It’s no secret that a lot of money can be saved by students and parents by choosing to move off campus when the time is right. Over the next year, though, upperclassmen moving off-campus may save slightly less.
As the price of on-campus housing at Alabama has recently risen, the average rent for apartments within the city limits of Tuscaloosa has also risen by $24 per month in the past year alone. The average cost for a two-bedroom/two-bathroom apartment, the most common floor plan leased by college students, at one of the newer complexes in Tuscaloosa now reaches to roughly $600 per month for 12-month leases beginning in August 2012.
Off-campus rates will not outpace on-campus rates this year, though. On-campus, the per-room rate for the four-bedroom/two-bathroom suites in any of the newer residence halls equates to slightly more than $975 per month for the 2012/2013 school year.
Nearby Campus Way apartments, an apartment complex within biking distance of the University, offers a similarly designed four-bedroom/two-bathroom floor plan but costs only $444 per month, less than half of the rate of some University-operated residence halls.
Both locations are fully furnished, both rates include utility fees, and both apartments are of similar dimensions and size. The deciding factor that pushes many students off campus often comes down to what else they’re getting for their money.
“The extra resources offered to tenants really pushed me to try to find a good apartment off campus early on in my college career,” Matt Guthrie, a senior living at the Woodlands residential community, said. “The gym and the pool are a definite plus, but between having your own place, own stove and own living area, the cost of living off campus is far better than the cost of living on campus.”
At living communities such as The Retreat in northeast Tuscaloosa, more roommates per house keep the prices lower and amenities high. Hidden fees, though, can add to the cost.
“For what you get, the rent is pretty reasonable,” Everett Yeaw, a junior living at the Retreat, said. “I only have two other roommates right now in a five-bedroom house, but we still manage to go over the monthly utilities cap included in our rent by at least $20 each every month. Between hidden fees for going over allowances and being located so far away from campus, it’s sometimes just as expensive in time and money to live off campus.”
For some students, living on campus or within a short walking distance becomes their largest selling point when searching for an apartment, even if it means getting fewer perks for the same price as off-campus resort-style living communities.
“Living on campus is just so convenient that I sometimes can’t see why anyone would ever want to live off campus,” said Trinity Stennfeld, a junior who has lived on campus since arriving at UA her freshman year. “The money saved on gas and short walks to class alone are worth more to me than access to a free tanning salon and public pool.”
