Off-campus living often provides more quiet, luxury

By Paolo Cisneros

Some University students are making the move out of Champaign-Urbana and into nearby communities like Savoy, Ill. For some, the decision to live off campus is an easy one, but for others unsure of whether or not an off-campus residence is practical for a full-time student, the choice can be daunting.

Landlords tout larger, more cost-effective units, but the town’s student population remains miniscule when compared to that of Campustown.

Although the students that do live in Savoy have traditionally been graduate students, more and more undergraduates have taken advantage of its off-campus living in recent years.

Arielle Wolf, junior in LAS, chose to lease a Savoy apartment with three other students. She said the tranquility of the area is one of its greatest assets.

“It’s quiet,” she said. “You don’t have to worry about the hustle and bustle of campus.”

Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!

  • Catch the latest on University of Illinois news, sports, and more. Delivered every weekday.
  • Stay up to date on all things Illini sports. Delivered every Monday.
Thank you for subscribing!

Wolf added that students from small towns may find Savoy close to the environments to which they are more accustomed.

“Personally, I’m from a small town, so I’m used to seeing corn just about everywhere,” Wolf said. “Here I look out my window, and I get to see more of it.”

Andrew Kantor, junior in LAS, lives on campus and says he would not consider living off campus during his college career because of logistical issues.

“Driving and having to find parking would be the biggest problem,” Kantor said. “(An on-campus apartment) is closer to everything and just more convenient.”

Students like Kantor, who often worry about the ease of navigating around campus, believe that convenience is more important than price, Kantor said.

What off-campus housing lacks in vicinity to the Quad, it often makes up for in floor space.

Michelle Stoller, senior in LAS, said that she and her roommates chose to live in Savoy because they were able to find an apartment larger than any they saw on campus, at a comparable price.

“The apartments (in Savoy) are bigger,” she said. “All four of us have our own bathroom. That’s something you’d never find on campus.”

Living in Savoy is not without its faults. The number of complaints by tenants regarding negligence on the part of landlords far exceeds that of Campustown residents, according to the University Tenant Union.

“They have a tendency to kind of ignore you,” Stoller said. She added that although she and her roommates have not had many problems, they know people that have.

“There have been some discrepancies regarding how tenants and management thought certain things should have been handled,” she said.

While the population discrepancy between Champaign-Urbana and other off-campus locations continues to tilt in C-U’s favor, villages like Savoy are gaining momentum and attracting an even greater number of students.