Nearly half of Iowa State students choose to live off campus.

Typically, as students get older they outgrow the residence hall life-style and want to move on to their “own place.”

So what are the benefits of off-campus living?

Ellen Fairchild, coordinator of the Off-Campus Center, said benefits depend on the off-campus living situation. Students living with five or six other people will encounter a lack of space, she said, but students who have one or two roommates likely will have more privacy.

Fairchild said residence halls may be more ideal for younger students.

“I think for a first-year student, if they don’t have family obligations, it’s good thing for them to live in the residence halls,” she said, adding that many young students may become isolated from the university community if they live off campus earlier in their college careers.

She said some of the benefits to students include having more freedom and independence, as well as more opportunity to prepare their own food, which she said is especially important for some international students.

But Fairchild noted that if students are regulated by a difficult lease, they may have less freedom than they initially expected. Many leases run for a 12-month period, which is inconvenient for some students.

“A lot depends on the lease they sign,” Fairchild said.

Carrie Salvo, senior in elementary education, said she lived in the residence halls her first two years at ISU before deciding to move to an apartment her junior year.

“I just like the freedom better, living in an apartment; you don’t have to worry about roommates [because you have] your own room,” she said.

Joseph Carney, junior in marketing, said he also lived in the residence halls for two years before deciding to get an apartment with some friends. Although his off-campus location occasionally leaves him feeling disconnected from the university community, he said he prefers off-campus living to residence halls.

“You’re able to make your own food and come and go as you please,” Carney said.

Fairchild said average rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $550 a month, not including utilities. Students desiring single apartments should be prepared to pay between $450 to $475 a month, not including utilities, she said.

Fairchild noted it is can be expensive to live alone in Ames.

“If you have a roommate, it becomes a little bit more affordable,” she said.

Fairchild said “sleeping rooms” are another option in Ames, and at $200 to $250 a month, including utilities, they are affordable. But the sleeping rooms are just a room, and residents must share kitchen and bathroom space, which Fairchild said makes them less popular than the apartment option.

Stephanie Cloud, senior in marketing and a sleeping room resident, said her living conditions present some disadvantages.

She said overhearing her neighbors talking through the walls is a distraction, and that some of her neighbors do not live up to their cleaning obligations.

On the bright side, Cloud said her sleeping room has seven windows, and she pays $255, including utilities, per month.

“For a room it’s kind of a lot, but around Ames, it’s pretty good,” she said, noting that she most likely will be paying a lot more next year for a regular apartment.

A representative from Hunziker Property Management said the company gears a lot of property toward ISU students, including housing near central campus.

The representative said she guessed that after living in the dorms for a couple of years, students probably would want their own apartments.

Fairchild said the housing prices in Ames are high, but not unreasonable.

“Rental units are high, then with the added obligation of the 12-month lease, not all of our students are here [year-round],” she said.

The pricing may not surprise students who have adjusted to off-campus life, but students and families who have just moved to Ames from rural towns in Iowa may not expect it, she said.

“[The students] have got to take time and find the place that’s right for them,” Fairchild said.