A freshmen’s first year of college is an environmental adjustment. It can be a time of firsts, like having a roommate and living away from home. However, this is only a glimpse of what students will become accustomed to. Later students will face an even bigger challenge: renting off-campus housing.

A few UWM sophomores living on Farwell Ave explained how to they went about looking for a house.

“We started looking around now (April),” said Monique. “We just walked around and checked the UWM website.”

Spring is a good time for students to start looking at places to live for the next school year. Their place on Farwell houses four students: three lived in the dorms last year, and one who commuted. Joe said between the four of them, it costs $350 per person each month.

Students can visit UWM’s Neighborhood Housing Office located in the Union for advice on every aspect of renting a space. The staff can help students with searching for properties, obtaining roommates, investigating landlords and finding parking. The office’s website is informative, too.

In addition to their office and website, Neighborhood Housing will hold a Housing Fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 6. Students can to talk to landlords and schedule tours.

Not every property will cater to everyone’s living needs. If having a front yard or a place to have cookouts and enjoy weather is important, students might be better off with a townhouse. Other factors such as distance from campus or the allowed number of roommates vary from household to household. Because there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ rule, Neighborhood Housing recommends students take advantage of their free services to ensure living at school feels like home.