Posts Tagged ‘commuting’

The Actual Positives of Commuting

Monday, September 8th, 2025
A picture of my dog because getting to live with your childhood pets is the best perk about commuting.

Saving money is the only positive to commuting that you need, at least that is probably what your parents will argue. But when you are taking out loans to cover your tuition, all money begins to feel fake. Saving thousands, but still paying thousands begins to feel like it’s not worth it. In the long run it is, but while you are still in college it is helpful to look at the current positives. 

Living at home

There are lots of particular benefits you get when you live at home. Some of them are noticeable, others you may take for granted. Whenever I get stressed about commuting I like to remind myself of some of the perks.

Here is a run down of some basic benefits of living at home while in college: 

  • Home cooked meals.
  • Snacks (not just a random assortment of dining hall food that you have collected).
  • A kitchen that isn’t communal with strangers. 
  • No housing restrictions. (Also known as have as many candles as you want.)
  • A full size fridge.
  • Your own bed. (No shade to the twin xl, some of the best naps I have taken were on a twin XL. However there is a whole different type of comfort that your own bed provides.)
  • Your own space.
  • You get to live with your childhood pets.
  • Strangers won’t be able to touch your laundry.
  • You also will not have to wait for a washer to be free because all ten are being used by other students. 
  • No fire alarms going off early in the morning because someone decided to burn mac and cheese.
  • No crowded elevators.

There are of course an abundance more, some are niche and personal, others universal. Sometimes you need to rationalize, even if it seems counter-intuitive. 

Saving money means you can spend a little more on yourself–right? 

Saving money means surely you can spend a little more on yourself. Take this with a grain of salt, while living at home you want to be financially responsible. Save money while you can, of course. If you do think about it you are saving thousands, so if buying that cute tote you have wanted or getting your nails done makes you happy, why not? 

Perhaps it is bad advice, but commuting is hard. I have discovered that when I feel put together and have little things like cute nails, which I couldn’t afford on campus, it allows me to feel the positives of commuting instantly. 

Get into that routine

When you are in college, you get into a routine. This is true whether you live on campus or not. The best thing about commuting is there is less disruption to your routine.

You don’t have to worry about packing your life back up again and again. You have everything in one spot whether it is during the semester or winter break. You can go to the same gym, the same coffee shop, the same library throughout the year. There is value in consistency and familiarity. It is comfortable. 

That being said you can get out of your comfort zone if you so choose. Even though it may not feel like it, being in your childhood home and all, there are places nearby that you may have never experienced. If you have access to a car you have the ability to go where you want when you want. Having a car and being at home doesn’t mean you have to go to the same few places you have been going to for years. 

One thing I’ve learned is you can travel and see areas that have been next door to you your whole life. Explore the trails near you and take little road trips to places close by. It is even more fun bringing your college friends from campus to see your town and state with you. Taking the time to experience your home town before you become a visitor in it, is rewarding and can be sentimentally fun. 

Commuting is hard work, but if you romanticize it enough and prioritize yourself, it can still be a well rounded college experience. 

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The Positives of Commuting (Statistically)

Saturday, August 30th, 2025

Statistically speaking, there is one positive to commuting to college–saving money. This post is going to reinforce your decision to commute, because it is a smart one. While it may sometimes not feel worth it, commuting from home will save you thousands in the long run.  

For this post, I have done some research on local dorm and apartment costs. I will be focusing on Boston. According to the Boston University International Students & Scholars Office  (ISSO) resource page, there are an estimated 250,000 students in Boston. Despite being home to many students, the prices are far from college kid friendly. 

Dorm Costs

Many college students reside on campus in the school affiliated housing. Dorms are usually small rooms where students live with roommates. Despite living communally and sharing facilities, the prices tend to be astronomically high.

I have elected to look into four Boston colleges and universities housing costs. While it is only a small percentage of the colleges in Boston, I believe it will be representative of most housing costs, as between the four there is only a slight discrepancy. 

The four colleges I looked into are:

  • Emerson College
  • Boston University
  • Suffolk University
  • Simmons University

The colleges/universities are all located in different areas of Boston. I pinned each location on the map to depict their distance.

Emerson College

My college is located near Downtown Boston, Chinatown, and the theater district. Located right in front of the Boston Commons, the school is in the heart of Boston. Housing is expensive; the college website provides an estimate of $21,652 for a year of housing for a standard double. This estimate includes housing and a meal plan. 

I lived in the dorms my freshman year. Emerson College guarantees housing and ‘requires’ all students to live on campus for three years. If you decide to commute or live off campus you must fill out a form relinquishing your right to guaranteed housing. 

My freshman year I lived in Little Building, the freshman only dorm. I was extremely lucky with my housing assignment as I was given a suite. It was equipped with a bathroom and the rooms were large. However, most people are not lucky and are placed in small rooms without bathrooms.

Little Building is particularly unique as there are lightwell dorms. These dorms are small and have one window that does not go directly outside. The architecture of the building creates a column where dorms face other dorms. Natural lighting is sparse in these dorms only coming from the open gap above. If the window blinds are left open other people can see into your room. It is definitely not worth the high cost for people stuck in lightwell dorms. 

