HOPKINS CRIBS: Marylander Apartments (Off-Campus)

Welcome to the third annual edition of Hopkins CRIBS!!

Even though I live off-campus now, you can still read my entries from freshman and sophomore years (Building A and Charles Commons respectively).  Check those out here:

Building A

Charles Commons

This year I moved off campus after returning from my semester in Washington, D.C. and I love my new apartment!  My building is called The Marylander and it is about 2.5 blocks from campus, one block from Tamber's Diner, 2 blocks from the JHU Barnes and Noble Bookstore / Starbucks, and three block from Eddie's supermarket.  As you can see, living off campus is just as convenient as living on campus. 

In some ways, I consider it more convenient in terms of being able to furnish / decorate the apartment as I see fit and being able to stay in the apartment over breaks and the summer.  One of the biggest hassles of college is having to pack up all your stuff at the end of each year and move it back in at the beginning of the next.  Another annoying thing about university housing is that the dorms close immediately after the last day of exams so if you are like me and you always end up with an exam in the last time slot, you are forced to pack and study all at the same time. When you move off campus, you are not subject to all these little rules which makes life that much easier.  And since I will be living in Baltimore / working in Washington this summer, I love that I can just live in my apartment instead of applying for campus housing. 

Anyways, enough of my rambling...on to the tour!!

Below are pictures of the view from my window, the living room (twice)

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Ok, ok, ok.  I lied.  Those are pictures from my hotel in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where I spent last week for spring vacation.  If only that was my real view!  I went with a group of Hopkins students for break and it was so much fun and so warm.  I would totally live there if I could..

But back to reality. 

Welcome to my two-bedroom apartment that is not quite as warm but just as comfortable as my room from Mexico! I live with my roommate Frances who I have lived with since back in the day freshman year.

Here is our front hall with three (!) closets (we have a lot of closet space)

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Next is our little foyer area, I guess that's what you would call it.  We have a little table in it with a tray for our keys and a place for bills that we need to pay.  It is very sophisticated and adult of us (sort of)...

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To the left, is our kitchen which is a little narrow but fully functional.  Since I live off campus, I am not on a meal plan anymore so we use our kitchen a ton to make lunch and dinner.  I was a little wary of being responsible for my own meals since I'd gotten so dependent on the dining halls for my food but I love being able to cook whatever I want. 

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If you walk through the kitchen, you get to the dining room.  Usually we eat dinner at the coffee table in the living room because we're probably in the middle of an episode of Law and Order (we're both obsessed) or watching MSNBC/CNN since we're both totally preoccupied with the elections. However, our dining table is really cute and it's nice to use when we have people over for dinner. 

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Our living room is nice and spacious with tons of room to store extra stuff (like all the boxes of Alpha Phi merchandise that are currently living in my house...)  I spend most of my time in the living room since I usually keep my computer there instead of in my bedroom. 

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Down the hall is the bathroom, followed by Frances' room to the right and my room to the left.

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Here is my room! I actually rented all my furniture which is a great idea because it's not too expensive and you can have them take it all away when you move out instead of being stuck trying to sell it to people.

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Thanks for coming on my tour of my house!!!  I love living here--if you have any questions about moving off campus, ask in the comments section or on the message boards.

Comments

[laura]

you have a HUGE bed; can I come snuggle?

[JHU_Kate]

I spent so much time looking at your photos from Mexico and wondering how that could be the Marylander and the Baltimore skyline. Oh, dear.

[Jackie]

I too always leave MSNBC on...my obsession is terrible.