Students share strategies for affording Washtenaw County

How cost of living compares for 2-year, 4-year students 

Beck Elandt | Staff Writer 

When it comes to creating a lifestyle that works, there are neighborhoods of options, and, for those attending college, finances as well as time can be stretched thin. From housing to food, the Washtenaw community does whatever it takes to meet the basic needs of life. 

The average cost of rent in Ann Arbor is $1,650 a month, slightly above the national average of $1,559, according to apartments.com. Similarly, groceries are also reported as slightly above average, at around $693 per month. What something costs might also be subject to the individual’s values and not have to do directly with money.

While having a job, applying for scholarships and being careful/frugal are all great ways to support your lifestyle, here are a few real examples of students tackling life: 

Apartment life

For those who live more independently, balancing lifestyle and finances becomes increasingly necessary.

WCC electrical engineering major Chris Lively uses Costco to help with making meals over a longer time, but sources sustenance from a variety of places, based on his “day-to-day needs.” 

Lively likes coffee because it’s cheap, saying how “it can make you social.” When asked about his living situation, Lively says he rents a section of a house in the Ann Arbor area. 

“It’s just affordable,” he said, only costing him $650 a month.

Through working part-time and staying academically on top, Lively has been able to switch his pathway from computer science to electrical engineering, though some classes he took weren’t accounted for.

Dorm life

To bridge the gap between living with parents and independently, Frances Walewski, a freshman at U-M majoring in public policy, lets her parents support her tuition and dorm costs, and works in the summer to help cover her expenses. 

When asked about financial advice, Walewski said, “Save as much as you can. ” With U-M students, class, dinner and home can be closely intertwined, allowing for a simpler, more streamlined lifestyle compared to the commuting demands of community college students. 

Another factor to dorm life at U-M is the cooking appliance policy, limiting students to microwaves, according to the Michigan Housing page. 

For Walewski, the dining hall provides substantial meals, at the price of $1,454 for the basic semester plan. 

However, according to the Education Data Initiative, dorm costs range from $11,000 to $13,000 annually. 

At home life

Some WCC students found that living with their family is the best option to support their lifestyle and finances. Cade Westerdale for example, is the vice president of WCC business conglomerate club, and saves a lot of money from living at home, money he can put towards his future. Westerdale’s favorite way to spend extra money is eating out. 

“Usually, me and my friends will get Chipotle and hit the gym,” he said. “I just don’t like cooking, and (eating out) is social.” 

Westerdale currently lives with his parents but is planning to rent a room from a friend in the coming months, a viable housing option. 

Westerdale says to pay attention to your money, and if you can, “you won’t spend impulsively.”

Comments

comments