Students are often encouraged to live off-campus for several reasons. Arguably, the most feasible reason for living off-campus is that it is cheaper than on-campus housing, which costs $4,185 per semester, according to Student Accounts. Students may also wish to live off-campus to experience living on their own. With these reasons in mind, landlords in Geneseo seem to take advantage of their tenants by creating unreasonably high rent prices.
The average price for renting in the town of Geneseo is $1,354, according to Rent Cafe. Compare this to the prices $3,350 at 22 Main St., $3,300 at 16 Court St. and $4,500 at 22 Wadsworth St. per semester, according to Apartment Home Living. These addresses are in close proximity to the campus, but their prices exceed the town’s average by an insane amount.
While these units may offer students their own bedroom, they still must share living spaces, bathrooms and kitchens. Often, the rent does not include utilities, parking, furniture or laundry machines. There is no clear reason for the large difference in price other than that landlords in the area can get away with it since students have no other choice.
Those who rent to college students should be understanding of their situation. Not every student has the financial support of their parents and many can only manage to fit a part-time job into their busy schedule. At the end of the day, college students should not have to pay a large sum of money, especially in a small town like Geneseo, just for a place to live while they work toward getting a degree.