July 2009 – Sam Was Here

Lately I have been thinking a lot about how I felt in the summer before my first year. I was excited; I felt like an adult, but I was worried about living on my own. I kept surfing the internet for hints about my future. I can’t remember how many times I typed “Totem Park vs. Place Vanier” or “Arts One vs. Coordinated Arts” or “Pictures of UBC” into Google. With that in mind, I’ve decided to impart what knowledge I do have of UBC on in hopes of soothing the minds of anyone who is in that sweet little space between home and UBC. I realize this may take a few posts, but I think I will start with the question that pondered the most. Where am I going to be living?

I’ve decided to make a pros and cons list for each of the five main non year-round residences because they all have qualities that make them special, as well as downsides. I am drawing these all from my own experiences and the opinions of people I know who have lived in each place. Remember, no matter where you end up, you’ll make it your own and have a great time in the process.

Totem Park
Pros:

It has elevators. I cannot stress how helpful this was when I moved in first year. Granted I brought a lot of stuff with me. It also made laundry a lot easier, we would just drag our laundry to the elevator and take it down to the basement.
It has the options for different sized rooms. Totem has the option of a single, a double, and a large single room. I ended up in a large single myself, and besides all the extra space, I loved that I got two windows.
Its houses are co-ed. I met Max originally on Facebook in the group for our house, Nootka. Turns out he was on the floor above me. All the houses in Totem have single gendered floors, except for one which has co-ed floors.
There are a lot of people on your floor. Each floor is made up of two long hallways with a bathroom and trash room in the center. I realize some people might see this as a con, but I liked having a diverse group of girls around to get to know.
The commonsblock and caf are brand new. I know this because they were constantly under construction my first year.
It is close to the science half of campus. The campus is roughly spit in two when it comes to the Arts buildings and the Science buildings. All my friends in Science loved the location of Totem because it was so close to their half of campus.

Cons:

It can get loud at night. This generally didn’t bother me much first year, but some of my floor mates weren’t very happy about it.
It’s pretty far away from the Arts end of campus and the village. The village is where all the stores on campus are located, besides some restaurants that are dispersed about campus. To get to the village or the Arts end of campus was always a good 25 minute walk for me (granted, I have very short legs).
It has a reputation for partying which some members of the residence try to uphold. Honestly, all the residences have parties and events and fun things to do. I have just found that people tend to go a bit crazier in Totem because there is this stereotype they are trying to live up to. You are just as safe as anywhere else, and you don’t have to party if you don’t want to.

Place Vanier (Pronounced “Plaw-ce Vaun-yay” – I was incredibly embarrassed when I first referred to it as Place Van-yer)

Pros:

Its houses are smaller. Each house has four floors and no elevators (besides the two newer houses – Tec de Monterrey and Korea, which have six floors and elevators). The floors consist of one hallway with a bathroom in the center.
It is central to campus. Seriously, it is right between the two halves of campus, if you live in Vanier you are close to everything.
It is really close to Wreck Beach. Besides being a nudist beach, Wreck is one of the most beautiuful places on campus.
It has four single-sex houses. So if you just want to live with girls or guys, you have the option.
Its convience store has better options. This is just my own personal opinion, but I would often walk the three blocks from Totem to Vanier to visit Hubbard’s because I like the selection they offer more than Totem’s Magda’s.
It is located in a really scenically beautiful area. It has a lot more trees in and around the grounds than any other residence, plus it is right next to the Nitobe Memorial Garden.

Cons:

It has the reputation of being quiet, which some members of the residence try to uphold. (Some people may consider this a pro.) Everything I could find online about Totem and Vanier before I came to UBC stated that Totem was for parties and Vanier was for studying. This is not at all the case, but I have found that these assumptions definitely influence the people who live there. Vanier can have some wild parties, but it tends to be on the quiet side most nights of the week.
The cafeteria tends to be more crowded during peak hours than Totem’s. I’ve found that there is generally a line whenever I go to Vanier’s caf, probably because its location draws more non-residence people to it during meal times.

Marine Drive

Pros:

Its the newest residence on campus. It’s modern, streamlined, and it looks really chic.
There are several different types of rooms, including studios. Max and I almost lived in a Marine Drive studio.
Some rooms have incredible views. Marine Drive is located right between Totem and Vanier, along the ocean, so if you get a room that is high up there is a good chance you will have an awesome view.
It feels more like a hotel than a residence. It has elavators and plush carpet in the hallways, but you still have RA’s and events.
Each shared unit comes with a dishwasher. You have no idea how awesome dishwashers are until you’ve lived without one for a year.

