Last year for the Housing Edition, I wrote about living in a studio apartment. I wrote about loving the privacy, midnight snacks, living alone with my cat, and not wanting it any other way. But, because I couldn’t read the future, I happened to be wrong. I did end up wanting it another way, …
For $1,425 a month, you can rent a prime 216 square feet of property in the Noe Valley of San Francisco. Talk about luxury — you’re getting nearly 15 feet by 15 feet of room to stretch out and relax. You could fit an entire twin bed in there. If $1,425 is too much, people often lease large c…
This morning, I had a fight with the drawer in my kitchen. Since the drawers don’t roll in and out of the counter, retrieving utensils must be done with sheer force. At least this isn’t as bad as the fight with my window, which refuses to open or close without the use of a hammer. But the kn…
Toilet paper costs about $9 at the District Market next to Alder Hall where I live. But because I have two roommates, we split the cost, and that saves me about $6 every two weeks. While $6 may not seem like much, if I were living alone I would have to pay that much more every couple weeks, …
If Santa and Mrs. Claus managed a vintage apartment building in Seattle, they would run it like Jack and Kathy run my building: warm coffee pot in the lobby, cookies by the front entrance, and an office door that is always open (and always smells faintly of cigarettes).
If there’s one thing I learned during the chaotic scramble that ensued while trying to sign a lease, it’s that you cannot be too picky with who you sign with. However, it wasn’t until the first time we had to actually ask our landlord about living problems that I found just how forgiving we …
McCarty Hall is eerily quiet now, but that won’t last long. Come spring quarter 2016, the sounds of jackhammering and tow trucks will replace the now vacant dorm for several years to come, as the UW begins the first phase of its project to remodel North Campus.
My freshman year was a blast. Living with two of my best friends in the dorms meant that every day felt like a sleepover, and between the three of us I had all the fun I needed right there in my dorm room, which, in retrospect, didn’t push me to grow as much as I wanted.
Those of us who were living on West Campus last year watched as the new residence halls, Maple and Terry Hall, grew taller and were eventually filled from a skeleton to a building closely resembling the rest of those around it. I remember the excitement spring quarter last year when I realiz…
The UW is one of the only remaining universities where freshmen who join a Greek organization immediately move into the prospective chapter house after receiving a bid. Last fall, as an incoming student, I knew I wanted to go Greek, but was concerned that in my first year of college I would …
I was one of few students who had no idea what college was like back in my freshman year. I didn’t know anything about campus life, registration, or housing. I applied to residence halls late and all on-campus housing options were full.
In the first year of college, students should be allowed to experience and be immersed in the overall vibe. This generally includes living in the dorms during their freshman year, as it is considered to be helpful in getting to know new peers, friends, and the community in general. After tak…
Moving to the dormitories was the worst idea I ever had.
I have just finished trying to determine where a certain foul odor was emanating from in our basement. Neither an expert nor a hound dog, I was able to determine with a certain uncertainty and my fairly keen sense of smell that there is probably a dead rat in our walls.
Last fall, UW’s Housing & Food Services (HFS) finally opened the doors to the newest West Campus dorms, Terry and Maple Halls.
A UW transportation study conducted in 2014 confirmed that 77 percent of students live in non-UW housing. This means that an astonishing amount of the student body has to find a commuting method that works for them. Luckily, UW Transportation Services is here to help students find the best r…
The worst place I’ve ever lived, and I’m going to sound like a privileged white person for saying this, is my dormitory, Haggett Hall.
Exposed nails sprouting from the floor, pipes dripping onto my roommate’s comforter, and a likely exposure to asbestos; I’m not kidding people, this was my actual apartment two years ago.
After freshman year was spent using communal bathrooms and waiting in cafeteria lines, I set out to find a better living situation off campus.
Expectations to find affordable housing with ample space must be left at the threshold of the U-District. It’s one or the other. But not every student has parents with disposable income to provide their children with large, comfortable, and expensive lodging while they attend school.
