Often, when I ask incoming freshmen why they choose to live in residence, they respond that on-campus housing is cheaper and it will save them money. This is actually false since getting a place off campus similar to what you would get at UWP, MKV, or CLV will cost you just over $400 to $500 a month, plus applicable utilities. This works out to about $1600 to $2000 a semester or $3200 to $4000 for 2 semesters, plus applicable utilities. This is still cheaper than the cheapest residence on campus, CLV, which would cost you just under $5700 for the 2015-2016 school year and and expect this price to appreciate again for the upcoming years by about $200 to $300 a year.
I have seen places along Lester, Albert, and King. Each will run you about $650 to $800 per month, plus applicable utilities. Many places include utilities in the rent or have a monthly flat rate.
Places on Lester and Albert are mostly 5 room apartments with 2 washrooms, a kitchen, and a living and dining room. These usually have little to no amenities but are really close to campus. Buildings on or near King, like Luxe, 1 Columbia, and Sage, have 5 room apartments with ensuite washrooms, and the usual living room, dining room, and kitchen. These places are mostly newer and generally do have a gym, recreation room, and theatre but are also farther away from campus.
Personally, I like living off campus a lot more. I love having an ensuite washroom. I don't have to clean someone else's filth, I can take a shower whenever I want, when I gotta then I will go (if you know what I'm saying :) ) and there wouldn't be any competition, and if you have roommates who love having friends over, there isn't that awkward moment of wondering who just came out of your washroom. My room is about 3 times the size of the room I had in CLV, I have a double size bed, space to roll around in my chair, enough space to fit another 2 desks in my room, and if I really wanted to, I could go days without leaving my room at all and stay hygienic or isolate myself from society completely and survive for as long as my supply of food will last me. To get a decent workout, all I need to do is take a short elevator ride to the gym. If my mates and I want to watch a movie together, we can take another elevator ride to the in house theatre and watch our movies off our phones or laptop on the big screen or even bring a console. I also have an amazing view over Waterloo. Oh, and did I mention that my place has a standalone HVAC system in each unit and a dishwasher, no stacks on stacks of dirty dishes waiting to be washed. Just stick it all into the dishwasher and you get nice clean dishes with little to no effort in about an hour.
Plus, with the stupid lottery system in Waterloo's residences, who knows what kind of hell you might be getting yourself in. You could potentially get into the most sought after Mackenzie King Village suite style residence or not. When you choose to live off campus, you at least you have a decent idea of what your room will be like and know where you will be living.
Part 1: Here
Part 3: Here
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