With vacancy rates in Burlington hovering around the one percent mark according to a 2011 residential report, students often scramble to find housing and sign leases up to a year in advance.Although Burlington housing demand is strong, many surrounding towns like Winooski, Williston, South Burlington and Essex offer more housing options and lower rents. But students appear to prefer sacrificing cost for proximity?not many choose to live outside Burlington?s city limits.In the fall of 2012, 45 students reported that they lived in Winooski, while 127 students reported that they lived in South Burlington, according to data collected by the Registrar?s Office and reported by the Campus Planning office.There were also 39 students living in Williston, 60 in Colchester and 70 in Essex and Essex Junction, comparable to the 2,534 living in Burlington.When a survey was offered to students about where they would like more housing, the majority stated that more housing should be offered downtown and on-campus, and not in the surrounding areas, planning relations and communications coordinator for the Office of Campus Planning Services Lisa Kingsbury said.?Downtown is a vibrant and exciting place for students,? she said. ?It?s a draw for students and it?s convenient to campus.?Students, like senior Mary Hazen, said they agreed with Kingsbury.?I chose to live in Burlington because it?s close to campus,? Hazen said. ?My apartment is also close to downtown.?She said that she would possibly consider living somewhere else, but only if she could get a commuter pass to park on campus.Though some students said that living downtown is best, others disagreed.?I chose to live in Winooski because of the security of the building,? senior Zoe Braun said. ?I lived in a house in Burlington before and I moved to my current apartment for security purposes. It?s a calmer atmosphere here. Not like Church Street.?Senior Miranda Pace said she agrees with Braun.?The reason I live in Winooski is because I?m from South Carolina and when I looked up places to live, the building I live in now seemed safe,? Pace said. ?My mom liked that the building was locked and you needed a key to get in.?Pace added that Winooski is close enough to campus, but it?s out of the way enough for it to be quiet and relaxing.?The only downside of living here is that there?s limited stuff to do,? she said. ?There is more to do downtown. Also, there is no parking for visitors.?Though Braun and Pace both live in Winooski, neither live at UVM?s off-campus housing option Spinner Place, a residency owned and operated by Hall Keen management. UVM and Champlain College each lease two floors of the building.UVM?s offers 40 beds to students in apartments set up as suites with two to four bedrooms in each. The rent is based per bed, and each bed in a suite is $725 a month with all utilities included, compared to the Redstone Lofts which range from $575 to $1225 a bed. Despite there being two floors leased by UVM, only 27 percent or 11 out of 40 beds are occupied by students at this time, assistant manager of Keen?s Crossing, which is affiliated with Spinner Place, Trishia Fellows said.?We usually have about 35 beds occupied on our UVM floors,? Fellows said. ?Last year, UVM decided to no longer advertise directly to students, so Spinner Place is responsible for doing it themselves now.?The program that used to place students at Spinner Place is GAP (Guaranteed Admittance Program), which enables high school students or continuing education students to have guaranteed admittance into the University. In June of this year UVM decided not to place students in this program at Spinner Place, Fellows said.?I didn?t even know Spinner House was an option for off campus living,? sophomore Rachel Rhodes said. ?The University could do a lot more to advertise it. I?d rather live off-campus but Spinner House is a really convenient option.?