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Columbia clearly has a better IR program than Penn (or Michigan) (or UCLA), and i went to Penn and minored in IR. Go to Columbia. Live in Inwood or Yorkville if necessary.
Pick the school with the best opportunities in field work and professors that could help you with networking, publishing, lab work or other resources pertinent to your field. All of your choices are expensive schools and most likely, long term, the difference in housing costs will not make that much of a difference. At least, you will be able to get to your field assignments using public transporation, something that may not be possible at UCLA or Michigan.
It's going to be hard to avoid the roaches whether you live with them or eat with them or ride with them. Columbia has plenty of them. I'm sure places in Philly have them just as bad. However, we do not have brown recluse spiders. I would be more concerned about the bedbugs than the roaches. Of course you can ask random strangers for directions. People do it all the time. Some people are rude, but most are helpful. Good luck to you and your problem is a nice problem that many people would love to have. The weather and lack of sun will probably be harder to adjust to, but it's the same weather as U of P and Michigan is not that balmy either.
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