Tips and Tricks to Know While Living On or Off Campus
Published: Thursday, 14 September 2023
Written by Esperanza Hernandez-Muñoz (She/Her), Communications Student Assistant
Figuring out your housing situation can be stressful, especially as a
student away from home maybe for the first time. Whether you are an incoming
freshman or a returning upperclassman, deciding to live on or off campus is
a big decision! And as someone who has personally lived both within the
dorms and off-campus, here are the tips and tricks I’ve learned along the
way
Off-Campus Living:
- Getting Started: looking for housing can be stressful! Luckily, the University Housing Office provides a variety of resources like Facebook groups such as CSULB Roommate Finder and CSU Long Beach Housing, Rooms, Apartments, Sublets.
- Time Management: time management is crucial whether you are living on or off campus. Whether you take public transportation, carpool or drive yourself, you have to take many factors such as traffic and parking into consideration. I recommend arriving at campus at least 30 minutes before your class; this way you will have 15 minutes to find parking and 15 minutes to walk to class. But if you ever find yourself running late, you can always use the Ride Systems App to take a shuttle to different parts of campus, so long as you show your ID!
- Budgeting: budgeting is your best friend! As college students, more often than not we are living off a strict budget, constantly looking for good deals. Often, we overspend on items that go unused, which is how I learned to mainly buy what I need. If you ever need help creating a budget, then you should definitely check out ASI’s Student Government’s Financial Empowerment series that is coming up throughout the semester – keep an eye out on our social media platforms, Instagram for more info!
On-Campus Living:
- Meal Prep: If you’re trying to break the starving student status, then you should definitely check out ASI’s Beach Pantry events on Beach Sync throughout the semester. If cooking is not your thing, then don’t worry because the dining hall has got you covered! The Residential Dining Halls have been a life saver time and time again, giving me one less thing to worry about.
- Accessibility: If you are living on campus, you might as well take advantage of on-campus events! ASI's Events are great opportunities to meet new people and network with people who may have similar interests to your own. In addition, the Student Recreation & Wellness Center (SRWC) offers a variety of events, classes and resources catered to all different fitness levels and abilities that can help spice up your health and wellness regime!
- Safety: CSULB provides many security resources all students should take advantage of including, the CSULB Escort Program. This program allows students to call the university police department non-emergency number (562.985.4101) to have a Community Service Officer (CSO) escort them from one location to another on campus. This is a great resource especially when those study sessions run a little too late.
Housing on campus can be quite limited especially for
upperclassmen, consider what is best for you and plan ahead!
