Blanding towers are approxi-mately $6,139 annually, while premium residencehalls such as Smith, Baldwin and Ingels are approxi-mately $7,479 annually.

Living off campus can also be an option for new orreturning students. Student apartments and houses areavailable at affordable costs and in close proximity tocampus.

There are several options for students wanting tolive off campus for the 2010-11 school year. Localapartments such as Newtown Crossing, 5 Twenty FourAngliana, The Lex, Royal Lexington and UniversityLofts are quite popular with UK students.

Rates also vary on off-campus apartments. In a threebedroom/three bathroom apartment in Newtown Cross-ings, for example, rent is $524 per person. There are alsoamenities included like a swimming pool and tanning area.

Giselle Boulanger, an elementary education fresh-man and resident of Center Court apartments said, “Ithink living off campus was really the right decisionfor me and my family because I have sisters and livingtogether and owning a place was much better than try-ing to pay off dorm fees for ten years.”

Another option for students is to commute fromhome. This saves paperwork and money. Allie Jarrells,a biology freshman said, “Since I am from Lexington,I decided to live at home in order to save money. Byliving off campus, I am able to save thousands of dol-lars by living at home and I do not have to pay rent ofany kind. This way I can have more money to spendfor future uses.”

Regardless of if you choose to live on or off cam-pus, the decision can be a hard one. With informationand research, you can find the right choice for you.

On-campus housing Off-campus housing

Kirwan Tower/Blanding Tower Newtown Crossing

Smith Hall 5 Twenty Four Angliana

The LexJewell Hall

$6,139 annually for double room $524 per month, three bedroom

$7,479 annually for double room $544 per month, four bedroom

$5,594 annually for double room Starting at $599 per month

www.kykernel.com

Monday, March 8, 2010 | PAGE B3

Choosing a compatibleroommate

Spring semester is full of serious deci-sions. Among midterms, spring break plansand summer job searches, students must makethe paramount decision of who to live withthe following year. Everyone has heard theage-old horror story of the two best friendsthat live together and end up despising eachother afterwards, so the decision is frighten-ing. However, there are legitimate ways toevaluate which friends would make goodroommates.!

The key to compatibility is very simple.Before you even begin evaluating anylifestyle characteristics of your friends, youmust ask yourself if your potential roommateis trustworthy, respectful and approachable.You don’t want to sign a contract with some-one unless you undoubtedly know that they

will pay rent and follow your landlord’s rules.Also, because you and your roommate willinevitably disagree at some point during theyear, you should choose someone with re-spect and approachability. If you don’t feelcomfortable confronting someone about theday-to-day issues that all roommates face,you may want to reconsider living with them.

There are multiple lifestyle components toconsider when choosing a roommate; howev-er, perfectly matching is unnecessary. The keyto compatibility is simply discussing each ofthe following considerations and mutually de-ciding if any lifestyle differences would cre-ate a problem.

Sleeping habits: This obviously presentsmore of a problem to roommates that share aroom; however it can create some hostility fornight owls and early birds in apartments aswell. Students that typically stay up later maydislike being the only one awake in a quietapartment. Those that go to bed early mayfeel guilty asking their late-nighter roommatesto be quiet. However, this issue does not res-onate with everyone.! Students like AbbyGradel, a sophomore, put less emphasis onthe matter. “My roommate and I go to bed atdifferent times a lot during the week.

It doesn’t bother me at all because weboth just try to be as courteous as possible.”Decide if this would be an issue for you ornot before signing a lease.

Cleanliness: Again, don’t fall for theclaim that neat-freaks and slobs cannot co-habit. This consideration is more importantfor roommates that share a room, but in anapartment it can still create controversy.When talking with potential roommates, spec-ify your expectations regarding cleanliness incommon areas such as the kitchen and livingroom, and establish plans for shared cleaningresponsibilities. If you each trust each other tokeep up with dishes, trash and tidying up thecommon areas, different lifestyles can still becompatible.!

Social and academic agendas: If youlive with someone in your core social group,this opens the door for fights if any outside

issues disrupt the group.! Also, some peoplealways want their roommates to go to thesame parties or social events with them, whileother people like to go out with differentgroups of friends. Decide whether or not youwant to live with someone that you typicallyrun with every weekend. Also, at some pointduring the year, you will inevitably encounterthe situation in which one roommate has atest and the other wants to go party. This is-sue truly boils down to respect. You bothneed to establish your expectations before-hand in regard to courtesy.

