Thanks to my new property manager, I find myself with a living situation that is somewhat ideal. I’ve got a private bathroom and kitchen – yet no microwave, dishwasher or even laundry utilities set in place. Without these amenities, I still pay a flat rent fee of $1,095 a month.
Although Eugene is considered one of the more affordable Oregon cities to live in, the often high costs of housing on top of tuition, living and personal expenses add up.
Originally as an out-of-state student, I was able to cut down my costs to attend by establishing residency within the state and becoming a half-time student my sophomore year.
Though I had to work extra hard my junior year to catch up on credits to graduate within the four years I intended to, it was worth it to minimize tuition costs. However, this was only achievable after having to work three jobs during the fall term of my junior year.
At this point, I was living with two other UO students and had split the rent at about $870 which has been the least amount of money I’ve had to pay to live in Eugene thus far.
UO senior Brock Burgess discussed his living situation last year.
“To afford a tiny studio apartment, I had to split it with someone else because the rent was over $1,500 and that didn’t even include parking. There weren’t any spots available, but if there were, it would’ve been another $200 a month to add to this already high expense,” Burgess said.
For students attending the university and living off campus, the estimated cost of living is around $12,774 for the year with a monthly rate of about $986 of that being rent alone.
“It’s crazy that housing that’s supposed to be affordable for college students can add up to more than $1,700 a month. I work full-time and without someone to split the rent with, there’s no way I could make it work,” Burgess said.
George Wormuth, a UO senior, discussed the complexity of finding off-campus housing.
“Without making connections, it would’ve been difficult to move out of my previous living situation. Thankfully, I was able to find a house in need of a roommate and my rent is much cheaper than the student living complex. I have yet to fully live on my own but being able to live in a place where I feel comfortable with my roommates will allow me to save a bit more money,” Wormuth said.
Most college students don’t get a say in whether they should live with roommates or not. Often, this is the only option as it lowers costs significantly. The luxury of living alone with complete privacy is often an unattainable option for students with the current costs of housing.
According to Apartments.com, the cost of living in Eugene is 7.8% higher than the national average.
The average rent is a monthly rate of $1,437 compared to the U.S. national average of $1,640.
If a UO student isn’t living on a trust fund account or doesn’t have scholarships to alleviate tuition costs, they will have to make at least $4,790 to live comfortably in Eugene. That is if they don’t have financial help from anybody.
How can we expect this to be realistic as full-time students are required to take at least 12 credits a term?
It seems like other countries have figured out a way to make attending university affordable. Though some countries in Europe are pricey in terms of living costs, most universities there don’t charge for tuition at all. There are also direct housing subsidies available as well as stronger tenant protections that regulates rent charges while also slowing the inflation of housing – mitigating costs for students.
As living begins to get much more expensive in America, so will the cost of student housing, making it much more difficult for students to find accommodating and affordable housing off-campus.
