International students at Binghamton University need to adapt to language barriers, culture barriers and greater distance from friends and family. For those who decide to move off campus, navigating a home search can seem insurmountable, but the Office of International Students and Scholar Services (ISSS) is trying to make the process a little easier.

ISSS hosted a panel of seven international BU students and a Binghamton police officer on Thursday in the Old University Union to give advice to students who are considering moving. Speakers gave advice on searching for a house, dealing with landlords and staying safe.

Ivan Sekyonda, the housing coordinator for ISSS and a Binghamton alumnus, ran the panel and discussed the difficulties in renting an apartment or house off campus.

“International students have the added pressure of moving to a different country and don’t know what the norms and customs are,” Sekyonda said. “So we’re trying to have their fellow students who have been through this and experienced this share their knowledge with those students.”

Despite this, Juwon Sul, a senior majoring in political science, said that he moved off campus to have more affordable housing.

“[Tuition for international students] is double or triple what domestic students pay,” Sul said. “So when many international students become upperclassmen they consider the options of moving off campus.”

Dan Flanders, a Binghamton police officer, spoke about safety and crime Downtown.

“Binghamton is a very safe city, a lot of people don’t think so,” Flanders said. “But when you look at us to other cities that are close in population, we’re actually a very safe city.”

He did, however, caution students living off campus to make sure to lock their doors and windows and to take their valuables when leaving for a long break.

“I guarantee when you guys all get back in the end of January the city will be inundated with burglary reports, and it will be all student housing,” Flanders said.

Elyse Belarge, a junior majoring in environmental studies, stressed that when students talk to landlords they should question them in depth about the pest and plumbing conditions in the apartment or house.

“My house seems to have a bat problem,” Belarge said. “That wasn’t something that we asked about before moving in.”

Daniel Popoola, a first-year graduate student studying psychology, discussed the transportation options to and from campus. While he mentioned biking and carpooling, Popoola stressed that the choice usually comes down to having a car or taking the bus.

He said that while a car is more convenient and comfortable, the costs of insurance, gas, parking permits and maintenance add up.

“I woke up this morning and my tire was flat,” Popoola said. “So even if you have a car, it can be hard because you car can break down sometimes.”

Flanders added that students can call the city of Binghamton and talk to the code officers and give them the location of the house students are looking at. They will tell them if the landlord is reliable, or if they have had issues with that property owner.

“We had an incident on Front Street where some kids were leaning on a railing, and the railing broke and a kid fell,” Flanders said. “Had they contacted the code officer and asked about the landlord, they would have been told that there were problems with that landlord, and that he doesn’t like to fix things.”

While the event did not have any non-panel attendees, the ISSS did film the panel’s discussion and plans to put the video on its website.