Many students prefer to live in off-campus housing in the area for many reasons, including the freedom it offers.

The trend this year seems to be for more students to live as close to campus as possible. Senior David Iscaacson shares a house located adjacent to Buxton Park.

“I bought this house through my summer realty job,” said Isaacson. “It is great for team unity and a place to hang out and have a good time together.”

According to Isaacson, there are many advantages of these living arrangements. Being able to come and go as you please, having lots of guys around all the time and the location are just a few of the positives.

Another near-campus house located on B Street has been nicknamed ‘the football house’ for the last couple years. Senior Caleb Sellers is one occupant of this residence.

“I think we all like the fact that there is a much bigger living area and the cost is still cheaper than on-campus living,” said Sellers.

There are drawbacks of off-campus living just as there would be anywhere. “There is much more responsibility when it comes to living here,” said Isaacson. “There are payments that have to be made and we must take care of all of them on time.”

According to Sellers, the main disadvantage of the football house is that it’s not close to everything, unlike on-campus living. Also, there are no janitors cleaning up after the numerous messes that occur.

Unexpected issues also arise when things such as repairs and major housing expenses take place. “Our house is 100 years old,” said Isaacson. “When we were trying to remodel this summer we ran into unexpected things, but no major problems have come up.”

When thinking about unexpected issues, security and the local police department interactions are counted. “The Indianola Police Department keeps a high watch on the house,” said Sellers.

According to Isaacson, they’ve had no problems with authority figures. He commented that the neighbors have had no problems with the house as long as the noise level is kept to a minimum. “The local community comes by quite often to compliment us on our house,” he said. “It’s increased the value of the community with our remodeling projects and looks much nicer than in past years.”

Off-campus living in both the baseball and football houses seems to create a better team atmosphere for the residents with minimal hassle involved. “I like the freedom to hang out with the people I want to be around most,” said junior baseball player Mike Donnenwerth.

Senior football player Mitch Stewart said, “We all thought it’d work better living in this house because it accommodates our situation better than on-campus living. We all wanted to stay around Simpson this summer and these living arrangements helped us do that. It’s worked out really great so far with our team.