I give the Portland Commons a rating of 7 out of 10. Nice dorms, decent food, and a horrible commute.

This year SMCC, whose enrollment has ballooned, was forced to partner with USM in order to house excess students at USM’s newest dorm, the Portland Commons. But what’s it like actually living in these dorms? Well, I can tell you! I’ve stayed at both Springpoint Point Hall and the Portland Commons so I’d say I’m qualified to compare the two.

The USM dorms are definitely very nice. I have a single that has air conditioning and its own bathroom. The room is a good size with plenty of space. It has a large window that overlooks the courtyard and plenty of outlets. And I’m conveniently located right by the dining hall and laundry. Most of the other SMCC students at USM I’ve talked to have also praised the dorms. I would certainly say they are an improvement over SMCC. For example, people in a double get their bedroom and only have to share a bathroom between themselves, not two other people like Springpoint or a whole floor like Surfside. Some people have even gotten apartment suites with a fully functional kitchen and laundry unit. Speaking of laundry, it’s free at USM. You don’t have to pay for it like you do at SMCC. 

The food at USM is also pretty good. I will admit the food at SMCC occasionally left something to be desired, for me at least. USM has burgers and fries, pizza, salads, sandwiches, and Poke bowls available for lunch and dinner. And they have omelets and breakfast sandwiches available for breakfast. When I first arrived at the USM dorms these were the options for food. 

The menu for sandwiches at USM

This lack of variety concerned me. Were these really going to be my only options for dinner for the whole school year? At SMCC what is on the menu changes every day. And while that meant I might not like what was on the menu, it also meant that I would never get sick of the food options. 

However the main problem I have with eating at USM is that you have to order all of your food. I am notoriously awkward when it comes to ordering food. I tried during my first week at USM and it was a disaster. I wanted to get a poke bowl. So I looked at the screen that displayed the menu so I could order. But the screen kept shifting between menus. And it never quite stays on the menu for Poke bowls long enough for me to order. I stood there for at least five minutes, awkwardly waiting for the menu to change back to the one I wanted long enough for me to decide what I wanted to order before I realized I could just take a picture of the menu.

But the biggest problem I’ve run into while living at the USM dorms is commuting between schools. I don’t have a car I can bring to USM (even if I did, a yearly parking pass is $600) so I have to use the bus to travel between schools. And the problem with this is that commuting from USM to SMCC via the bus is what some may colloquially refer to as “a b*tch and a half”.

Between the hour travel time (for what would be a 15-minute drive for someone with a car) and the almost impressive ability of the Route 21 bus to be consistently 10 minutes late, commuting is a major hassle. I’ve only been commuting for 3 weeks and I’ve already accrued my fair share of stories.

Just the other day, I missed my connecting bus and tried to see if I could somehow walk to catch the 21 in time. I arrived at Congress Street ten minutes after the bus was supposed to leave and thought it might still be possible to catch it due to the 21’s aforementioned lateness. However, after a few minutes, I realized that even if I somehow caught it, I would still end up being late for work. Therefore, I gave up and called an Uber, only to get caught in traffic and end up being late for work anyway.

Another time the 21 was a whopping 40 minutes late on a humid 80-degree day. That was certainly not a fun experience. But on the bright side, I did develop a good sense of camaraderie with my fellow passengers over our collective suffering. We bonded by complaining about our circumstances and coming up with outlandish ideas for things we could possibly do to relieve ourselves of the heat. One of the proposed ideas was summiting the Lovecraftian god of the west wind for a nice breeze. We actually cheered when the bus came. It was a great moment.

There was also the time when I was getting off the bus at USM and the driver just didn’t open the side doors. Me and the other passengers waited for him to open the doors. But then he started to take off. Which was concerning. Luckily the other passengers told him to stop because I would have just accepted my fate and gotten off at the next stop.

Despite all the commuting mishaps and gripes about the dining hall setup I still enjoy living at the USM dorms. The dorms themselves are very nice and I enjoy the personal space having a single gives me. Now would I say that I like staying at the USM dorms more than the SMCC dorms? I don’t know. The dorm is definitely nicer but the commute is not.  At the end of the day each dorm, whether USM or SMCC comes with its own pros and cons so I can’t say for certain which is better. I’ll let you know at the end of the semester.