A burden is put on students due to the unique situation that the University is in, and it is not the bugs. Students have the troublesome quest of deciding which city to live in, Champaign or Urbana.
Urbana residents tend to like the quieter side of life.
“Champaign is very party, very loud,” said Sarah Anderson, senior in Engineering. “I feel that Urbana is quieter and a lot less hectic.”
While maybe hectic, some students prefer Champaign as their home due to familiarity.
Tim Martens, junior in LAS and Champaign resident, said he decided to remain in Champaign because he lived in the Six-Pack as a freshman. He said Champaign was more familiar to him than Urbana.
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Other students said they did not care which town they lived as long as it was off campus.
A.J. Nichols, senior in LAS who has lived in Champaign and Urbana, said he had the best experience living farther from the main campus.
“Urbana is cleaner and gets a lot less trashed on weekends,” he said.
Along with student opinion, some University staff have their preferences.
Esther Patt, coordinator of Tenant Union, said a major difference between the two cities is the tenant ordinances.
She said Urbana has a local land tenant ordinance that requires apartment managers to give tenants prior notice before entry into their apartments, a late fee no greater than 5 percent of the rent and other benefits. She said Champaign lacks such an ordinance.
While the law is present in Urbana, Champaign residents should not be too worried as some apartment managers optionally follow same guidelines elsewhere.
Cindy Brewer, office manager of Illini Manor Apartments said her organization has followed most of those guidelines in both Champaign and Urbana before they were ever enforced.
Brewer said students should pick apartments based on the location of their classes.
“An engineering student isn’t going to be looking at the Illini Manor apartments on Fourth and Chalmers, when there are apartments provided by the Engineering campus,” Brewer added
Other than some tips here and there, the decision should be the best fit for the student.
“In the end, the experience depends on each student’s individual circumstance,” Patt said.
