Living Far From Campus/Commuting

[warpspeed]

Hi all!

I was wondering who had the experience of making a long-ish commute to their school. I'm doing UChicago MAPSS next fall and am looking for places to move. I haven't been too pleased with my Hyde Park options and would rather live closer to where most of my friends live in Logan Square/Avondale/Wicker Park area. However it is about an hour's busride to campus.

I've heard some people like the commute because it gave them undivided time to study and cheaper rent. The downside is I couldn't run home and let my dog out, take a nap or make lunch.

Is it 100% necessary to live close to campus? What are your experience (both sides of hte coin, what did you like/dislike about living by campus, what did you like/dislike about commuting further)?

[Sparky]

How much experience do you have with this particular bus route? Are you *sure* it will be "undivided study time"? Consider both *your* ability, based on past experience and not future optimism, to work in moving vehicles amidst distraction, *and* how crowded the route is. Will you be able to get a seat every time? (Reading while standing is not necessarily a problem, but taking notes might be). My personal experience is that bus/train "study time" is approximately half as productive as sitting at a desk or even in front of the TV. But that's me.

Also, how much of your work is going to be in the library? Will you be able to take home all the sources you need? What is your paper writing style? Do you accumulate sources as you write, and thus need quick(er) access to the library, or are you someone who gathers far more sources than you'll need before you start writing, and then don't go the library again until it's time to return them?

Also, you've already decided not to seek out new friends during your MA? (Please don't take that as harsh judgment. If you're intending to do the program and then jet off to parts not in flyoverville for a PhD, I totally get you. I keep rewording that question and nothing is working ). Are your current friends/current lifestyle supportive of a grad student who works all the time? (Okay, yes, I'm biased by what I've heard about UChicago grad; apologies).

Just some things to think about, either way.

[rising_star]

Is it 100% necessary to live close to campus? What are your experience (both sides of hte coin, what did you like/dislike about living by campus, what did you like/dislike about commuting further)?

There are lots of reasons to live close to campus. It's easier to get to/from classes or the library, easier to run home when you forget something, etc. I've never lived more than about 4.5 miles from campus in my life and, when I lived that far, I lived on three bus routes that would take me straight to campus. I did get some reading done on the bus (~15 min ride) but that was always reading that was for fun since there are so many distractions when you're on the bus. Where I live now is about 1.5 miles from campus and I ride my bike there pretty much every day. If I wanted to, I could just as easily take the bus (which goes by about every 10 min during the day). I frequently do work in the morning, come home for lunch, then do work at a second location (park, coffee shop, outside on my patio) in the afternoon. If I had a longer commute here, I would probably have to drive, which would end up costing me a lot more in terms of gas, parking, and frustration.

In a nutshell, no, it's not 100% necessary to live close to campus but it does make a lot of things easier.

Also, you've already decided not to seek out new friends during your MA? (Please don't take that as harsh judgment. If you're intending to do the program and then jet off to parts not in flyoverville for a PhD, I totally get you. I keep rewording that question and nothing is working ). Are your current friends/current lifestyle supportive of a grad student who works all the time? (Okay, yes, I'm biased by what I've heard about UChicago grad; apologies).

I agree with everything Sparky has said (is that the first time this has happened?). But, I quoted this part because I most especially agree with it. If you have a dog and are living an hour for campus, it will make it a lot harder to join people on that after class impromptu beer and bitching session. Or to coordinate group presentations. Or really, just to hang out with the people that are in your cohort. But, that to each his/her own.

[ogopo]

I agree. I have a dog (he is sleeping with his head on my lap as I write this) and I live an hour bus ride from campus. It is a good bus ride because I get on at the first stop and off at one of the last so I nearly always get a seat and I'm able to work on the bus. I often do marking on the bus

But I would not recommend this! Living close to campus makes life way easier for all the reasons mentioned above. And it's absolutely true about not having the freedom to hang out after. If I lived closer to campus I would run home, walk my dog and head back. This is just not an option now.

[warpspeed]

Thanks for the responses!

The concern is simply that I will only be at UChicago for 3 quarters, therefore University housing may just be a hassle to move in and out of 9 months later because Hyde Park simply is inconvenient to the rest of the city.

I am not the type of person who studies in the library, it drives me insane. I focus on the little noises (pen clicking, pages flipping, scratching of highlighters) and it drivse me insane more than a constant noise. I actually have to study/write papers with background music or a tv on or something.

[Nurse Wretched]

Thanks for the responses!

The concern is simply that I will only be at UChicago for 3 quarters, therefore University housing may just be a hassle to move in and out of 9 months later because Hyde Park simply is inconvenient to the rest of the city.

I am not the type of person who studies in the library, it drives me insane. I focus on the little noises (pen clicking, pages flipping, scratching of highlighters) and it drivse me insane more than a constant noise. I actually have to study/write papers with background music or a tv on or something.

I lived off campus during my master's and will be doing so for my PhD. Not really a choice -- I have two kids and a wife and a mortgage. It's been fine. I didn't feel compelled to have The College Experience in grad school -- I did that as an undergrad. It's nice to have neighbors and people I don't know from school, to feel connected to a community where people aren't all about academia. My commute during my master's was longer -- about an hour -- and it was actually my time to do nothing if I wanted to. I listened to music, read non-school books, paid my bills online and replied to emails -- things I didn't have to concentrate on, but that needed to get done. At home, I was really at home -- no leaking of school into the rest of my life.