KIM!!!!!!!!!!!!
what are co-ops like? i need a place to live for the fall semester and a few people suggested checking out a co-op, but i have no idea what they're like. so tell me! what're they like? is it just like a huge house with a bunch of people and a kitchen and a few bathrooms? or is it like a dorm where there isn't much of a kitchen
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SO, CO-OPS ARE MORE LIKE HOUSES THAN DORMS. HOWEVER EVERY CO-OP VARIES. THEY ALL HAVE THEIR OWN FEATURES AND PERSONALITIES, ETC. AS OF LAST YEAR, MOST OF THE CO-OPS COST $500/MONTH, ALTHOUGH I THINK I HEARD THEY ARE POSSIBLY RAISING THE ICC CHARGES A BIT WHICH WOULD RAISE THE OVERALL RENT. FOR CO-OPS, YOU PAY TWO MONTHLY CHARGES: HOUSE CHARGES, AND ICC CHARGES. ICC CHARGES ARE CONSTANT, WHEREAS HOUSE CHARGES ARE DETERMINED BY THE HOUSE AND THUS THEORETICALLY YOUR RENT COULD VARY, BUT I AM PRETTY SURE FOR MOST HOUSES IT'S AROUND $500. MY OWN CO-OP IS DIFFERENT B/C IT IS GRAD STUDENT HOUSING AND THERE IS A TIERED ROOM SYSTEM, SO TOTAL RENT RANGES FROM SOMETHING LIKE $550-800, I FORGET. LAST YEAR I PAID $700-SOMETHING FOR MY ROOM BUT THIS YEAR I'LL BE PAYING $600-SOMETHING FOR THE SAME ROOM B/C IT GOT RE-ZONED INTO A LOWER TIER.
ALMOST ALL CO-OPS WERE CONVERTED FROM HOUSES, SO YES, AS FAR AS THE NUMBER OF BATHROOMS AND THINGS, THEY'RE LIKE HOUSES. OUR HOUSE HAD JUST UNDER 40 PPL LIVING IN IT LAST YEAR, AND WE HAD SEVEN BATHROOMS. (ALTHOUGH A FEW OF THESE BATHROOMS HAVE INDIVIDUAL TOILET STALLS INSIDE. SO I THINK TOTAL THERE WERE LIKE NINE STALLS THAT COULD BE UTILIZED AT ANY TIME.) MOST HOUSES ALSO HAVE LAUNDRY MACHINES, ALTHO NOT ALL. OUR HOUSE DOES HAVE THEM AND THEY ARE FREE FOR HOUSE MEMBERS TO USE. I AM NOT POSITIVE BUT I DON'T THINK ANY OF THE HOUSES W/ LAUNDRY FACILITIES CHARGE FOR IT. PARKING ALSO VARIES PER HOUSE. WE HAVE A LOT WITH PARKING SPOTS FOR MOST HOUSE MEMBERS (ALSO SINCE NOT ALL PPL HAVE CARS). SOME HOUSES DO PARKING BY SENIORITY, AND SOME HOUSES HAVE NO PARKING SPOTS. I MEAN, REALLY, ALL THE HOUSES ARE DIFFERENT. YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT THE ICC WEBSITE (ICC.COOP) TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE HOUSES AND THEIR INDIVIDUAL FEATURES.
I WOULD ASSUME THE KITCHEN FACILITIES ALSO VARY BY HOUSE, BUT AFAIK ALL THE HOUSES HAVE PRETTY FULL KITCHENS. WE HAVE A FULL INDUSTRIAL SIZE KITCHEN/STOVE/ALL THAT. ALL HOUSES SERVE DINNER A CERTAIN # OF DAYS A WEEK. WE HAVE DINNER FIVE DAYS A WEEK, ALL BUT FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. THERE IS ALSO ALWAYS GUFF (FREE) FOOD AVAILABLE FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER, ETC. OR YOU CAN HEAT UP LEFTOVERS. FOOD IS INCLUDED IN YOUR RENT. ALSO INTERNET AND CABLE TELEVISION. (WELL, WE HAVE CABLE, BUT IDK IF ALL HOUSES DO. I THINK SOME HOUSES HAVE SATELLITE TV. AGAIN THIS WOULD VARY BY HOUSE. SOME HOUSES ALSO HAVE DIFFERENT INTERNET, ALTHO I THINK THE ICC IS TRYING TO GET ALL THE HOUSES ON THE SAME SYSTEM.)
IN MY HOUSE, RENT IS A LITTLE HIGHER, BUT YOU CAN PAY AND MAKE SURE YOU GET A SINGLE. THIS IS TRUE IN MY HOUSE (BAKER) AND IN THE NORTH CAMPUS CO-OPS. IN MOST OF THE CO-OPS, THO, ROOMS ARE ASSIGNED BY SENIORITY AND EVERYONE PAYS THE SAME AMT REGARDLESS. SO IF YOU ARE NEW, YOU WILL PROBABLY END UP IN A DOUBLE. THIS WAS KIND OF A TURN-OFF FOR ME, WHICH IS WHY I ENDED UP LIVING IN THE HOUSE I AM IN.
AS FAR AS SOCIAL THINGS, I THINK THE CO-OPS ARE A NICE ENVIRONMENT. THERE ARE OCCASIONAL PARTIES, GATHERINGS, ETC., BUT GENERALLY NOTHING TOO CRAZY. YOU CAN SOCIALIZE WITH PPL IF YOU WANT OR YOU CAN SHUT YOURSELF IN YOUR ROOM. IN MY HOUSE THERE ARE MANY NICE PLACES TO DO HOMEWORK ALSO.
ALSO ONE NICE THING ABOUT CO-OPS IS YOU SIGN AN 8-MONTH LEASE FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR, SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO STAY IN A2 IN THE SUMMER YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT SUBLETTING. ALTHO THEY ALSO OFFER SUMMER CONTRACTS, WHICH ARE VERY CHEAP. (I THINK USUALLY AROUND $300-$350 PER MONTH.)
ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO KNOW!!
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