On-campus or off-campus residence for a married couple? My friend has been recently admitted to a Ph.D. program at a university in US, west coast. His wife has a specific situation, suffering from Parkinson's disease.

In one hand, his wife needs tranquility, and the chaotic atmosphere of the campus might annoy her considerably .

On the other hand, living alone in a private house sounds daunting for them, because of the unstable status of the aforementioned lady.

He is fully funded, and no concern would be asserted in view of the financial restrictions to rent a private house. An on-campus residency is also available. The situation is messy and they have to decide between on-campus or off-campus residency, as soon as possible.

Any idea to identify the better option?

Thanks for your contribution
I generally advise anyone before moving to a place they are not familiar with to visit that place in person - specifically during unusual hours. The higher the population density (such as in on-campus housing, apartments), the more important this is! If you are more particular with your living arrangements (such as having children, an ill family member, pets, noise sensitivity, and so on), it is even more important!

The most important times to visit an area are: in the early morning before you usually wake up, after the end of the usual work day (6-7pm), at your usual bed time (9, 10, 11pm - or whatever that time is for you if you have a less usual schedule), and of course "the wee hours" of midnight to 2-4am.

I've lived in many places, and these are the key "pain points" where the neighborhood can cause a problem. In "family communities" where many people have kids, it's the loudest in the morning when kids are getting off to school and after work hours when kids are out playing before dinner. Meanwhile in some more 'dicey' communities going anywhere after 10pm is going to give you something to talk about the next day, at best.

In college communities, this varies tremendously - sometimes even between individual buildings on campus! Most campuses have personnel who are very familiar with living conditions throughout, and if you have a "Protective Services" (campus police) you can talk to they can be a great resource if you are willing to strike up a conversation and explain your concerns or situation.

On many campuses there are even different types of accommodation. Sometimes there are typical undergrad dorms, buildings dedicated to older/wealthier students (at my institution they are called "suites", but this is not a universal term), and yet other buildings that are often only rented to graduate-level students and faculty. Some institutions run their dorms strictly, where excess noise need only be reported to a floor-level employee (often called a "Resident Assistant") and they will handle it - and regular offenders are fined and even thrown out without a refund or formal eviction required.

Meanwhile, other campuses may features areas of rowdy nightlife where noise and late night drinking and carousing is normal and no one calls the cops (and campus police aren't terribly bothered unless things get out of hand). They don't put this in brochures or on their webpage, so you can't know without visiting and/or talking with the right people who are willing to be a bit more blunt about the realities of campus. 

Off campus housing is really no different, though! I once lived in a privately owned house where it was well known (to people in the area) that the purple ice cream truck did not sell ice cream - it sold methamphetamine, and the cops didn't bother it so long as it didn't go into certain upper class areas or along the main highway. And yes, this was in the USA and even in a small-mid-sized town.

So no matter where you go, especially if you have an ill family member, it's really advisable that you visit in person, ask around to people who have personal knowledge of common living conditions and experiences, and try to visit during common times that might cause the biggest headaches. Only then can you make an educated decision, rather than making a blind guess and just hoping for the best.