Hello. I'm a first year student off-campus student. I was wondering if there are any disadvantages of not living on campus for the first year. :$ Thank you, any information would be greatly appreciated

Are you living at home with your parents or in a student house off campus? How far is the house from Mac?

It's not as convenient as living at school (you'll have to wake up earlier to make it to 8:30 class) and your internet may not be as amazing.

you save a ton of money. big advantage there.

You won't meet all the people in res. There are other ways to meet people, of course, but it's not quite the same experience.

ohh good question! I was wondering the same thing. I'm communting from Mississauga and I fear not living on res was a really big mistake. But i'm trying to convince myself that it wont be as bad as I make it seem right?

Further to walk. Cook your own food (then again you pay for meal plan). Utility bills (if not included). Bandwidth issues for internet. Worried about housemates torrenting/uploading. Setting heat temperatures in house to accomodate everyone. Messiness in kitchen/unwashed dishes. Garbage disposal/chores. Possibly a small room depending on what you get.

Originally Posted by nerual

You won't meet all the people in res. There are other ways to meet people, of course, but it's not quite the same experience.

That's what I was worried about. I'm not quite sure if I'll be able to meet people easily since I'm living off-campus. I've found a house which is a 5 minute walk to the campus. :/ would that make it easier? :S

Originally Posted by Aaliyah

That's what I was worried about. I'm not quite sure if I'll be able to meet people easily since I'm living off-campus. I've found a house which is a 5 minute walk to the campus. :/ would that make it easier? :S

Maybe, but that's not really what I meant. There isn't really a substitute for the res experience, especially during welcome week. Some people really regret their decision to live off campus and some say its a good choice and would do it again. It depends on you. Living close to campus can't hurt, though.

Originally Posted by Aaliyah

That's what I was worried about. I'm not quite sure if I'll be able to meet people easily since I'm living off-campus. I've found a house which is a 5 minute walk to the campus. :/ would that make it easier? :S

it also depends on the type of person you are.. i lived on res first year and it was great, i met tons of people, but i didnt really keep a connection with most of those people (im the type of person who makes a few really good friends, rather than a ton of not-so-close friends.. if that makes sense). but anyways for me i met my best friends through my tutorials/working together for group assignments.
theres also the society of off campus students that you can sign up for.. during welcome week people tend to stay with their residence groups, so if youre living off campus you would stick with the SOCS people and meet others who live off campus/commuters.. so you should check that out! socs also plans events through the year that you can go to and meet people

I'm from Hamilton, so I just stayed in my parents' house for the first two years. While the money saved and free food was great, I definitely regret not living on res. It may just be me, but I feel like I missed out on a huge experience that I probably will never have the chance to do again.

There isn't too much of a difference between living on rez and living 5 mins from campus in 1st year. Main thing is that you won't meet as many people during welcome week because the majority of the events are rez-specific ones. But assuming you're living with other students, you'll have other chances to make friends there (plus through your classes). And there's a greater chance that you won't like your housemates unless you knew them beforehand because there's no system to match people with similar lifestyles together as there is in rez.

I lived off campus first year , but it was far (north of mohawk) and stayed home second year.


I had a blast welcome week, went out to a bunch of events on campus. Even went out to the lake and stuff and the club parties. I had to leave by 12 most nights in order to get home. SOCS is great they provide you with lots of events. While not my main friends9hard when in different programs) i still hang out with people I met during welcome week.

Since you live five minutes away its not bad at all. from some res to some building its still a far walk.


I would say a disadvantage is that if you don't like your roommates ( which can happen on rez too )you dont have anyone to help. But i think living off campus will help you to really grow as an adult, Unless you're emancipated and went through tough s*** we truly teenagers when we graduate from high school.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say... I regret rez, and would not do it over. Chalk it up to my personality type or whatever, because I met a few very cool people there (including one of my roommates) who I kept in touch with, but basically it was high school 2.0 -- and I hated it. Actually, socially, it almost seemed like a step backward from high school because everyone was on their own for the first time and kinda going crazy.

I moved to a house off campus for 2nd year -- my roommate who I'd been close to in rez transferred to another school and I didn't really have anyone to live with so I took a chance on a random place with people I didn't know and I LOVED it. My roommates there have become my closest friends -- I lived there for three years, and I now have an apartment with one of them.

The primary differences -- off campus saves money. You do have to worry about utility bills, etc, but this has been a good experience for me. Same with groceries, learning to budget and plan meals and learning to cook has definitely taught me independence. You get your own room which is a huge plus. There are no arbitrary rules like a move-out date, guest sign in, etc. More freedom. It's easier to explore your neighbourhood and city when you're not insulated on campus 24/7.

It's not always easy -- I've had psycho roommates, ******* landlords, etc... but they were a learning experience, and in the end it was completely worth it.

You will be fine.

Rez is kind of overrated. Although fun and you meet a ton of people early on, the living conditions can be very annoying for most of the rezzes. Sharing a room with someone who snores/smells, washroom across the floor, very little space, restricted from bringing more than 1 friend over, forced to eat the shitty overpriced centro food, etc. etc.

Also some floors can be very antisocial.