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Living like Rockefeller off campus

BY BRIAN HOYLE | Special to Newsday

When I was little, I used to have a little tent "house." My favorite thing to do was spend an afternoon in the backyard, in my own space, pretending to be an independent adult. The tent house was my space, free from the juvenileness of childhood and my little sister.

I made the decision to move off of the Adelphi University campus, where I attend, about a year ago. There wasn't a specific reason that justified my decision: I had a great roommate who I could talk to, and all in all, I enjoyed campus life. I just wanted something extra.

Like, a kitchen. Extra closet space. A double bed. Things that aren't available (or possible) from a dorm room.

I remember the day I made the decision to move off campus. It was nearing the end of freshman year, and I don't know if it was job stress or the fact that I couldn't study for exams because of neighbors blaring 50-Cent, but I remember being bored and coming across a list of available apartments online.

Then there was the initial call home to "toss" the idea to my mother, whose first response was "That's an absolutely horrible idea. You'll have to cook for yourself. You'll starve to death, not to mention that you'll miss your friends."

But, I finally received approval for the plan, and I began to do further research. Now, I'm originally from Western North Carolina, this "magical place" down South where so many Long Islanders end up and where apartment rents that exceed $1,000 are few and far between, so you can imagine the culture shock I got when began pricing available units (not to mention the fact that my family thinks I'm living like Rockefeller, "Puttin' on the Ritz" style for what I pay in rent). Ah, adaptation. I had looked around various areas of Nassau County, and couldn't seem to find a place that, proverbially speaking, had my name written on it.

After about two weeks of hunting to no avail, I made mention of my struggles to the women at my office, only to find that a co-worker was leasing an apartment within my price range that had the space and location I was looking for. She shared a touching story of how a late family member occupied the apartment, and it just seemed all too perfect. Three months later, my mother and I made the trek from North Carolina with a U-haul, and I began the life in my "bachelor pad."

The quiet life is serene. The money I'm saving by not living on campus adds up to $1,000 a year. Now that I have the space to spread out and have personal time, my grades are better, and I find myself more sociable than ever, not to mention the fact that I've learned how to cook and take responsibility for my own finances in a way that I never would have on-campus.

In a sense, this has the same feeling as that childhood tent. It's the real world, and I've enjoyed getting the jump start on independence and financial management that having my own living space provides.

But I'm still not letting my little sister in. I'm not that grown up.