Lucky UBC students kick off 2019-20 school year in nano suites
Credit to Author: Stephanie Ip| Date: Mon, 02 Sep 2019 18:19:40 +0000
Living in a 140-square-foot nano suite may sound cramped to some but not for University of B.C. student Yvonne Ko.
“I’m a pretty minimalistic person and for me, this space was exactly what I needed,” said the 19-year-old Interdisciplinary Studies student.
Ko is among the 71 students – out of 1,300 applicants – lucky enough to snag a nano suite at the university’s newly opened Exchange Residence this fall. The micro apartments are each equipped with a kitchenette, a bathroom with stand-up shower and a double bed that swings up to make room for a desk.
Students looking to socialize can still do so. The Exchange Building offers a gym, a games room, music practice and study rooms, and even a nook with an electric fireplace where students can lounge.
“I still feel like a part of the community because it’s within such a big area for you to just roam around and socialize,” said Ko.
VANCOUVER, B.C.: SEPT. 2, 2019 – The newly opened Exchange Residence at UBC offers up 71 nano suites, 140-square-foot individual lodgings that fit a kitchenette, a bathroom, and a convertible double bed and desk.
After moving from Toronto, Ko spent her first year at UBC living at another campus residence with a shared bathroom and kitchen. For her second year, she moved off-campus to a $925-a-month bedroom in a shared suite with a less-than-ideal roommate situation.
When Ko, 19, saw photos of a nano suite mock-up, she knew immediately it was what she wanted. The suites cost just $700 a month, a far cry from the approximately $1,200-a-month studio apartments Ko had seen off-campus while searching for this school year’s accommodations.
VANCOUVER, B.C.: SEPT. 2, 2019 – The newly opened Exchange Residence at UBC offers up 71 nano suites, 140-square-foot individual lodgings that fit a kitchenette, a bathroom, and a convertible double bed and desk.
She applied to UBC Housing for a nano suite and hoped for the best.
“I was just kind of betting on this, I wasn’t really looking into anything else,” said Ko. “Fingers crossed and then it all worked out.”
Now Ko is finally, truly living independently with her own bathroom and kitchen, a space she can set up however she likes.
“It definitely feels like home. This is literally everything I dreamed of,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to live alone and coming to university, it definitely felt like I was away from home.
“But this made it really sink in because I’m actually, finally living on my own.”