For many students at Quinnipiac, the process of finding next year’s residence is stressful and frustrating. Everybody scrambles to find enough roommates and hopes to land in the dorm of their choice.

While some students are struggling to find that seventh roommate, others have gone a different route: living off campus.

Whether students find a house through the university, or an outside realtor, living off campus is an option more and more students are choosing.

Rebecca Merriam, a junior occupational therapy major, who chose to live in a school-owned house on New Road after two years on campus, says the off campus location makes life more convenient, especially when it comes to transportation.

“My car was in the Whitney lot and on Fridays if you wanted to go get your car you would have to allow at least an hour. You couldn’t run a quick errand,” Merriam said.

This sentiment is shared by her roommate, Lauren Molinelli, a junior athletic training major, who said “I walked a couple times last year to Westwoods.”

Convenience was a contributing factor for those who moved off campus. Now, off campus students enjoy the freedom of having their car at their disposal at all times.

Courtney Amores, a junior accounting major, who also lives on New Road with Merriam and Molinelli, said “It was really inconvenient, especially when you wanted to get on campus with groceries.”

Space is another factor that is enjoyed off campus. Greg Hoppe, a senior management major, moved off campus when his housing eligibility ran out.

“I just appreciate having my own space. The dorm rooms don’t have adequate space with all the residents there,” Hoppe said. “I have my own room now, which is nice.”

Hoppe lives off of Whitney Avenue, where he and his friends are renting a house owned by a private realtor.

Although space is an amenity for students who move into houses, there lacks a campus life that many come to college hoping to experience.

“It was nice getting to see all your friends in your dorm, and you could walk from place to place and see your friends close by,” Hoppe said.

Hoppe, who was planning on moving off campus sophomore year, said he would have regretted making the move before he was able to experience all that campus life has to offer.

Merriam also misses some aspects of dorm life.

“Sometimes you have an hour or so between classes, and there’s nothing to do on campus but you don’t really want to drive back home and then come back,” she said.

Amores also noted that “meeting new people is a lot easier when you’re on campus.” She said weekends were the most annoying because of the dilemma brought up when figuring out how to get to campus. Some on New Road walk, which can be dangerous at night while on the poorly lit sections of the road.

In the end many feel the decision to live off campus comes down to two factors: convenience vs. the campus experience. While many enjoy being able to use their cars whenever they feel, they also miss being surrounded by hundreds of their peers.

However, Hoppe points out one thing no one off campus misses: “You don’t have to worry about the RAs.”