'Mercer Cribs:' Washington Square Apartment

Just minutes away from Joshua Cup and Mercer’s campus sit the lovely Washington Square Apartments that are home to numerous Mercer students, including senior Creative Writing major Rebecca Aileen Reed.

Originally built in the early 1900s, the huge gray building that houses the Washington Square Apartments was once known as Navarro Flats.While historical, the apartments have been renovated over the years.

A short walk upstairs and onto a shaded porch area, Aileen’s front door opens up into a narrow entry hallway which leads back to her bedroom, bathroom and laundry room.

Right off the main hallway sits her spacious kitchen and beautifully decorated living room, made complete by an extremely comfortable plaid couch. Mirrors, artwork and candles also make the living room inviting and open.

This is Aileen’s second year living in the apartments and so far she loves it.

“The apartments are on Orange Street. It is less than a mile from campus and it takes about five minutes in the morning to get to school,” said Aileen.

“I think my favorite thing was decorating it — putting holes in the wall and hanging up heavy things. I was able to put up all the pictures I have taken and then there’s my mural that makes me feel like I’m in a village in Italy. My favorite thing was definitely decorating,” Aileen said.

The distance and creativity are not the only great things about the apartment. It is also extremely spacious.

“A lot of my friends come over and say ‘I can fit my whole apartment in yours.’ I just respond, ‘Yeah, and it’s about the same amount of rent as yours too,” Aileen said with a smirk.

“I love living off campus. It is very nice to have a king size bed instead of a twin now. The fun part is that if any of it breaks they replace it,” said Aileen.

Aileen also admitted that even though she lives off campus, she never feels disconnected from Mercer.

“I go to a lot of events on campus. I still feel connected because a lot of Mercer students live here and go to Joshua Cup. Plus it’s so close to campus,” Aileen said.

Aileen often feels as though she never left Mercer’s campus.

“It’s almost like not living off campus because of all the Mercer students who live here. There are members of the golf team two doors down and there are some Chi Omega’s that live next door. It’s really nice,” Aileen said.

While it may feel as though Aileen has not strayed too far from Mercer, there are some definite differences for her now.

“I feel like I am more free now, even though I don’t do much different here than I did when I lived on campus. It’s all my stuff so it feels more like home, even though my mom tried to make my room on campus homey too,” Aileen said.

One thing Aileen does miss about on campus living are noise violations.

“There is almost no consideration of the people around you. People have loud music and parties all the time. There are nights when I want to relax but I can’t because I can hear every word of the music playing next door,” Aileen said.

While she loves living in the apartment, Aileen also admitted that there was another drawback to off-campus living.

“Although sometimes it is scary to live by yourself, I am afraid people are going to break in. Some keys in the buildings work to other apartments. I was sitting with one of my friends watching a movie and a couple of girls opened my door before they realized it wasn’t their apartment. So sometimes it’s really scary,” Aileen said.

However, the pros outweigh the cons for this Mercer student.
For information on renting one of the Washington Square Apartments, search Facebook.