I received my first message yesterday addressing me as a student. The admissions office sent some very basic information about tuition and housing. The tuition fees didn’t provide any new information. I already knew all of it. Oh, except that fees for the Spring semester are more expensive than the Fall semester. And since I start in the Spring semester…no fair.

The housing stuff was interesting. First of all, do I even want to entertain the idea of student housing? I’m a grown-up. And I’ve been living like a grown-up for ten years. Living by myself (with the exception of a couple of brief stints while I was in transition to Oakland) in some nice apartments has spoiled me tremendously. I don’t know if I can downgrade to the lifestyle of a student living in student housing…no offense to the students out there. A while ago I took a look at some of the rooms/buildings the University offers students. They weren’t awful. And I think some of them were intended for adult students. While most have something shared, like a bathroom or a kitchen, some boasted of completely private facilities. Spoiling me with my own bathroom AND my own kitchen? But even these relatively fancy accommodations looked like dorm rooms. Twin, metal beds, stark white walls, tiny refrigerators, and small, lonely windows. No thank you. Seriously, no thank you.

I’m the type to value my home space more than most. It’s important for me to be able to come home to a space that’s comfortable, well-decorated, good-smelling, and effectively represents me. A place that’s a cross between a hospital room and a jail cell has never been my preferred aesthetic. But living in a place that is stylish and roomy could cost me far too much money. I’m not sure it would be worth it for such a short period of time while I’m back in school. But then again, I wouldn’t want to feel badly about where I live the entire time I’m in Amsterdam – that would put a damper on everything.

And if I live in the student housing, I won’t have any space for guests. I’ll barely have space for myself. I think people will still come to visit (you’ll still visit, right?). But as a host, if folks still have to pay for a hotel, I’m not offering much more than a free tour . In my dream world, my guests will have their own room, and I’ll welcome them to stay for as long as they wish (since they won’t be getting in my way) without question. In student housing world, I’ll be asking them to leave their bags in the hall and lift their left leg every time I need to open the front door. That’s not sustainable, and certainly not sexy. And I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned before, but I’m single…I can’t possibly be single and so unsexy.

So what should I do? Live in student housing and embrace the student lifestyle in its entirety? Find a sexy apartment through some other means and spend money I don’t have? Another idea is to stay in student housing for a semester, until I can find my own way with private housing for the following year. Or how about find a decently priced, moderately sexy apartment on craigslist and never even bother with their student housing silliness? Or maybe look for a nice apartment with a roommate? Could I possibly live with a roommate? Probably not. But I’m keeping all possibilities on the table at this point, and making no final decisions.