Living in a House vs. an Apartment

By: Meredith Yinger, 1st Year – Health Policy and Management

The differences between living in a house and an apartment – let me tell you! I currently live in a house in Decatur (about 12 minutes from campus without traffic) but am planning to move into an apartment complex for my second year. Since not very many Rollins students live in houses, I have detailed the pros and cons of living in a house vs. an apartment so you can decide what will work best for you.

House – I currently live in a three-bedroom house with two roommates. We have one full bathroom, and one roommate has a half bath in her room.

Pros:

  1. Space – I have a much larger living space than most of my friends who live in apartments. I have been able to host birthday parties and invite a lot of people over to my house without it getting too crowded, loud, or warm. It can also be nice to have more room for everyday living. When both of my roommates are home and we are all out of our bedrooms, we are able to do school work, cook, and relax without being on top of each other.
  2. Rent is cheap! – I pay less in rent than most of my friends who live in smaller living spaces.
  3. No noisy neighbors – There is no one living directly above, below, or on either side of us. This means I don’t get woken up by loud neighbors, and also am not at risk with disturbing anyone else.
  4. Parking – my house has a carport and enough parking for all three of our cars. There is also room to park on the street if need be, so I never have to look for or pay extra for parking.

Cons:

  1. Yard – while having a yard can be nice, we have to pay to have the grass cut when needed.
  2. Maintenance issues – While having a pretty relaxed landlord can be nice sometimes, we had some challenges getting things fixed in a timely fashion when they stopped working.
  3. Fewer amenities – We have one shower for three people, no shuttle, and no pool. Mail is also not delivered to a locked box or package room, so it gets left out during the day.
  4. Further commute – this does not apply to everyone, but my commute is longer (and goes with traffic) than most of my friends who live in complexes near school.

Apartment – I’m looking to move into an apartment in Inman Park or the Virginia Highlands with friends, mostly because we want to be able to walk to more places and live more inside the city.

Pros:

  1. Amenities – a lot of apartment complexes near campus (and around the city) have swimming pools, shuttles to school, mailrooms, and gyms on site. In the warm months I tend to spend a lot of time at my friends’ pools.
  2. Security – a lot of apartment complexes are gated, and you have to have a fob or code to get in.
  3. Maintenance and landlord – apartment complexes tend to have very competent landlords and maintenance staff that act on any problems in a timely fashion.
  4. Social aspects – since a lot of people from Rollins live in these complexes, you are likely to be close to friends and social events happening at their apartments.

Cons:

  1. Rent is more expensive – but you are also paying for security, the location, and all of those amenities I mentioned. Living in a three bedroom usually reduces cost.
  2. Neighbors – they can be loud, or can pose an issue if you want to have friends over on a Friday night etc. This of course depends on how old the building you live in is, and who your neighbors are.

Space – apartments generally are smaller than houses. But if you want to live in an apartment, living in a three bedroom increases living space and decreases rent and utility costs!

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