Students typically start to look for future housing during the fall semester, a year prior to when they would be moving in. Students often request tours and look at company websites to help decide.

For math secondary education junior and Red Cedar Flats resident Izzy Cyncewicz, the process of finding off-campus housing was tough.

"It was kind of like stressful, to be honest, because, like, everything has to get done in like early October if you want a good spot for housing," Cyncewicz said. "So it was kind of stressful on top of classes and all that kind of stuff."

However, elementary education sophomore and University Edge resident Grace Malenfant said the process wasn’t difficult for her.

"Selecting off-campus housing was fun," Malenfant said. "We have four people that are living with us, so we had to find an apartment that was for four people, but it was fun looking and touring all the apartments."

With the neighboring areas of MSU’s campus offering many off-campus housing options, students often have to consider the pros and cons of each property.

For economics senior and The Hub resident Artur Magalhaes, location was "one of the biggest reasons" he chose the apartment complex.

Before living in The Hub, which is located in downtown East Lansing on Grand River, Magalhaes had lived in a house on Stoddard Avenue, east of campus, but decided to move to a more central location.

"I'm doing economics, so a lot of my classes are close by to this side, and I also really like living in [this] part of the city, being so close to Grand River," Magalhaes said. "So here's the perfect spot, because it's the closest you can get to campus and close to my classes, but also on Grand River, where I can get, like, the bus number one and go downtown or go to the supermarkets. It is accessible anywhere by bus or walking."

For Cyncewicz, they were drawn to living at Red Cedar Flats, which is located near Okemos and just a short walk from MSU’s East Neighborhood, due to its proximity to campus.

"When I didn't think I was gonna have a car, I needed something that was close so that I could walk to campus," Cyncewicz said. "So finding something that was this close to campus, that's like a 30-minute walk from, like, central campus, was super nice for me because it was way more convenient for like me to be able to get to campus pretty easily without having to drive."

Similarly for Malenfant, the location of University Edge, which is in Lansing and near Brody Neighborhood, was a factor in deciding to live there.

"... It's a good location to the football and basketball games, and it's just close to campus."

Additionally, each housing option may provide amenities that potential residents could be interested in.

At The Hub, Magalhaes said he likes the ample amount of spaces for him and his friends to gather.

"I feel like people here are very social in general, like people are nice. You can talk to anyone, and everyone is responsive," Magalhaes said. "They have a nice space to play pool and hang out with friends. They have space for you to, like, build small gatherings and to study."

At Red Cedar Flats, Cyncewicz said the in-unit washer and dryer was an amenity that helped them choose their current apartment.

"That's really nice because I was living in Abbot [Hall] my freshman year and … the washer [and] dryer were all in the basement, and so it was like, climbing downstairs every single time I want to do laundry, then climbing back up the stairs and everything," Cyncewicz said.

Additionally, at University Edge, a variety of stores and restaurants are nestled right underneath.

Although Malenfant herself doesn’t shop at these stores, her friends enjoy having places to shop that are conveniently located.

Along with the pros that off-campus housing options offer, some cons may also appear.

Magalhaes said at The Hub, the building doesn’t live up to the price that residents are required to pay. 

An elevator constantly broken, high electricity bills, hidden fees and unclean common spaces are some of the cons that Magalhaes said.

"I feel like the advertisement is not fair for what they deliver," Magalhaes said. "So they have all that they say they have, it is true [and] they are never literally lying, but it would be more misleading..."

Magalhaes also said that he wishes The Hub would provide better service for its residents.

"I know it's small things, but I want to stress out that it's an expensive place around here … But I assume that if I'm paying, like for one of the most expensive places here, it would be a little more organized, because otherwise I could just live cheaper somewhere else," Magalhaes said. "It's not as much of a premium service as they promise. There's always something wrong, there's always something smelly and there is always trash somewhere."

At Red Cedar Flats, Cyncewicz said the price may be a concern for some.

"It's really expensive because it's so close to campus, which is definitely not ideal," Cyncewicz said. "I'm very fortunate to have family helping me out when it comes to paying my rent and stuff … Obviously, the closer you are to campus, the more expensive it's gonna be."

However, besides all of the shortcomings of these housing options, some may believe that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Magalhaes said he chose to move to The Hub due to convenience. 

"... [Living in the house] was getting [to be] a lot of work, you know, I had to clean the whole house. It's a bigger space," Magalhaes said. "Coming to The Hub, it's more of like, you know, you're here, you have 7-Eleven now, so if you need any food, emergency food, you [can] just go up to your apartment [and] take your like trash out back, and that's as much cleaning you have to do, you know, like you can clean more or less, depending on the person, of course, but I mean, in general, it’s much less work."

For Cyncewicz, responsive staff members at Red Cedar Flats were one of the advantages that helped them decide to live there.

"I think one of the biggest things is maintenance," Cyncewicz said. "I know a lot of places [that] are maintained by like, DTN or other companies that notoriously have a lot of issues with maintenance and stuff. In my experience, it has not been like that."