After years of living in residence halls, a group of housemates decided to take advantage of their new space by throwing a party — complete with an inflatable moonwalk, a sumo wrestling ring with padded suits and an appearance by one roommate as SpongeBob SquarePants.
"We couldn't have hooked that up at the dorm," said microbiology senior David Heard, one of the housemates.
The group, which included Heard, mechanical engineering senior Darin Coveart and finance senior James Murphy and environmental biology-microbiology senior Paul Schroeder moved into a five-bedroom house on the 600 block of Virginia Avenue this semester.
The house is located near a number of permanent residents, but Heard said they haven't had any problem getting along with their neighbors.
"They've all been chill," Heard said. "We've thrown some decent-sized parties and they haven't said anything. They're really laid back."
Coveart said living near more permanent residents and being away from areas heavily populated by students has been surprisingly relaxing.
"It's quieter than living closer to Grand River (Avenue)," Coveart said. "It's kind of nice."
The roommates each pay $375 a month for rent, as well as about $100 each for gas, electric, water, sewer, cable and Internet.
"It's way cheaper than both living on campus or living close to Grand River (Avenue)," Coveart said.
Heard said he is enjoying living off campus and being free from the restrictions of on-campus life.
"The biggest advantage is having your own space, the fact that we can have a pet and stuff like that," Heard said. "Not having night (receptionists), and being able to come and go as you please is definitely worthwhile."
Murphy said he's also glad he no longer lives in the residence halls. "I like having my own space," he said.
The housemates did encounter some unpleasant surprises when they first moved into their new place. They believed there were two bathrooms, but found there was only one after moving in. They also discovered their box springs for queen-sized beds couldn't fit into the basement bedrooms.
Heard said that students looking to live in a house should be aware of how old the house is.
"The age of the house is important," Heard said. "The upstairs only has two-pronged outlets, and once every other week we blow a fuse in the kitchen if we have the light, the microwave and the George Foreman grill on."
The house is far from campus, so the residents all have to drive to campus or closer to Grand River Avenue to get to class. Fortunately, they are all able to park their cars at the house.
Though leaving the residence halls has been a mostly positive experience, there are some aspects of residence hall life that the housemates miss.
"I miss waking up five minutes before class and still being on time," Murphy said.
Heard added that he misses the socialization that comes with living on campus.
"I miss meeting random people, because you're so clustered together in the dorms," he said.
