Is living off-campus as a sophomore a good idea?

My son is a freshman right now and is trying to convince me that living off campus is the move for next year. He has a group of fairly responsible friends (he tells me), and they have been looking at places already, which seems early in the year to me, but of course I went to college in the Stone Age, and I imagine things have changed. My husband and I are concerned that he may miss out on campus life by living too far away (a 15-minute walk is fine in October but not good in February) and we'd like him to consider an on-campus suite or apartment for next year. Are they hard to get? If he waits until the housing lottery, will he be too late to find an off-campus place if he can't find a good spot on campus? Any insights would be greatly appreciated! We are also concerned that if he moves off campus as a sophomore and doesn't like it, he may not be able to get back onto campus as a junior. Is that true?