Tips for successfully navigating the Athens Housing Shuffle

It`s housing search season again! Come September, older Ohio University students are going to notice their younger counterparts doing a dance they know very well, as many juniors and sophomores scramble across the city searching for shelter.

Call it the Housing Shuffle. Like its notorious partner in crime, the Court Street Shuffle, the Housing Shuffle presents students with a variety of options. They can choose the atmosphere they are looking to live in; there are different accommodations when it comes to location, noise control and the amount of people they want to share their space with. But the Housing Shuffle can be frustrating, difficult and a trigger for indecisiveness.

After six quarters, or two years in the residence halls, OU students are allowed and encouraged to seek of-campus housing.

Living of campus has its perks. It can save a few hundred dollars each quarter of even the cheapest of OU dorm options, which currently is a quad room without air conditioning, and runs about $1,618 a quarter.

But before students party their way down to Palmer Street, a few things should be taken into consideration.

Roommates

Choosing roommates can seem fun at first. But some ground rules should be set upon moving in.

OU sophomore Kelsey Taylor offered some advice to those doing the shuffle.

“Don’t live with people from high school,” she said.

Taylor has a point; living with friends you have known forever can turn them into former friends rather quickly. Here are some tips roomies should stick by.

Make basic, golden ground rules. Some things in your home are going to be simply unacceptable to certain inhabitants. This could range from dishes in the sink to underwear in the bathroom. Before moving in, roommates should sit down and talk about things they cannot live with. Each should pick out two reasonable rules they would like to be honored, and they should be added to a list of things that need to be respected by all people in the house, even if other housemates don’t particularly agree with them.

Each housemate should have his or her own set of dishes and silverware.

It sounds unnecessary, selfish, cluttering and intense, but when the only way you’re able to eat your cereal is out of a muffin tin with a knife one morning, you will wish you had followed this advice. If each person has his or her own set of dishware, it will make it easier when it comes time to actually wash them. You’ll be able to differentiate between who used what so dish duty is fair. Plus anyway more plates means more people can come over for a meal at some point, and you won’t have to feed them of of paper towels.

Quiet times should be established and respected, especially when someone wants to sleep or study for an exam.

And you thought the last time you’d be “sex-iled” was when you lived in that horrible triple on South Green. Roommates need to agree on whether or not their place of living will be party, boyfriend/girlfriend, hook-up or study-group friendly. Each inhabitant will probably have her own space, so if she wants to invite people over she should be able to do so in her room. That being noted, if another roommate has work or an exam the next morning, noise levels should be kept to a minimum. The sleeping roommate also needs to respect the others wanting to socialize at times.

Respect Personal Space

If your roommate’s bedroom door is closed, it is closed for a reason, so be sure to knock before you enter. If someone is not home and you need something from his or her room, sending a quick text asking for permission is the best thing to do. Even if you don’t get a response, you have made a gesture of respect.

Be confrontational

There’s nothing worse than walking into an apartment dense and thick with anger. Because of this, be sure to let your roommates know if they’re doing something that angers you. If you’d like them to clean the bathroom, talk on the phone on the balcony, or not do their homework at the kitchen table, tell them. If it’s not something they’re willing to change, be willing to compromise. Remember, if it’s annoying now, it will be unbearable come spring quarter.

Location, Location, Location

Athens has a very diverse selection of neighborhoods.

When looking for housing, real-estate agent Kara Cozort with Cornwell Realty suggests considering the type of area you want to live in.

“Especially on Court Street. You have a lot of people who want to live there,” she said. “But do you want to live above a bar?” Cozort said that most of the areas are less than 15 minutes walking distance to campus and seem to have their own personalities.

“It seems like the action anymore goes from Court Street to Palmer Street,” she said.

“If you are the sociable person who likes entertainment, the sociable crowd seems to like to start from Court to Palmer.”

There are quieter areas on campus, too, she said.

“The West End is more quiet, very close to campus,” she said. “It’s more laid back.”

Houses vs. Apartments

Student usually have to decide between a house or an apartment, since a tent or a treefort usually aren’t practical alternatives.

“(When choosing a house, consider) are you getting into an older house? Make sure of how energy eicient they are,” Cozort said. “Yes, your rent is going to be lower, but your utilities could be higher because air seeps in.”

For many students, moving into a house is an individuality thing, she said.

“A lot of people go for houses because they like the individuality, the parties, the porches,” she said. “For many people who don’t like that scene, they have apartments. There are advantages to both.”

Everything but the kitchen sink left to consider

If possible, renters should begin searching for housing in late summer, Cozort said.

“Be prepared. But don’t rush completely into it,” she warned.

If residents want to keep a pet, they need to be sure the property is pet friendly, she said.

Finally, Cozort said that the best advice she can give anyone trying to survive the Housing Shule is to use discretion.

“Don’t take the first apartment you see,” she said.