To stay or not to stay (in state)? That is the question.

Illustration: Carter Klassen · *The Sentry*

There’s no place like home for college
Opinion by Jaleesia Fobbs

CollegeBoard cites that as recently as Fall 2016, 78 percent of first-time public year college students stayed in state for school. For Colorado specifically, TheCollegeSolution reports 84 percent of students who stayed in state for college. And quite frankly, who could blame them? At CU Denver in-state tuition is about $9,800/year for residents compared to the $26,000/ year tuition hike for out-of-state residents. In-state tuition, by far is a small price to pay for an undergraduate degree, especially when graduate school will automatically cost a pretty penny. Besides, graduate school is the perfect time to start looking at avenues for starting a career and life outside one’s hometown.

Sure, there are people who would want a change of scenery from the confines of the small town but even moving to a bigger city within one’s state can prove to be a dramatic change. There’s certainly a lot to explore and new experiences waiting to be discovered. But for those wandering souls that might not be enough. A simple solution would be looking no further at the opportunities available at different state colleges. Studying abroad, to be more specific, provides a bite-sized opportunity to step out of one’s own comfort zone and provides a cultural shift that is completely different from the domestic experience.

Despite traveling being an opportunity to develop a sense of identity and independence there’s no place like home. On those days where school was just a little tough and work was just another day, being 20 minutes away from home is reassuring to wind down for the day. For those out-of-state students being homesick is too often a common illness.

Students can still be connected to their community without having to catch a flight. College after all is what people make of it and college in and of itself is an unknown experience. There, one’s guaranteed to meet new people and find different ways to get involved whether that be through sports, theater clubs, Greek Life—the possibilities are plentiful. Discovery doesn’t just have to be in another state, let alone in another country to happen; sometimes it’s just right around the corner.

The world is a vast magnificent place
Opinion by Austin Bolton

The question of whether to settle down near one’s birth home or move away (whether that be out of the state, or even out of the country) is an ageless one. In today’s times of global interconnectedness, however, leaving home has never been easier.

In 2015, the New York Times published an article stating, “The typical adult lives only 18 miles from his or her mother.” They cite a study that notes people of multiple generations often live close together to “[lean] on one another for financial and practical support.”

On the other hand, a large portion of the population has wanderlust, the desire to see all over the world, and to experience other cultures. This is the greater of the two choices.

The world is a vast, magnificent place with much, much more to offer than what can be found in one’s birthplace. Even if one stays in the United States, two adjacent states can sometimes be so different from one another that it feels like a different country—both in terms of customs and geography. Living in different places in the United States is a great option because it isn’t difficult to go back home if necessary, while simultaneously being able to experience totally different things and places than those one grew up with.

Or, for the more determined wanderers, there is always expatriating—picking up and settling down abroad. If America has a lot to offer, the world is a cornucopia of possibilities.

There are tons of reasons by which one can justify staying “within 18 miles from his or her mother,” but most of these reasons are derived from fear; fear of being alone, and fear of the unknown. This is understandable. But these fears are irrational, and are the products of falling into the trap of believing there is nothing better than what one already knows.

Move one state over, across the country, or across the world. Be fearless. The unknown can be scary, but once that fear is tackled, one discovers a world of wonders, where the best place for every individual is simply waiting to be discovered.