Hey,
I am from India and therefore don't know much about the residence and other living conditions in Canada and will be joining McMaster this fall for Engineering Level 1.

Now I have a couple of options regarding on campus and off campus residence so please help me out with it!!

Few minutes back I was allotted a double room with washroom in Les Prince Hall.But some people tell me that I should stay off campus as it will be much cheaper and I'll get an entire room to myself. I kinda agree with them because I do want to save money and therefore I am planning to live off campus itself.

Now there is one room that I inquired about....it is a basement room with all utilities for $350 per month, 10 mins walk to MAC...people staying on the floor above me are paying $400 per month. Now I'm not really aware of this basement housing system so could someone explain it to me as to what are the pros and cons of living in a basement? Obviously I can figure out that living in a basement isn't that great because it is $50 cheaper. Try to focus on the cons of basement housing. So could you please familiarize me with the basement system?

Also if you were in my place, what would you have chosen?
Thanks in adance...

Originally Posted by goelk

Hey,
I am from India and therefore don't know much about the residence and other living conditions in Canada and will be joining McMaster this fall for Engineering Level 1.

Now I have a couple of options regarding on campus and off campus residence so please help me out with it!!

Few minutes back I was allotted a double room with washroom in Les Prince Hall.But some people tell me that I should stay off campus as it will be much cheaper and I'll get an entire room to myself. I kinda agree with them because I do want to save money and therefore I am planning to live off campus itself.

Now there is one room that I inquired about....it is a basement room with all utilities for $350 per month, 10 mins walk to MAC...people staying on the floor above me are paying $400 per month. Now I'm not really aware of this basement housing system so could someone explain it to me as to what are the pros and cons of living in a basement? Obviously I can figure out that living in a basement isn't that great because it is $50 cheaper. Try to focus on the cons of basement housing. So could you please familiarize me with the basement system?

Also if you were in my place, what would you have chosen?
Thanks in adance...

Living in the basement could make it more humid, colder and dustier. It also depends on the floor, but you should definitively bring sandals or slippers for your feet. Also, the lighting in the basement may not be the greatest. Another thing may be the height. If you are a really tall person then you may have trouble navigating in the basement.

how high are the basements usually? i'm 6 feet...

Another thing is, if you havn't seen the house, then how could you go live in it? I find that a little sketchy. I personally would opt for the on campus first year and then go off the following years because of a few things.
Are you going to be on an 8 month lease or 1 year lease? the 1 year lease can make you pay and extra 4 months that you could decide you don't want to spend there.
If you don't know what the house looks like, you could be like moving into a closet in the basement for all you know.
You also have to pay for your own food & such...
It's more difficult to meet people.

Originally Posted by goelk

how high are the basements usually? i'm 6 feet...

That might be a problem... not all houses may have height problems, but the houses that I've seen have pretty low basements... definitively lower than 6 feet.

Okay, well, yes living off-campus is cheaper. However, it is up to you whether or not you would like to have that first-year experience in residence. Living on residence, you are almost guaranteed to meet lots of new people, which is harder when you live off-campus.

I lived off-campus first year with my boyfriend, and I don't regret it honestly. I had friends on residence who said they couldn't get to sleep until 4 AM because everyone stayed up or made a lot of noise. I couldn't have dealt with that when I had 8:30 classes three times a week lol.

As for the basement being cheaper, to be honest I'm not sure why that is the case. Though, that is a pretty sweet deal, especially when utilities are included. It can't really hurt to ask your landlord or even your housemates why your rent is less, maybe try the housemate approach first haha. The basement is nice because you have it to yourself almost, and it will probably be quieter. But it might have low ceilings and it might not be that clean. I've seen some basement apartments myself... ehh haha. Some are nice though!

That's what I liked about off-campus, it was good for getting tons of studying and homework done - even though I always panic and cram anyways for exams hehe. It's really upto you. What you can do, is figure out what kind of budget you'll have with on-campus vs. off-campus, and see which one is best for your needs as well.

