The first part of the journey of living in a town house is to be a second year student or have attended a college somewhere else. Then the second step is to apply for the townhouse through an online application. Once the application is approved you either discover who you roommates are. Unless you applied to live with three other people on your application, then you know who your room mates will be, so it’s no surprise. Once you arrive you have a fully furnished house with washer, dryer, fridge, freezer, table, chairs, bed, closets, vacuum (from the 50’s), etc. You move in unpack and go over the roommate agreement given to you by the college staff.
Once the inspection of the place and paperwork are filled out your ready to begin to make the place feel like home! Some students choose poster, pictures, clocks, mirrors, plants, etc. to accomplish this. Just make sure when hanging any of these items that you don’t damage the walls in the process. The best decorating tools are the stick on writings that peels off the wall while still leaving the paint present.
As you live day to day you don’t have to worry if the washer quits or you have a leaky tap. All you have to do is go into the main residence and write up a work order. Then the very friendly maintenance guy comes out with his tools and makes the repairs needed. We have had him in and he is fast, efficient and gets the job done well being quite friendly. The washer and dryer are a plus, because you don’t have to transport your laundry anywhere you can do it from home. Same as the chest freezer allows you store food and buy in bulk to save money.
You also don’t have to worry about sharing a room as every room mate gets their own room. There are also two bathrooms so you only share the bathroom with one person. The bathrooms are setup uniquely in that the shower and toilet are in a separate room and the sink and mirror are outside in separate arae from there. Very convenient for getting ready in the morning when your room mate is trying to shower you can get ready at the same time with privacy.
The kitchen is fully equipped with stove and oven so you can cook all your own meals. That way you can make what you like, and make when you want it. If that is not for you, then you can still get on the meal plan, but it is not mandatory like it is if you were living in residence.
All in all the experience is fun, has its up and downs as you make things work with each other’s personalities, but it is an awesome opportunity that provides so many conveniences its extremely worth it. I would definitely suggest it to anyone coming to Olds College from another college or in their second year at Olds College.
