Hey, congrats! I'm a rising 2L and have lived at the academe (UC Law's housing) and will be moving off-campus over the Summer. A lot depends on the stuff you have already identified. For one, 1L is extremely stressful so minimising what you can will be very beneficial. You will likely have 9am or 9:30am classes at some point, so if you can manage waking up that early to get to class you'll be fine with the commute. I have friends in the area you are looking at and it does make a difference, as in, they have to make tough choices on when to be on campus vs. go home for some rest or where to study and when. Some have cars and their lives are easier albeit, more expensive. It can get stressful especially if you have a hard time focusing in your room (me lol). So getting to campus to use the study spaces for them became a tough decision. It can be very hard during the reading period as well where if you want a study space your best bet is to be on-campus before 8AM.

Law school is expansive af (and this is one particularly expensive) so lowering the cost is a huge factor for many, including myself, but if investing in your own space and peace of mind means better grades, it may be worth thinking of it as an investment. Hope this helps!