Apartment - Securing saftey and seclusion...but paying the price

When I was an underclassman, I always viewed juniors and seniors as the lucky ones. They didn't have to worry about the hassles of dorm life and most of all, and weren't obliged to be on the meal plan.

I was considering living in a rowhouse, but I knew I needed an apartment. Most of the rowhouses in the area are one loose screw away from being condemned. I remember a friend's basement flooding every time it rained, and I knew I already had enough stress with schoolwork and extracurriculars to deal with the constant structural problems.

Most rowhouses are in areas that are not only far from school, but also areas where college students look like walking wallets to muggers.

The apartment life was an easy choice. My future roommate found a spectacular apartment in the University One Condominiums and asked me if I wanted to live there with him.

For those of you who don't know, University One, affectionately known as Uni One, is the cr?me de la cr?me of Charles Village housing. It's located on the corner of University Parkway and St. Paul Street and directly overlooks the Phi Mu house, although I will be the first to admit that we really can't see anything. The apartments are spacious and the services are top notch.

My favorite aspect of Uni One is how safe I feel. The security is intense. Every visitor has to sign in and the people working in the front are curt at best. This poses problems when you want to hold a party, but the rest of the time, it helps me sleep a little easier.

Now that I live in an apartment, I don't have to worry about sharing everything. I have my own bedroom and my own bathroom. While in a rowhouse I'd have to share my kitchen with five other guys, I share my full kitchen with one. We don't have conflicts about watching television and we don't have to worry about sharing refrigerator space; we have plenty.

Another thing I haven't had to worry about are extra fees. Our apartment comes with free electricity, free heat, free air and free water. My buddies living in rowhouses and even other apartments don't have this luxury.

Otherwise, having central air is something I don't think I could live without. When it's cold outside, we have heat. In the summer months, instead of dying of heat stroke, we just pump up the air conditioner.

Living in an apartment building isn't exactly the fairytale life. The cost of living the life of luxury can be rather high. For my room, I pay in the area of $600 a month. You might pay half that amount for a room in a rowhouse.

There also is the problem of living in the same building as hundreds of other people. That means dealing with the kid who plays the piano the entire afternoon, the guys throwing late night parties on Tuesday nights and the old woman who complains whenever your classic rock decibel level eclipses that of an abandoned mine shaft.

In living in one of these large buildings there's also the issue of washing machines. These babies don't take J-cash so you have to get quarters somehow. That means trekking back to McCoy. Many rowhouses will have laundry units in the basement.

If you are looking for a place that emphasizes good location, safety and quiet, I highly recommend living in an apartment -- provided you can afford it.