Going through old Michiganensians is like tracking the progress of different trends throughout the years. All the guys are wearing suits and ties to class in the 1900s; poodle skirts and "Junior Hop" dances dominate the 1950s; and big hair, bell-bottoms, and roller skates are all the rage in the early 1980s. Gothic and classical architecture was favored early in the University's history, while buildings like the old Ugli were built in the 1950s. Societal attitudes also have changed quite a bit. Nowadays, no one bats an eye if males and females room together off-campus; it's just not a big deal. But get this: as recently as the early 1960s, there was a Dean of Men and a Dean of Women. Their main responsibilities were to make sure that their subjects (a.k.a. students) lived where and did what the University mandated them to do.
The men had at least some choice; they could live in a dorm (South Quad, East Quad, or West Quad), a fraternity house, or off-campus housing. The women, on the other hand, were restricted to the remaining dorms or University "approved" boarding houses. So all of the Hill dorms were once completely female with University organized activities on Palmer Field. From what I gathered, women were pretty much sheltered by the University from many outside influences. Talk about taking in loco parentis a little too far.
Unlike the bad old Dean of Men/Women days, we can now live wherever we want, not withstanding budgetary and location limitations. It seems like the search for housing starts earlier and earlier every year. Landlords bug us to tell them if we want to renew our lease. It's sometimes hard to decide if you want to live in a place for another 20 months after living there for only four. Unfortunately, looking for housing also brings side effects; occasionally, roommates don't want to live together the next year, causing tension, bad feelings, and awkwardness for the rest of the current year.
The search usually begins when dorm people decide they want out and the rest of us want a better place to live. For those of us already living off-campus, we have the option to renew our lease, which would be the easiest thing to do. No new security deposit, no more cleaning fees, and no need to move our stuff around. But if we want to live elsewhere, the search process begins.
The most obvious place to start is the classifieds in the Michigan Daily. Many landlords and agencies place ads for their properties. Many ads just state, "We have apartments," and list their number and leave it at that. If you're lucky, the ad will tell you the going rent and the location. The perfect ad would be size, rent, and location of a property. But usually all we get in the classifieds is "Great location!", "Best selection!", or "Modern, Clean, Spacious, Large rooms." Perhaps the worst description is the use of the word "modern"; I think most landlords classify modern as anything after 1900.
Calling landlords and realty agencies seeking listings of houses and apartments and scheduling appointments to see places (most of which are probably holes anyway) is another option. The listings don't always help much more than the ads in the paper though. For some reason, many listings don't tell you the rent on a property, which is often one of the most important factors in the decision. You'll spend about ten or 15 minutes looking at each place that you could potentially live in for a whole year. Try to ignore the current residents' living arrangements (i.e., the dishes piled up in the sink and the mess in everyone's bedroom - c'mon, admit it). Instead, attempt to imagine all your stuff in the room of your choice.
Living off-campus is at least eight times more enjoyable than living in the dorms. Some people say the price difference isn't much after food and utilities and they may be right. But the gain in living space is invaluable. But watch out during your search. Much like the caveat emptor warning for consumers, student renters should observe a similar motto. Remember that landlords are out to make a buck and they're more than willing to take it from you. That's one thing that hasn't changed through the years.