Well I have no experience with the dorm conditions in surrounding Boston colleges, I will be listing their prices for reference. 

Suffolk University

This university is the most expensive on this short list of colleges, with the official Suffolk website estimating room and board to cost students $22,782. This is the price for a standard double, without a kitchen, and the required plan C meal plan. 

Boston University

Boston University has many different types of housing. However to live in a standard dorm (either a double, triple, or quad) it costs $19,970 according to their housing cost breakdown. 

Simmons University

Simmons University provides a breakdown of estimated student costs on their website. To live on campus it costs an estimated $18,146.


A chart created by Simmons University breaking down the estimated costs of attending university 
Highlighted are the room/board costs

Again, this chart emphasizes the amount that commuters save by living at home. While the off campus and at home numbers vary from student to student, the at home is drastically different. 

Apartment Living

Dorming is not the only option for college students. Many colleges don’t guarantee housing for all four years, therefore most people need to live off campus at some point.

Apartments in the city are small and costly. According to Apartments.com Boston is 115% more expensive than the rest of the country’s rent. Apartments range in cost, so sometimes you can get lucky. But even if you win the Boston lottery and find an apartment with a few roommates that will cost you $1,000, you still will be spending $12,000 for a one year lease. This doesn’t include utilities.

I decided to do a quick search on apartments. Using Apartments.com I found a few options. First I decided to use Emerson College as a marker. For anything remotely close to campus you will be paying at least $2,000, if you plan on living by yourself. I found one apartment slightly farther away, but still walkable, with a roommate the rent would be a reasonable $1,500. This apartment only includes a water utility. 

Across the many apartments I searched the average rent seems to be around $1,500. Therefore you will be likely spending an estimated $18,000 to $24,000 yearly for a small apartment that might not include utilities. 

The farther out of the city you go, prices get more reasonable. However, from my own experience looking into apartment living over the past few years, Massachusetts is expensive, even outside of Boston. Not only will you still be spending a decent amount of money, but the farther you go from campus, even in places where you can take the MBTA, you will have to factor this commute into your schedule. 

Living at Home

Living from home and commuting to school undeniably saves you money. According to the Simmons University estimated costs it will save approximately anywhere from $11,000 to $15,000 dollars. If you do it for multiple years, that adds up to a lot of money, quick. 

College is already so  expensive. Tuition prices require most students to take out loans, putting themselves into debt. If students can save any money in the four years of undergrad, logically they should. 

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Car, Train, MBTA–My Never Ending Commute to College

Friday, August 22nd, 2025

By Isabel DeSisto

Boston Skyline by the water
The beautiful Boston waterfront

My commute to college feels as though I am making an attempt to collect every form of transportation. To attend class I must travel in a car, then a train, and then finally the subway. If it were practical to travel by plane and boat, then I would really have a collection to boast about. 

My schedule is built around this transportation. A factor many people forget to consider when commuting into the city is that if you aren’t going by car you are going on someone else’s time. In order to commute you must be aware of the transportation schedules so that a proper class schedule can be built. 

I have never been a morning person, so I pretend 8 a.m. classes do not exist. Instead my first class starts bright and early at 10 a.m.. Unfortunately I can no longer roll out of bed in my pjs and run to class ten minutes before it starts. Now I have to wake up early to make the train that will get me to campus on time. 

My commute to campus takes an hour total. However, because the commuter rail, a train that spans a farther distance from Boston than the subway, has a strict schedule, I end up having to wake up three hours before class. 

So at 7 a.m. I wake up and get ready. I have to make sure all of my essentials are in my bag–I can’t run back home to grab homework or lip gloss. Once I’m ready I sit in my car for a minute letting it either cool down or warm up, depending on the state of the unpredictable New England weather. This has become a ritual that allows me to wake up and be in my own space for a few minutes before I am surrounded by many others for the rest of the day. 

Luckily I have two trains I can get on, an earlier one at 8:13 or a later one 30 minutes later, so there is some room for delays, but not too much. If I miss the later one, I will definitely miss a class, which will impact my grade quickly. Normally to air on the side of precaution, I chose the earlier one. The commuter rail is predictable, but the MBTA (Boston’s subway also known as the T) is much less so. I prefer to be prepared. 

I drive my car down the road to the train station. The radio plays some random song quietly. The ride is much too short to hook up my Bluetooth, so I never bother. I pull in and try to find a parking space in the packed lot. 

I pay for parking–most of the time. If I forget I can count on a nice bill making its way in the mail. I walk towards the platform checking my bag one last time; leaving something in my car feels worse than leaving it at home. 

Once on the train I show my digital ticket and try not to fall asleep. The internet is always comically bad, so I either read or listen to some downloaded music. Sometimes, if I was too busy the night before, I do homework. The ride goes by fast, normally. I know the stops well and the conductors are all familiar faces at this point. 