Cons:

The only bus you are close to is a shuttle that takes you to the bus loop, which only seats about 25 people. This goes the same for Totem and Vanier. Whenever you want to take a bus that leaves from the bus loop you are looking at about 30 minutes of travel time to get to bus loop itself, either by taking the shuttle or walking there.
Only two of the buildings are not year round. There is usually quite a bit of competition for these rooms.
The studio units are quite small, and do not have dishwashers. But you do get a private bathroom.
It can be loud at night. I have walked past Marine Drive several times and heard music loud enough that I could sing along standing across the street. (Again, this is more dependent upon the people that live there, not the residence itself)
You have to be 19 to live in Marine Drive. This is typically not considered to be a first year residence.

Fairview Crescent

Pros:

You are a 5 minute walk away from the village. I didn’t realize how convient this was until I moved here. Run out of printer ink? You can run to the village. Hungry, but don’t have any food? You can run to the village. (This may be a con, because it becomes a lot easier to spend money.)
Your front door faces the outside. You get a doorbell and a front light and everything. Your unit feels more like an apartment because of this, and it is easier to get privacy.
You can catch almost any bus within 8 minutes. There are two stops that cover the two main routes that leave UBC within 4 blocks of Fairview.
The units are shared, and have dishwashers. This is nice because you can usually be placed in the same units as your friends, if not, it’s easy to make new ones.
The Beanery. This is a nice little coffee shop that is located in the center of Fairview. It carries things like smoothies and ice cream and muffins and a bunch of other dishes and drinks. It also offers free wi-fi and comfy couches!
The atmosphere is a lot more laid-back. It is really easy to make friends in Fairview. There are tons of events and fun things to do, without the feeling of always being watched that other residences have.

Cons:

It isn’t really close to anything but the village. It is more towards the Science end of campus, so Science students shouldn’t have much trouble, but it is about a half hour walk to the Arts end of campus.
The laundry rooms are separate from the units. Meaning you have to carry your laundry outside whenever you want to do it. This doesn’t sound like much trouble, but it can be difficult when the weather starts acting up.
The units are more verticle than any other residence. This means that your house can end up having three or four stories, with bedrooms on each floor. It can be hard if you end up with a room on the top floor and you have lots of belongings.
You have to be 19 to live in Fairview. Think of this more as second year housing, that way you can move in with all the friends you met first year.

Gage Towers

Pros:

It is right next to the bus loop. Seriously, you can run to catch any bus that leaves campus, you are also home much quicker than anyone who lives in any other residence.
It is as close to the Arts half of campus as you can get. I cannot tell you how many times been running late for a class and I’ve wished I lived in Gage. You can basically roll out of bed ten minutes before class starts and be there early.
It has incredible views. Gage is made up of three 17 story towers which offer amazing views of campus, the ocean, and downtown Vancouver.
Gage offers several different types of rooms, including shared, studio, and one bedroom units. So there is a lot to choose from.
Shared units get two fridges. I think that’s really cool.
It has all the comforts of all the other residences, and it is located right next to the bus loop, the SUB, the rec center, Brock Hall, and UBC’s newest library, Irving K. Barber. So there is always tons to do.

Cons:

It is kind of an eye sore from the outside. It is big and concrete and grey. This won’t matter much to you when you are living inside of it, but it’s the con that stands out the most to me.
It is easy to be lazy when you live there. You never have to walk very far to get anywhere (unless you are a Science student). Granted, you are right next to the rec center (and the famous Bird Coop) so it’s easy to get your exercise.
It does not have dishwashers. You should invest in some rubber gloves and a good sponge.
You have to be 19 to live in Gage. So it is unlikely you will be living here first year.

I can’t say I know anything about Ritsumeikan-UBC House besides what I found on the UBC Housing website, so if anyone who has lived in Rits would like to write some simple Pros and Cons, I would be happy to add them.

Ritsumeikan-UBC House (Thanks to Kendall Moraski, a friend of mine who lived in Rits for 6 weeks)

Pros:

You live with Japanese students during the year. This is the big draw of Rits, every year it welcomes 100 Japanese exchange students that you live and interact with as part of the the UBC-Ritsumeikan exchange. This includes Japanese events throughout the year.
It has a tatami room. So cool. You get the true exchange experience.
It has a dishwasher. This is always a plus.
Decent location. It’s close to Totem, but only 2 blocks away from the center of campus.
Easy acess to the laundry room. Laundry becomes such a difficult task when you live in res, it’s good to have one close.

Cons:

It has thin walls and thin floors. Though most residences don’t handle sound very well
It’s next to Totem. Unfortunately this is a con, Totem is a very loud place sometimes.
It is old. With residences like Marine Drive nearby, the older buildings just don’t have the same luster that they used to.

If anyone has any pros or cons to add to the ones I have listed here, or you think I was a bit to easy/hard on any of the residences, leave a comment and let me know!