Living in the suburbs

After dorm life many students find the apartments, duplexes and houses off campus a safe and cost effective alternative way to spend their college years.

The suburbs of Buffalo provide students with close proximity to campus, with a plethora of restaurants and shopping centers at their fingertips. While students living in the suburbs are no longer walking distance from popular bars, they gain an overall safer community.

"The past couple years I lived in University Heights," said Joe Kasperski, a senior civil engineering major. "First I lived on Merrimac and last year I lived on Minnesota Ave. Living in the Heights isn't worth the crime."

The crime rates in the surrounding areas like the Tonawandas, Kenmore and Amherst are significantly lower than city living or the University Heights.

"A few things I've noticed since moving to the suburbs are that there is less traffic. I'm closer to North Campus and there isn't as much crime," Kasperski said. "It's nice to take a walk and not have to look over my shoulder every five minutes to make sure I'm not going to be mugged."

Living in quieter communities has its pay offs. There aren't beer bottles or trash lying everywhere and there is less traffic.

Landlords in the suburban area are stricter however, when renting to undergraduates. They don't like contending with raunchy out of control parties, underage drinking, or immature students who have no respect for their neighbors.

According to landlords in the Amherst area, their rental population is 65 percent students. Undergraduate and graduate students rent over half of their property at any time. They said they would rather rent to graduate students who are too busy studying to party.

"I don't mind renting to college students. We hardly ever have a problem with them paying their rent on time and partying isn't a big concern," said Amy Bull, the property and lease manager at Bowden Square in Williamsville. "We just ask that our college students act human and give the same courtesy to their neighbors."

Students are usually required to fill out an application for a fee, and the landlord will check the applicant's credit.

Suburban rentals range from $500 to $800 a month, depending on the size. Roommates and all inclusive complexes sometimes help cut costs. Some apartments also include amenities.

"The utilities are lower, we don't have litter in our yard, the street is always plowed and we can fit more than one car in our driveway," Kasperski said.

Additionally, neighbors are often respectable families or couples.

"One of the best perks about living in the suburbs is that you don't have wild urban animals roaming the streets," Kasperski said. "We used to have a gang of angry cats living under our porch in the Heights, we had to call someone to come get rid of them because they wouldn't leave."