‘Where will I sleep? What will I eat? How will I move from place to place?’ are just a few of the many questions and concerns that skyrocket into alarm when moving dates approach. However, there’s nothing to fret about. A very high percentage of the time, colleges themselves will take it into their hands to locate students into safe, student-populated facilities, meaning international students have nothing to worry about. Here are a couple of housing options in the US for international students:
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On-Campus:
For incoming freshmen, this is probably the smartest choice. The majority of universities in the US will encourage (or even demand in some cases) any incoming students, international ones in particular, to live at a dorm for at least their first year there. As you probably know, dorms, short for dormitories, are buildings designed to house students that are solely rooms. Most of the time students will have to share their room with one or two other people, not to mention split the bathroom and living room area.
Dorms are a great option because not only will the students get to meet and bond with other people from the get go, but they will also have the advantage of being close to their classes (meaning they won’t need a car) and to facilities offered by the school (gym, restaurants, etc). In other words, dorms are convenient.
For international students dorms also mean that they can sleep well at night, knowing they’re located in a safe environment where monitoring is constant, and this is something very much appreciated by parents as well. - Off-Campus:
A more popular option amongst second-year international students, and students as a whole, is living off campus. This usually means that a group of three or more friends will lease an apartment and face the real deal of living alone.
In order to pick the right apartment however, it is important to browse around and examine different options weighing in the safety of the area, its proximity to campus (the nearer the better!), and its proximity to places like a gas station, convenience store, etc.
Although this can be considered more of an expense than in-campus living because of the added cost of groceries, rent, and electricity, it’s also a chance to try out a more adult lifestyle, with no one fending for yourself but you and more privacy than you’ve ever had before.
Photo Credit: Life-Of-Pix