Originally Posted by Cristina_n13

Another thing is, if you havn't seen the house, then how could you go live in it? I find that a little sketchy. I personally would opt for the on campus first year and then go off the following years because of a few things.
Are you going to be on an 8 month lease or 1 year lease? the 1 year lease can make you pay and extra 4 months that you could decide you don't want to spend there.
If you don't know what the house looks like, you could be like moving into a closet in the basement for all you know.
You also have to pay for your own food & such...
It's more difficult to meet people.

Yes, I would suggest living in residence first year. It's a lot easier to start networking and meeting people. It's also a great experience.

The conditions are much more humid and colder as Jeremy mentionned, and is it a one-room basement, i.e. are you renting the whole basement by yourself or is there someone else. Because only $50 cheaper than the apartment is not much of a difference. My advice, go see it before you commit yourself to anything. If I were you I'd stay in residence at least for first year, and then as you explore hamilton and such, you'll find great deals for housing in the years after =) Hope that helped! If you have any other questions, ask away!

Originally Posted by feonateresa

I lived off-campus first year with my boyfriend, and I don't regret it honestly. I had friends on residence who said they couldn't get to sleep until 4 AM because everyone stayed up or made a lot of noise. I couldn't have dealt with that when I had 8:30 classes three times a week lol.

There are actually quiet hours enforced during the days before school, so Sunday to Thursday. I believe it's 10pm. On Fridays and Saturdays it's more like 1am. But if people are being loud you can always talk to your CA, the one on coverage. You can actually call them from your room.

Welcome to Canada ! Unfortunately I don't know much about how it is in India, so I can't compare, but I'll try my best to answer some of your questions.

I actually might have chosen to live on residence in first year, since as an international student, you are probably not as familiar with the surrounding area, so residence is a great way to start 'getting used to it'. I think many people choose to live on campus in first year and then plan to move to an off-campus location. However, if money was a major factor in the decision, then of course, off campus housing would take precedence; it is significantly cheaper.

As for the basement, I would agree that the basement is darker because your window (I think fire safety regulations require all rooms to have one) will be much smaller and will get less lighting than someone who lives upstairs.

The structure of what is in the basement varies from house to house. You should probably check with the landlord to see what other things will be on your floor: e.g. washroom? (some houses may have a washroom for every floor, others may not); laundry facilities? (you might not want to live close to the washer/dryer because it gets noisy when it is turned on); perhaps an extra sitting room for visitors?

Originally Posted by sara_h216

The conditions are much more humid and colder as Jeremy mentionned, and is it a one-room basement, i.e. are you renting the whole basement by yourself or is there someone else. Because only $50 cheaper than the apartment is not much of a difference. My advice, go see it before you commit yourself to anything. If I were you I'd stay in residence at least for first year, and then as you explore hamilton and such, you'll find great deals for housing in the years after =) Hope that helped! If you have any other questions, ask away!

My landlord supplies the dehumidifier, you should check if yours does. If they don't, put pressure on them and tell them about poor living conditions and health hazards. Humid places can cause mold to grow and can be detrimental to your health. Also, asthmatic people may have a hard time breathing.

You should also invest in a purifying system if you a planning on living in the basement.

Originally Posted by goelk

how high are the basements usually? i'm 6 feet...

I am pretty tall as well (5'10) and I have never had a problem with the height of basements. I would suggest calling your landlord and asking him/her.

now i'm beginning to think tht it is better if i live off campus!! so could you guys tell me something about les prince hall? wats bad and good? also how long does it take to walk from les prince to ABB?
thanks

Originally Posted by goelk

now i'm beginning to think tht it is better if i live off campus!! so could you guys tell me something about les prince hall? wats bad and good? also how long does it take to walk from les prince to ABB?
thanks

It's one of the newer buildings, it has A/C and an elevator. I heard the elevator breaks down a lot though. Plus you don't really need A/C in fall/winter. But it might be on during welcome week. Last year it was pretty hot.

The distance of Les Prince class is far. It probably takes 10 or more minutes to walk to ABB...