Off Campus versus On Campus housing

Some people contend that living off campus is way better because the apartments are of a higher standard and there is no curfew. (The doors of the dorms are chained shut -- fire code violation? If there is one. -- at midnight and you have to wake the attendant to get in or wait until 05:30.) Most apartment buildings are quite new -- there were none 13 years ago when I was last in Beijing -- so are in good shape. They certainly have more room than I do in my one room double shared with my roommate.

Then you ask a bit more about their housing and find that they frequently don't have hot water, water at all, and electricity. So despite the plaster falling off the wall in slabs, a rust stained tub that doesn't stop dripping, tiles falling off the walls in the bathroom, and screens which do nothing to stop the relentless mosquitos, I feel pretty good about my room since only once have we lost power and once lost cold water but never hot. (The hot is actually near boiling so taking a shower without cold water is impossible.) Not to mention that my room is about a third the cost of their apartments.

I have solved the mosquito problem with duct tape and a electrical device from Wal-Mart (aka America) that releases some chemical and magically no more mosquitos. I do worry a bit what chemical it is...