Deciding to live in Busey-Evans Residence Hall was a great choice for my freshman year. I have chosen to describe what I believe the highlights of living in Busey-Evans are. The experiences I had in Busey-Evans helped me learn more about being a roommate and making my own living decisions. For those of you moving into Busey-Evans this year, here are some things to look forward to.        

Busey-Evans reminded me of a hotel. I loved how grand and luxurious it was. There is a comfortable lounge with a piano. For warmer days, there is a nice outdoor patio where I enjoyed sitting with friends.

 Busey-Evans is very centrally located. Located in Urbana, Busey-Evans is not a far walk to the Main Quad, the Illini Union and Green Street. I had a class near the Main Quad, and it would usually take me less than 10 minutes to get there. Also, if I needed to make a run to Target, being within walking distance to Green Street was immensely helpful.

 If you are a music major, it is a great choice. It is right across from the Music Building, and it is also very close to the Krannert Center for Performing Arts. Also, I had my private music lessons in the Smith Building, which is a quick walk. There are music practice rooms in the basement. You can practice your instrument without leaving the dorm. In fact, there are pianos in both of the rooms. This is especially convenient for the cold Urbana winters.      

Busey-Evans is the perfect place to study. The hallways are very quiet which makes studying in the dorm room a great place to focus. Also, the basement has nice study rooms that are brightly lit. I found it somewhat motivating to use the study room basements as other students were there working. 

There are coffee shops to study at nearby. There is a Caffé Bene, Cafe Paradiso and an Espresso Royale all within walking distance. There is also a Starbucks. It was exciting to change my study environments and each place is unique.

 A short walk from the dorm is Gregory Street, where there are lots of fun restaurants such as Basil Thai and KoFusion Urbana. There are also cool shops you can explore. My friend and I enjoyed exploring the Dear72 Cosmetics Store. They had so many beauty face masks, so we had a spa night in our room.

The basement can be a fun hangout as there is a television where you can watch movies or play video games with friends. There are also sports tables. It is an overall social area.

The dining hall in Busey-Evans is closed. However, the ISR dining hall is a close walk. ISR was recently renovated and has a tea bar (where you can purchase coffee) called InfiniTEA and you can purchase food at the TerraByte store. You can use your cafe credits at these places.

Although I will not be living there next year, it provided a wonderful freshmen experience.

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