After one year of living in residence at Victoria College, I moved into an apartment for my second year of university. Though finding a place was challenging, living off-campus was the best thing I could have done. It changed the game for me— my perspectives on life, school, and Toronto completely changed.First, living off-campus made me feel so much more at home.
In residence, I had a single room, but I shared a communal bathroom with twenty people. Though everyone on my floor was nice, I didn’t feel super comfortable. For me, living on residence felt like living at a sleep-away camp— fun, but not exactly relaxing. Being able to live in an environment where I could choose exactly who came into my space made me feel a lot more comfortable.My room in residence- what a throwback!
Having complete control over my life also felt super good. I was responsible for maintaining my apartment, looking after myself on a daily basis, and communicating with my landlord. Though all these things were challenging, they taught me lessons and made me feel independent and capable. I finally felt like an adult living on my own, and it was very exciting!My roommate Elsa in our recently decorated apartment!Living off-campus created a school-life balance for me.
When I lived on residence, school felt very important to me. All I really did was study and go to classes, and the people I hung out with were in the same classes and programs as me. But when I moved off campus, school just became something I did, rather than my entire life.
For example, If something bad happened at school, I could go back to my apartment and decompress. This really helped remind me that though school was important, it wasn’t all-encompassing.
Creds: Giphy.comLiving off-campus allowed me to appreciate the city I was in.
When I lived on residence, I barely ever left campus. All my friends were also on residence, and travelling into a foreign city alone was daunting. But living off-campus forced me to finally explore Toronto. Even just walking from my apartment to campus taught me how to navigate the city and showed me all it had to offer.Once I started exploring the city, I realized that there were so many things I could do and new people I could meet, all around me!Beautiful Christie Pits Park
For me, living off-campus changed the game in terms of how much I enjoyed university and my life in Toronto. But, living off-campus is also hard, especially with Toronto's fast-paced rental market. For next week’s blog, I’ll be interviewing Katrina Persad, Student Life Officer, Housing Education & Outreach. She’ll be giving us advice and explaining the resources available to help students with off-campus housing. Stay tuned!
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