McCribs – New North Village spacious but far from campus

By Becky Snider

Space—there is lots of it. And it is certainly one of the immediate things one notices when first entering the new buildings for the first time. If the size of the new apartments isn’t enough to lure you into possibly rooming here next year, think about not having to go to Glar everyday. For that is one of the benefits of living in an apartment. As senior Jessica Carlozo puts it, “knowing you don’t have to go to Glar every day is a pretty great feeling.”

That feeling must have been very tempting for it is one of the main reasons why Carlozo chose to live in the new North Village Apartments. Other incentives to live in the new North Village include all the extra space obviously as well as your very own kitchen. There are however, the drawbacks that go with moving into any new building that has been unoccupied before.

You have to “go through a bit of trial and error” to get all the wrinkles smoothed out. Some of the problems encountered by the students first to live there include upside down pipes in the bathroom, faulty wiring, and no Internet connection. Though according to a source living there currently, most of the problems have been rectified.

Other than those first few relatively small problems, the new North Village seems to be the ideal place for any student. Apartments usually consist of four to five people. Despite how cramped that might sound, the space factor really works well here.

“It’s always a challenge living with someone else so with five people in the apartment it’s still not always easy,” said Carlozo,” but the apartment has plenty of space which makes everything so much easier.”

Asked what some of the best attributes of the new North Village were, Carlozo mentioned the size of the apartment again. It’d certainly have to be memorable to catch someone’s attention like that. Other notable qualities include extra cabinets in the kitchen, more storage space, and “the rooms are definitely bigger than those in the old North Village.”

The apartments are also in tip top shape due to the fact that this is the first semester that students have lived in them. “So they [the apartments] haven’t been beat up too much yet, unless it was by us.”

Though the new apartments might not have a scratch on them, they certainly aren’t in the middle of campus. Some might consider it a down side considering how far away the apartments are from everything.

“Sometimes you feel like you don’t even live on campus.”

The nearest school facility is the Leroy Merritt Fitness Center and the nearest building that classes are taught in is Academic Building, which just happens to be halfway across campus.

So definitely one thing to consider if you are thinking about living in the new North Village next year—extra time getting to class. According to Carlozo, “the walk is far and is already getting old. I was never late to classes before but now I am all the time. You have to give yourself at least a 10 minute cushion to get to class one time.”

Ultimately it seems to be worth the pain. Carlozo is very glad that she chose to live in the North Village apartments; it’s a great experience. She doesn’t “regret choosing to live in North Village for a second.”