Once we get to North Station everyone exits. People throw away their coffee cups, others go to stand in the Dunkin line that is only growing. Some exit the building, but many people, including myself, walk straight to the underground trains. 

In Boston the T are categorised by color. There is the red, orange, blue, and green line. I can take either the orange or green, the flexibility comes in handy as frequently one or the other is down. Depending on which is running and which is sooner, I get on, standing as they are often packed. I hold my bag as close to myself as I can to try to make space. I disassociate as people talk or yell. 

Eventually we get to my stop and I exit quickly. The subways are stuffy and humid and I need the outside air. I leave and walk towards campus, which is only a short walk. 

Now that I still have an hour before class starts I walk through the Boston common (a beautiful park right across from my campus) when the weather permits. If it is cold I go to the classroom early, turn the lights on, and wait for others to appear. 

The journey to campus isn’t horrible, but it is hard to balance classes around the trains, and it gets costly. Round trip, the journey costs about twenty five dollars. The semester pass is over a thousand dollars. 

Luckily my college only allows us four classes per semester, so I stack them. The first semester I did all four on one day forcing me to be on campus from 9 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. two days a week. The days I was in class were long and exhausting. The days that I had off I spent catching up on all my homework and readings. It was difficult to balance work, school, and a social life, so it was a schedule that I would never recommend. 

The second semester I commuted I took three classes in person and one online. This balance was much better, and I was able to do all the classes back to back. This upcoming semester I have enough credits to take just three classes. Therefore I only have to commute two days a week. Even so, travelling is still exhausting and time consuming. 

There are many benefits of taking this journey, even if it is difficult. This blog is going to cover the positives, the negatives, and my tips as a seasoned commuter.

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6 Simple Things to Do to Make Your Subway Ride More Pleasant

Monday, July 11th, 2016

Image Credit: http://www.wnyc.org/story/nyc-sets-one-day-subway-ridership-record/

Image Credit: http://www.wnyc.org/story/nyc-sets-one-day-subway-ridership-record/

If you have to commute to school, you know that NYC subway, efficient as it is, can also be quite distressing. It might be too hot inside the station and too cold or too crowded in the subway car. Plus, there are also all these service changes and delays that make your trip even more stressful. Here are 6 simple things to do that will make your commute more pleasant:

1. Reading a book. If you are a reader like I am, you know that, as you immerse yourself in the author’s world, you might not even notice that your commute took over an hour! Thanks to technology, we no longer have to carry volumes around. Our entire library is stored on our Kindles, iPads and phones, and some classics are available as free ebooks.

2. Listening to music. I find it a great idea to have headphones in my ears even if I’m not enjoying my favorite tunes. It discourages strange people from talking to me, and I can always pretend that I cannot hear them.

3. Talking to people. If you feel sociable, there is always someone you can talk to. You can tell them pretty much anything, since you are highly likely to never see them again.

Image Credit: http://www.aroundme.com/travel/6397/21-things-only-nyc-subway-riders-consider-normal/#page=1

Image Credit: http://www.aroundme.com/travel/6397/21-things-only-nyc-subway-riders-consider-normal/#page=1

4. Peoplewatching / eavesdropping. If you do not feel sociable, you can observe and listen to people from the distance, which may be a lot of fun. I sometimes sit there imagining what story this or that stranger would tell me if we spoke. Why is he dressed this way? What’s in the bag?

One day I was coming back from college, and the train was packed. Suddenly a man came in with a bouquet of flowers. My first thought was, “How is he going to avoid having them smashed?” I was not the only one thinking that. Then one of the commuters suggested that the man give the flowers away to one of the women in the subway car. The man smiled and said that whoever wanted them could have them. Of course, one lady, who already had her hands full with shopping bags, said she wanted them, and she got them. Where else in the world will you see something like that? And they say New Yorkers are rude and not kind to each other…

5. Doing your homework. I know that this is not as much fun as the other activities I have mentioned, but let’s face it: if you have a long commute, you better make the best of it and save your free time for something else. I used to do a large portion of my homework on the train, which included reading textbooks, memorizing and reviewing information, and writing essays. If you’re going to do that, you should try to get a seat to feel more comfortable and be able to spread your books on your lap.

6. Eat your breakfast / lunch / dinner. Even though it is bad subway etiquette, having a bagel on the train is better than going hungry. As I would often go from school straight to work, I would usually eat on the subway, worried that I won’t have enough time. If you do that, please make sure your food doesn’t smell. Otherwise, it will make the ride less pleasant for someone sitting next to you.

Whatever it is you choose to do, make sure you do not get completely distracted. Otherwise, you might miss your stop, or overlook something that you might want to see. And remember: if you see something, say something. Happy commuting!

By Ekaterina Lalo

Ekaterina Lalo was one of the Campus Clipper’s talented publishing interns, who participated in the making of the Campus Clipper’s NYC Student Guide and also wrote articles and restaurant reviews for the Campus Clipper blog, sharing her NYC experiences. 

For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC,  from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the NYC Student Guide, which encourage them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing and services.  

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