Students challenged to find housing close to campus

For students without cars, getting a place close to Dal AC is a must – and competition can be fierce

Maddie Empey knows a thing or two about house-hunting.

It meant endless searches on Kijiji to find a place within walking distance of Dalhousie Agricultural Campus, where she’s now in her fourth year of bio-veterinary science.

The competition was fierce, but Empey finally bagged a shared apartment on Vimy Road.

“It’s difficult to find somewhere nearby, there’s this competition for apartments near campus,” said Empey, who graduates next year. “I really like living off campus and having my own place. I don’t have a car, so doing groceries and running errands is really hard unless I find a friend who’s going out.”

Empey feels Truro’s lack of public transit makes the rush for housing near campus all the more imperative. Students with vehicles have greater freedom of choice and can rent places farther from Dal AC. It also saves them from treacherous icy sidewalks in winter.

Empey feels a reliable bus service would reduce the strain on finding housing close to campus. When volunteering for orientation she recalled new students expressing shock at the lack of transport options.

“You have to pay for a taxi. The drivers are really great and everyone’s nice, but they’re not really affordable,” she said.

Roommates can also compli- cate matters. Empey said her two-bedroom apartment costs $800, which she can’t afford without someone sharing, even with internet the only added cost.

Her previous roommate left over the summer and she was able to find a new one fairly quickly. Others are not so lucky in finding a reliable person to live with.

Matthew Guy, Dal AC’S director of student success, agreed with Empey’s assessment. For him, it was also an issue of location rather than availability.

“If students have transport, then I wouldn’t consider there would be a shortage of places to rent,” said Guy.

He urged any student renting off campus to check what utilities and other services like snow-shovelling are included in the rent. He warned that heating – vital in the winter months – often is not.

“Housing is reasonably affordable compared to living in residence,” said Guy.

Some students may have an easier time this year, as Dal AC is running some classes from the former Sears store at Truro Mall, after a fire ruined part of the Cox Institute building in June.

Many labs and classrooms from the Cox Institute have been moved to Dal AC’S mall location this semester and students commuting between the two locations will have free shuttle bus service.

And in the process, students living near the mall will have shorter time getting to classes.