The ultimate guide to living off campus

Good luck, you’re going to need it

When is prime leasing season? NOW

Like literally, this very instant. Campus Hill Apartments opened their doors for 2017-2018 leases at 10 am September 7th. O.P.R. Developers also opened their leases for 2017 that day. Tupper Property Management, University Hill, and University Area Apartments are all accepting applications as well.

Aspen Syracuse, a new apartment complex that literally hasn’t even been built yet has already opened their leases for next year. Park Point hasn’t opened their leasing yet, because they’re usually one of the last. There’s will not open leases until mid-September, often students literally camp out, tents and everything, in front of the complex the night before leases start, to make sure they get the apartment they want.

Here at SU, the sooner, the better off you are. With ever increasing freshman classes, yet very little increase in the amount of on-or off-campus living spaces, competition is high. If you’re reading this like three months after it’s been published, all I have to say is, “LOL good luck”. You better hope some people who are going abroad are as late in starting to look for sub-letters as you are in looking for an apartment.

Should you get a house or an apartment?

Lucky for you, thats not so much up to you as it is up to how many people you live with. Virtually no apartments have more than four rooms, so if you’re planning on rooming with 5 or more people, look for a house, and look fast. Most houses that have 5 rooms together only hold those five people, instead of the house being split into apartments. And houses like that go fast, faster than just about anything off campus.

On a budget?

If you’re looking for the cheapest option, there are two solutions. You can either live with as many people as possible if you’ve got a lot of friends, or live further away. While living far away might seem scary, or like a lot of effort to get to class, (I mean if you lived 2 minutes away from your class and didn’t go, how are you supposed to get yourself to class when you live 15 minutes away?), as someone who lives 6 blocks from the edge of campus, its really not that bad. Yes, the majority of my friends don’t feel like walking all the way to my house, but by going to class, I get my exercise without even trying. Or at least I like to think so.

If you thought signing up for classes was like The Hunger Games, then you’ve clearly never fought to get a good lease. Happy leasing, and may the housing be ever in your favor.

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