Editorials

Student Life: Choosing Accommodation

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24 November 2016

By Lauren H

So, you’re a fresher and you’ve only been at university for a few months. You probably get on reasonably well with your flat, and you’ve made a few friends on your course too, but you don’t know anyone too well. So, wouldn’t it be a great idea to choose your accommodation for the following year now? Surely you’re still going to like the people you choose to live with in a year from now, and your plans won’t have changed at all. Yes, what a great idea… said no student, ever. However, unfortunately that’s the true reality for many of us.

The search for housing is already well underway, and it can be a very stressful experience. If you’re lucky enough to know exactly what your plans are for the next year then that’s great! If not, here are some tips to get you started.

Don’t rush into it. It can definitely seem as though everyone else has signed for their housing and if you don’t do it soon it’ll all be gone, but that’s certainly not the case. There will be SO many houses available, and if you don’t get the best accommodation it isn’t the end of the world. Wouldn’t you rather live somewhere slightly less amazing, but with a group of people you actually get on really well with?

Get to know the people you’re thinking about living with. If you live with them already, you’ll already know what their habits are like – are they messy? Do they do anything that would annoy you if you lived with them for another year, or are you both quite similar? If you don’t live with them, you may want to meet up with them a few times before you decide for definite, or visit their current accommodation to see what they may be like to live with. Find out as much information as you can.

Look around at a lot of places. Once you’ve decided who you want to live with, you need to start searching for housing. It is tempting to choose the first place you see if it seems good, but there could be somewhere better. Do some research online – find out which buses go to your University campus, how close the nearest supermarket is, and so on.

Ask for advice. Get in contact with people in the year above, or with staff at your university, and see what they think. They’ll have experienced this before, so they’ve probably got a few hints and tips to give you that are relevant to your university.

Just don’t rush into it. You still have time, so as long as you’re conscious that the decision has to be made eventually and you’re working towards it then you should be fine. Good luck!

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