MSU students are among a growing number of motorists driving across county lines each day on their way to work and school.

More than 2,000 students, who reside in the newly built apartments of the Northern Tier, cross the Clinton-Ingham county line during their morning commute to campus.

Seventy-three of Michigan's 83 counties, including Ingham and Clinton, showed an increase in intercounty commuting, according to a study by Kurt Metzger, research director of the Center for Urban Studies at Wayne State University.

Students living in the newly-built Crossing Place, Melrose Place and the Village at Chandler Crossings apartments travel more than two miles from Clinton into Ingham County to get to campus.

"I usually leave about 30 minutes prior to the start of my classes each day. In scheduling, I block my classes back to back so that I can stay on campus for an extended period of time," said marketing sophomore Mike Kotick, who lives in the Chandler Crossing.

The only inconvenience Kotick sees is that he's not in the East Lansing municipal jurisdiction, which deprives him of East Lansing voting rights. However, he keeps an East Lansing address.

"I believe that we live in a society which is always growing and developing, so I believe that these developments are just natural," he said.

Despite that, Kotick believes it is more than worth the disadvantages of commuting to campus and lack of East Lansing voting rights to live in higher quality, cleaner apartments.

Interior design senior Elizabeth Halvorsen says, "The apartments are beautiful, but the ride into campus is annoying."

Halvorsen lives in Melrose Apartments and said she knew Bath Township was annexed by East Lansing when she signed the lease to her apartment.

This boom in development has become a major concern and priority for Gov. Jennifer Granholm, her spokeswoman Mary Dettloff said, adding the governor is looking to other states such as Maryland and Pennsylvania to obtain good policies concerning land development.

"We lose 10 acres of farmland an hour," Dettloff said.

In the meantime, students living off campus must make a decision - either live farther away in a nice facility or enjoy the convenience of being closer to campus with fewer utilities.

With the way cities are developing, the area surrounding the Northern Tier will continue to grow, said June Thomas, professor of urban affairs.

"The open space is like a vacuum," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.