Students (domestic, out-of-province, and international) are all struggling with housing
As another school year begins, I am reminded of the chaos of my first semester at the U of O. I came to the U of O as an out-of-province student who had not yet attained Canadian citizenship, with no friends or family in this new city I had chosen. By December I had lived in 3 different off-campus rentals, each worse than the last. I was looking for someplace cheap, someplace close to campus. I found this, and along with it, cockroaches, filth, and the strain of unfamiliar roommates.
Many first-year students opt to live in an on-campus residence to preserve their sanity as they transition into university life. But this comes with a cost. For example, an 8-month stay at the 90U residence building costs $11,000, with an added $6,000 for a meal plan. But what about we students on a budget? Is it possible to balance both cost and sanity in the great lottery of affordable student housing?
“Yes”, says Amelia Simms, a second-year English student who has managed to snag an adorable and reasonably-priced 2-bedroom apartment in Vanier.
“I started looking in January,” she says. “I went on Facebook Marketplace.”
Starting early was a very wise move, but Simms admits that in the end, it wasn’t what she knew but who she knew that secured her the lease.
An ad that caught her interest turned out to be the apartment of a senior that she had previously befriended. The senior put a good word in, and because of this, Simms was able to outbid potential tenants who would have paid upfront for the apartment simply based on the price and location.
“It’s kind of awful that it’s up to who you know,” she admits. “But I’m super, super thankful.”
“As an international student, you have zero social capital. Zero.” says Natasha Matalanga, who graduated this year as an international student from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
She recalls the difficulty she faced as a non-citizen as she apartment-hunted in her first year of university. “Some places won’t even consider you without a credit check. And I didn’t even have a social security number yet.”
With the recent 12 per cent increase in U of O tuition fees for newly admitted international students, the pressure to find affordable housing has certainly risen. However, this task requires not only a knowledge of the most convenient rental websites, but an understanding of the way things work in the socio-geographical context of Ottawa.
For those of us who are not in the loop, I will relay the lessons I learned the hard way:
- In an apartment viewing, pay attention to the level of cleanliness, especially in the kitchen and bathroom.
- Suck up to seniors.
- Look on Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji, but do not give your banking information freely.
- Start looking as early as possible.
- Take advantage of the U of O Off-Campus Housing Office.
Godspeed.