Non-mutual friends: If you suspect thatyour potential roommate would have peoplevisit the apartment often, you should evaluatewhether you would enjoy seeing these peoplea lot. This is especially true for roommates inrelationships. If you do not like the person’ssignificant other, you should realize that sign-ing a lease with him/her means you will see

his/her counterpart very regularly. In the end, communication is truly the

most important factor in finding a compati-ble roommate. While there are many differ-ent values and lifestyle features to consider,a mutual understanding can alleviate andprevent any real issues.

Sarah GeeganPR Writer

Before you even begin evaluating any lifestyle characteristicsof your friends, you must ask yourself if your potential roommate is trustworthy, respectful and approachable.

PAGE B4 | Monday, March 8, 2010

“President Lee Todd’s house would be nice.”

Campus living walk and talk

By Courtney Thomas

If you could live anywhere on campus,without the limitations of money,

parking, etc., where would you live?

“I prefer to live near campus. I have lived on StateStreet for the past two years and found that it’spretty convienent, yet pricey at times. I stillwouldn’t change living there though.”

Jordan Lafferty, pharmacy senior

“I want to live in University Lofts. I love the modern feel.”

Kristen Cooper, journalismsophomore

“Definitely 524 Angliana! It’s new and haseverything I’m looking for.”

Amanda Carney, art studio freshman

Tyler Shipe, finance junior

Monday, March 8, 2010 | PAGE B5

An apartment complex fiasco:Case of the neglectful staff

As a senior, I was so ex-cited to move into my veryfirst apartment with my best

friend.Living offcampusseemed tosolidifythe moveinto adult-hood andthe free-dom thatcomeswith it.

We took a lot of time to findan apartment that lookedgreat and fit our needs. Wewanted our own bathroomand rooms with big closets.We finally decided on anapartment that seemed per-fect for us…or so wethought.

Our apartment was spa-cious and had a lot of ameni-ties, but things constantlybroke. We would report themto maintenance, like we weretold to do, but it would takeweeks or even months beforethe items got fixed. One dayin January, during the firstweek back to classes, myroommate and I happened tocome home at the same time.Much to our surprise, therewas gushing water that greet-ed us at the door. When wefrantically opened our frontdoor, there was five to sixinches of still water in the

apartment. This disaster ledto shop vacs, ripping up the-hardwood floor, purchasingten huge fans and humidifiersand a promise from mainte-nence to fix our floor in fourdays.

One week later, we werestill without a floor and stillsleeping in other places be-cause we couldn’t use any-thing in our apartment. Thefans were loud, so that didn'thelp either. We eventuallynoticed another problem. Myroommate had a spot on herceiling that looked like a wa-ter spot. She called and toldthe front office, just to checkand make sure it wasn’t partof the original leak. She fol-lowed up the next day andmy mother even called aboutthe spot. The front desk re-peatedly said they wouldcheck it, but they never did.That Saturday night,my roommate camehome to find her ceil-ing split open and wa-ter coming out of it.Her mattress, clothes,textbooks, and otheritems were all ruined.Had the maintenanceand front desk staffpursued this problemlike they said theywould, the ceilingwould not have a hugehole in it and a lot ofpersonal items would

have been saved. A week lat-er, we moved out of thatapartment and broke ourlease so we could move to adifferent complex.

Morale of the story: whenliving off campus, choose anapartment complex that has ahelpful front desk staff orlandlord that will be respect-ful of your needs and re-quests. They need to be effi-cient and timely in fixingthings both for your sake andtheirs as well.

This will keep problemsat bay and save you a lot ofheadaches. Also, be persist-ent. If you already live in anoff campus spot where thestaff isn’t so great, stay onthem. Call daily, visit the of-fice and seek higher authori-ty. You pay to live there andyou deserve a nice livingspace.

LESLIENEELEY

Leasing Web sites for student housing

The Web is a great place to find your new home. Here is a list of some top Web sites thatmight be helpful in your search.

! www.apartmentfinder.com

! www.forrent.com

! www.irentapts.com

! www.lexingtonapartmentguide.com

! www.lexingtonrent.com

! www.apartmentratings.com

! www.mapskrieg.com

! www.myukhome.com

! www.touchstonerentals.com

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