For better or worse, all students can spend their first year living right on campus; in the second year though, European Union and home students are thrown into the wild to house hunt. Which accommodation is better? This really depends on what you value more:
- Is it money? Campus accommodation can be very reasonably priced if you go for the economical choices. Towers are about 70 pounds a week, compared to ensuite rooms (with bathroom included) which are around 110 pounds a week. Private rents vary a lot depending on how cool your house is, where it is, whether you have your bills included or not... Normally they are between 250 and 380 pounds a month. So there’s not that much of a difference compared to ensuite (South Courts, Quays, Houses), but Towers definitely save you money.
Private houses have a big added cost, though. Internet is normally not included (around 8 pounds a month), nor is the TV license (I’ve no idea how much this costs--we just use Playstation and DVDs in my house), plus lunch every day. If you don’t pack your lunch like I started doing, you end up spending a looot of money built up from snacks (which take up a whole corridor in the Campus Shop, so evil!), sandwiches or proper sit-down lunches. If you live on campus though, you can just go up to your house to have something to eat if you’re hungry—you’re probably not going to walk to your house and back for the free hour that you have, even if it’s just a 20 minute walk!
- Housemate-picking? You don’t get to choose who you live with in your first year... If you pick the Towers, you will live in a flat with 15 other people. Though you would have to be very unfortunate to have all of them to be unbearable/ antisocial/ awfully messy, for your second year you can pick your favourite people and live with them in a house all of your own. This means you live with your best friends, but it’s also bound to be quieter—Towers are the most sociable accommodation and you make 15 instant friends/acquaintances, it’s a lot of fun. South Courts and Houses have a reputation for being quieter (not always true of course), so if you want to lead a calmer way of life then probably go for these two. Or the Quays, but these are further away from the main buildings- about a 15 minute walk away.
- What about hygiene? Luckily, during my first year the flat was cleaned every day; some of us got to bond with the cleaner. Since 2011 though, accommodation is cleaned once a week. When I heard about this I had flashbacks of my kitchen bursting from rubbish and dirty dishes after just a week-end; I was thankful to live well away from those flats. But I’ve heard from friends that it’s actually not that bad at all since they worked out a few strategies, like leaving any unwashed dishes on top of the offender’s bed or splitting the loos—a very English term for bathroom-- into Girls and Boys (we did this in my first year and it was just another girl and I on our side of the flat, yeah!). You’ll have to clean your own house in the second year, so it’s up to you how tidy you keep it. Unfortunately for me, my house has been hoovered once in 5 months.
- Convenience: Oh, how I miss leaving the flat 5 minutes before a class and still arriving on time! Having a rest in my own flat between lectures! Revising in the library and going up to my flat to grab some lunch before going back! Going on nights out on campus, and then just having to walk two minutes to be in my warm bed! Distance was definitely the best part of living on campus accommodation, it is so convenient!
In any case, I really valued (am valuing) the experience of living off-campus this year: house-hunting, having my own house to decorate, having a living room! Big plus to live very near Tesco (the student supermarket par excellence) and just pop in whenever I need any ingredients! And don’t think it’s difficult to find a house; there are loads of student houses around, whether you want to live with up to 6 people or even a nice apartment on your own. The university does help you out too. Personally, I’m going to try to live on campus next year by finding a place in the Resident’s Support Network (RSN): I miss campus!!
P.S: If you’re not in the European Union, you can actually apply for accommodation on your second and third year too ;).
Speak soon!
xoxo
Ana
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