Story by Katherine Hunt
Photo by Luke Nankivell

The transition between every school year is large however, that gap may seem extremely enormous for sophomore students. After all, once students complete their sophomore year, they are faced with a difficult decision: Where to live as juniors and seniors?

For most students there are two main options: live at Drake West Village right next to campus or further away from campus. The Times-Delphic talked to multiple students about their housing decisions as well as researched some pros and cons of each.

A deciding factor for some students is a matter of convenience. Junior Larissa Wurm chose to live at West Village.

“It was a way I could live off-campus, but still be really close,” Wurm said. “I don’t need to drive back and forth from classes. I can still walk everywhere. It’s extremely convenient.”

However, for some living in Drake West Village just isn’t plausible due to cost.

“Realistically, I will be in a lot of debt when I graduate, and it doesn’t make a lot of financial sense to keep spending my entire paycheck on rent,” sophomore Taylor Larson said.

Other pros and cons can be a large part of deciding on a new place to live. These could be additional amenities, amount of space and where friends live.

Junior Laura Plumb discovered another perceived benefit when choosing West Village.

“One of the nice things West Village offers is signing separate leases,” Plumb said. “So the four of us sharing an apartment each lease one-fourth of the room instead of all signing on the same lease. If for some reason one of my roommates doesn’t pay their rent, it isn’t going to cost me anything. They also offer nine month leases, which is nice because I won’t have to pay for the apartment when I’m not living in it over the summer.”

Yet, Drake West Village is not without its cons as well. Junior Lucas Mueller discovered one major con: neighbors.

“Sometimes, you are able to hear the people that live above you walking around at various times. You also have to be thoughtful of them when playing music or making other noise to make sure it’s not too loud,” Mueller said.

Larson chose to rent a home with five other friends for a couple of reasons.

“My rent is cheap, there’s a lot of space and we get to decorate and customize it however we want. I don’t have to pay for parking either,” Larson said.

For sophomores finishing their second year or even for upperclassman making the move off campus, there are plenty of resources to aid students in apartment hunting. This includes booklets, websites and even Drake Realty. Mueller and Wurm offer these pieces of advice. Mueller advises asking lots of questions.

“You need to be informed about where you are going to live and if something big comes as a surprise, because you did not know about it, living in a new place may not be too enjoyable,” Mueller said.

Wurm suggests taking everything into consideration and deciding personally.

“You have to take into consideration commuting time, parking, how much utilities will cost, etc.,” Wurm said. “It’s just all about your preferences.”