Many ISU students are heading to Boone or Nevada to find affordable apartments. These students say Ames doesn’t offer enough options.

“The advantages outweigh the disadvantages,” said Ingrid Adams, graduate student in family and consumer science education and studies.

Adams lived at University Village in Ames for three years before moving to Boone. She said there are more options in terms of types of housing.

“Just from driving around, I’ve seen a lot of houses for sale and for rent,” she said.

Adams said she originally moved to Boone because her children go to school at Trinity Lutheran Church and School, 712 12th St., and there is more space available in Boone. The cost is about the same as in Ames, she said.

“I think it is better [because] you always need more space and it’s more convenient for my children, so I’m happy about that,” she said. “Other things I think I can live with.”

Tom Baier, senior in horticulture, is originally from Omaha, Neb. He said commuting from Nevada to Ames isn’t a big problem.

“Twenty minutes was basically what I had to drive [to get places in Omaha] anyway,” he said.

Baier said he is paying about $100 less for a one-bedroom apartment in Nevada than he would Ames.

In Ames, a one-bedroom apartment advertised in a newspaper might cost him around $400, he said.

Kendra Bascom, junior in pre-business, also said prices in Nevada were cheaper. The apartments were also nicer, she said.

“The apartment I found here is a two-bedroom and the same price as a one-bedroom in Ames,” she said. “The apartments I looked at here in Nevada are nicer than in Ames.”

A convincing factor for Bascom was that her best friend lives in Nevada, but she said there are some disadvantages to living 20 minutes away from Ames.

“I’m not a morning person and I have to get up earlier in the morning to make it to the bus,” she said. “If I want to go out at night, I have to drive out to Ames.”

Adams said there are some disadvantages to her living situation as well.

“The biggest disadvantage is winter driving,” she said. “I don’t care for that.”

Baier said he liked the small-town atmosphere of Nevada, but he did not know Ames was as small as it is when he looked for apartments.

“I didn’t really look that hard,” he said. “This is one of the first places I’ve found or even looked at.”

Baier said he was thinking of taking a closer look at apartments in Ames.

“I might look [in Ames] when my lease is up,” he said.