With the price of living on campus always on the rise, more students are beginning to explore other options such as living off campus in nearby cities such as Fitchburg, where high-quality apartments are available at lower prices.

Areas a bit further off campus are producing a draw for students, causing a general shift to areas off the main State Street and downtown area. University of Wisconsin sophomore Brianne Gutoski currently lives on campus but will be making the move to Fitchburg in the fall noting cost as a prime reason for the move.

“It’s so expensive to live on campus,” she said.

Gutoski shares a room with a friend in her current apartment, which costs her $355 a month. She said she began looking at Fitchburg for next semester in the interest of saving money. One apartment complex she and her roommates are thinking of renting would not only allow her to have her own room but would also only cost her $310 a month.

According to Gutoski, apartments, as well as house flats she has seen so far have been just as nice, if not better, than the house flats she has looked at on campus.

“The houses are a lot nicer in quality,” she said. “They aren’t as drafty, so the heating bill would be lower also.”

Whereas the daily commute to class may be a drawback to living off campus, some students think it is worth the time spent behind the wheel.

Gutoski is confident the daily 10-minute commute will not place a strain on the day, providing the traffic is manageable. She thinks the commute would be worth it in the end due to the quality of the living situations.

However, UW sophomore Nicole Schalinske does not think a more comfortable and less expensive living situation is worth living off campus.

“I personally would not want to [commute], since parking is so difficult to find, plus it’s expensive if you can find it,” she said.

Schalinske said while condition and size are both important when checking out living situations, she is more concerned with location and price.

“It’s about weighing your options and about what is more important to you,” she said.

The type of neighborhood students look for varies, depending on what appeals to them, according to Schalinske.

Gutoski said neighborhoods in the Fitchburg area have more students who attend Madison Area Technical College than UW students. This may factor into the decision for students who want to live near people attending the same school or making that same daily commute.

Schalinske said she would prefer to live near campus for that very reason, in that students can miss out on the college experience when they are farther away from the action on campus.

Whether or not more students will move out to places like Fitchburg will depend on how they weigh the advantages and disadvantages of living off campus in general, Schalinske said, adding that even though she thinks a few more people might choose to move off campus, it will not turn into a mass movement.