Students leave for college, and they’re more often than not living in the dorms for the first and maybe second year. It’s their first time away from home, but they’re within the confines of the university and have RAs around the corner for when they need help. It’s sort of like little baby doses of independence. While 18 and 19 year-olds might think they’re well-equipped enough to tackle the world on their own, the universities and the rest of society know better.
However, after a couple years at most of living it up in the dorms, most universities relax their rules on where students have to live. This is around the time when most students start thinking about Ohio University rental housing that’s located off-campus. And it’s a good idea too—university rentals are a great way for students to build character. Here’s how:
Independence and Responsibility
There’s no doubt that living it up with a friend in some off-campus OU housing with two bedrooms leads to increased independence. Living in the dorms, there’s always staff at hand to help with any issues. That’s not to say you’ll be on your own once you leave campus living—the best rental companies will have a small but mighty maintenance staff to help out with problems. But you’ll get practice paying rent, managing utility usage, and keeping your living space shipshape.
Growing up at home, your guardians probably took care of most of the chores. Maybe you pitched in with one or two to earn some weekly spending money. Now that you’re in a spacious college rental home and most of the chores fall on you, you have to step it up. When you take care of your living space, it builds a sense of self-reliance and pride. Ditto for remembering to pay rent—it’s an adult skill that has real world consequences if it doesn’t happen on the date that it’s due. It’s best to learn while you’re still in college when rental companies might show lenience.
Prioritization of Tasks
Time management and the ability to prioritize tasks is paramount in adult life. We all have the same amount of time in a day, and we make the most of it. What better way to learn an essential life skill than living off campus in a conveniently-located apartment in Athens? Living on your own with friends in that college rental with three huge bedrooms is actually a great way to boost your time management skills. No longer can you roll out of bed, take the dorm elevator down, dash out the door, and be at your 8am class in 10 minutes. You have to plan out how long it takes to walk to campus and get to class—it forces you to make better use of the time that you have.
Similarly, students have to balance their academic responsibilities with other ones. You now have to factor in household chores like washing the dishes, vacuuming, and picking up around your snazzy university rental home. Plus, you’ve still got to have a social life. Living on your own and taking care of yourself entirely gives you the chance to level up your time management by prioritizing certain tasks and activities.
Problem-Solving Abilities
College is full of real-world experiences for young students, and that applies to your off-campus rental with a fantastic view of the town too. Living independently, you’re bound to run into issues, and it’s going to fall on yourself to fix them. You might encounter roommate issues (no one ever said living with four others in a five-bedroom rental home around the corner from campus would be easy), unexpected expenses that disrupt your budget, or even maintenance issues within your rental.
Taking the time to sort through these problems and come up with solutions are valuable life skills that are essential to learn early on. It’s kind of one of the hallmarks of adulting. It teaches you to think critically when finding solutions. And once you’ve managed to fix the issue, you’re able to look back on it and laugh. The phrase “it’s always something” tends to hold true in adult life. Situations will always arise where quick problem-solving skills are needed. Living on your own at a younger age leaves you better-equipped to deal with them.
Learned Social Skills
College is a great time to advance your social skills, and living in a cute college apartment down the street from campus helps with that. Strong social connections are important for many reasons. Humans are social creatures. We form teams, families, friendships and more in an effort to cultivate and maintain social connections. And calling that Ohio University off-campus rental with the big backyard home is the perfect way to meet some new people and broaden your perspective.
If you’re living off-campus, you’ll likely interact with your neighbors and maybe even build casual friendships. There’s also the opportunity to take part in community-centered events in your neighborhood. Maybe you’re hitting up the local farmers market every Saturday or attending one of the many popular events in Athens. No matter what you choose, they’re good places to show up at to meet the people who live around you and form new connections.
Whichever way you frame it, living in quality Ohio University rental apartments and homes leads to increased independence with students. And that kind of independence allows them to grow into fully-fledged adults by the time they’re finished with their studies.