Off-campus students prefer more roommates, less rent
KATIE SIPOS
Issue date: 5/14/09 Section: News
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The end of the 2009 academic year is quickly approaching and the expected influx of Pacific students moving in and out of local off-campus housing is in full swing. The Boxer e-Classifieds are full of apartments, houses, and rooms for rent-all of which are going fast, as well as an average of 25 people searching for roommates.
Managers of local apartment complexes have mixed ideas as to why students opt to live off-campus. While Lona Todd of the Forest Grove and Country Meadows Apartments claimed "privacy" was one of the key reasons students prefer living off-campus, Mindy Bernhardt of the Boxer Apartments felt that students are looking that students are looking for bigger places and more roommates to keep monthly costs as low as possible.
The Boxer Apartments' tenants are usually about 50 percent Pacific students, but seem to be on the decline as of late with 30-45 percent. Bernhardt said, "I just think with the economy and everything the students are more opting to get roommates and our apartments aren't big enough." The Boxer Apartments are two-bedroom, 600-square-foot deals for $590 a month.
According to property manager Lon Sandefur, the Sherwood Manor Apartments host about 25 percent Pacific students. Sandefur disclosed that "with the applications I've got pending, we're pretty much rented up," referring to the current vacancy state of the apartment complex. The Sherwood Manor Apartments are two-bedroom, 1.5-bath, 850-square-foot residences for $695 per month.
Is it really cost-saving that's leaving smaller apartments empty?
Travis Birrell, junior, would definitely select the larger-apartment-more-roommates-less-rent option, claiming that he needs "sufficient space for studying and whatnot," while Quill Anderson, senior, said "it really depends upon the people and what sort of room you find in which to live together."
Cost-saving is definitely the main factor in students fleeing university housing. Anderson said he made the decision to live off-campus because "the main factor was price. It is much cheaper to live off-campus."
Living off-campus is much cheaper overall, especially when one considers splitting an average monthly cost of $550 between two, three, four or sometimes more people. Students also do not have to worry about access to certain facilities, such as a kitchen. McCormick's kitchen was recently closed and residents have had to cope with the inconvenience of the rules placed on its use.
Students arrive at Pacific with the knowledge that housing is expensive. The cost of living on-campus is, on average per month, $150 more than living off-campus. Despite these figures, personal preference seems to be the dominant factor in deciding whether to live off-campus alone, with a host of roommates, or on-campus.
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