Hello everyone,
I've made the decision to attend a large research university for a PhD starting this upcoming fall. In looking around at the housing market, it seems very geared toward undergrads and roommates, with the one bedroom apartments being either very expensive or very far from campus. Currently, I'm in a one bedroom at a small liberal arts school. It takes me exactly 5 minutes to walk from my building to where most of my classes are held on campus. I know that going to a larger school means larger commutes, but I do not want to lose the luxury of walking to class each day. Unfortunately, the only available apartments close enough to campus within my price range (since I'm trying to not take on any more debt) are studios. I have definitely grown into the space afforded to me by my one bedroom apartment, and switching to the studios i'm looking at would mean a 1/3 reduction in space. So, my questions are:
How much time do you spend at home? If you live in a studio, do you ever feel cramped? (the last thing I want is to feel like i'm living in the dorms again).
Do you walk to/from campus daily? Does that luxury outweigh the luxury of having ~150 more square feet at home? Does it matter so much how big your apartment is if you are spending a lot of your time at school? I've already read a few threads on furnishing studios themselves, and it seems doable. Would be nice to hear about the experiences others have had actually living day-to-day in the small spaces
Thanks!