Thinking about moving off campus can be a bit disconcerting. We all eventually have to live off campus, so why not start thinking about it now? If you start looking early, you can put a deposit down on the desired apartment or house. Many seniors at Quinnipiac get their preferred place by October or November their junior year.
There are several different options for QU students: there is Quinnipiac owned, off-campus housing, which includes several houses within the Hamden and New Haven area, many only a mile from the school. QU owns between 20 and 30 houses within the town of Hamden including ones on New Road, and Whitney Avenue.
To rent one of the Quinnipiac owned houses, your name and group of four to seven people is entered into a random lottery. The off-campus properties provide similar furnishings of those on campus. There are beds, desks, and a dining room table and chairs provided for the residing students. In Quinnipiac owned housing, utilities are already included in the rent.
If you aren’t lucky enough to rent out one of the Quinnipiac owned houses, then there are other options. There is available housing in surrounding towns such as Branford, Cheshire, East Haven, Hamden, Middletown, Milford, New Haven, North Haven, Rocky Hill, Wallingford, and West Haven that previous and current QU students rent out. The prices of course range, and if interested, you would have to get in contact with the land lord first.
Additional information on addresses and numbers of particular spaces to rent can be found on the Quinnipiac Web site; www.quinnipiac.edu. Accessing the QU Web site is the easiest and most efficient way to find apartments, houses, condos, or studios, in Hamden or surrounding towns. If you open the “Searchable Listing of Off-Campus Housing” page, you can simply select a desired town and the particular housing option that you have in mind, and it will give you the name and number of the owners, address, availability, and price.
Looking for a three bedroom house with a five-minute commute? Rent is $2,200. A one person apartment? $700 per month. The information is available at your fingertips right off of the campus’ Web site.
Rent.com is also a great source for specifically finding housing near Quinnipiac University. The Lakewood Apartments located on Whitney Avenue in Hamden can be accessed off of Rent.com and have prices ranging from $675 to $1100 a month. This apartment community offers laundry facilities on-site, heat, hot water and air conditioning all covered in rent.
James Stewart, a senior at Quinnipiac University, dealt with the off-campus transition this past year.
“Living off campus is much different than living on campus,” Stewart said. “I always enjoyed the convenience of walking to classes and visiting my friends whenever I wanted.”
Despite some inconvenience, however, Stewart is thoroughly enjoying his living situation.
“It’s nice to have your own room and space,” he said.
One important consideration when moving off campus is to remember that there are also living expenses that come with having your own place.
When looking for an apartment or house off campus, make sure to inquire what is included with the rent. At many places there is an additional maintenance fee, electric bill, and cable bill. If you live off campus you are also no longer a part of the meal plan at Quinnipiac.
That’s one thing Stewart definitely misses about living on campus.
“On campus you never have to worry about [utilities], unless, you run out of meal points,” he said.
Getting an early start on searching for off-campus housing is a good idea, so you will be less stressed and properly prepared for the transition. The most important piece of advice: Make sure you look into all of the details, obvious and not, before putting a down payment on a property.
