I am now in the middle of the first term of my Second year at University (wow that was more confusing than it initially sounded), and I have had the experience of living in Student Halls and Student Housing. As I have been in a position where I have googled thousands of times where I should live at university and what to expect, I thought that I would now add the knowledge I have gained over the past year and a bit to let you know what I think of Student Halls and Student Housing. Please be aware that many of these points come from my own experiences so what I say may be different to what another person says, so just take this as advice rather than a guide on what you will/won't encounter. Without further ado, here are the pros and cons of living in student accommodation!
Living in Halls - Pros
There are more people to meet in halls
If you move into a house or a flat, you will be sharing with just a few people, where as in halls you will be living in close proximity to a huge pool or potential friends. There are hundreds of rooms in most halls, so you will be bound to find people that you connect with. I was lucky enough to be put into a flat where I got along with pretty much everyone and there were no real fights of falling out, pus we all had shared interests so it was a very easy year for me. However, do not panic if this is not the situation for you, if there is nobody in your flat that you share interest with, it is likely that you may get on really well with somebody in another flat. Don't forget, if things are really bad with where you are living, you can request to switch rooms, you just need to contact your accommodation office and they will be happy to help you! I know there were plenty of people who moved rooms when I lived in halls because they were not happy with where they were living; there were no questions asked, they were given a day they could move out and they just had to move their stuff from one flat to another flat.
Catered halls eliminate the need to cook
This depends on which university you are going to, as the catering at my university was not very good and you still needed to make food yourself in your kitchen in order to stay healthy.
But if your university has good catering than you don't have to cook! It is usually a little bit more expensive than going self catered, but if you are not the cooking type or person, than you might prefer having a hot meal provided for you without having to lift a finger.
However, you will miss out on the experiences that cooking for yourself can give you, so just keep this in mind when you are considering going catered or self catered.
Bills are included
Unlike some student houses, your bills should all be included in your halls rent. So that means that heating, internet and water is all included in the price that you pay to your university every term, which is fantastic since there will be no surprise costs!
On the other hand, you should be aware that there was also some student houses who also provide this service, the house that I am currently living in includes all my bills, unless there is an excess use of something for that month, but this will all depend on where you are looking and what university you go to.
Cleaners will ensure your living space isn't constantly filthy
Again, this one depends on what university you go to and where you are staying - it can even differ depending on what flat you have. My student halls has a cleaner come to the communal bathrooms once every week to clean up, but because I lived in an en-suite room I had to clean my bathroom myself. There are some universities who have cleaners who will clean your kitchen, but this was not the case at the specific place where I stayed. However, at the other accommodation provided by my university, there were cleaners who did a deep clean of the kitchen once a month for the people living there.
If cleaners are something that you are concerned about, you should contact your university directly to see if they can give you more information on what gets cleaned in student halls and how often it gets cleaned.
It is an easy introduction to renting - without the consequences of a dodgy landlord
Chances are that when you move to university this will be your first time away from home and that you will not have rented a place of your own before. I read many a story of dodgy landlords before moving to university, but you will be able to trust accommodation that has been booked directly through your university.
You will be able to trust what they say and know that you are paying to stay in a safe home, and that if something breaks someone will come to fix it for you. It is a brilliant introduction to renting and very reliable.
Distance from University
This one again will be dependant on where you live and what university you go to. My Student Accommodation was on campus, so I could literally wake up five minuets before a lecture and I would still be able to get ready and be there on time. It is really convenient and good if you are still trying to find your way around the city/town you have just moved too as you will not have to worry about getting lost on your way to university.
Living in Halls - Cons
Halls can be Noisy
Noise is a consequence of living in a place where there are so many people. People will be eager to meet new people and pre-drinks and flat parties is the way people go. If you are a quieter person or if you are not huge on alcohol, this may not go down in your favour.
This is much worse particularly on freshers weeks and on nights when there are events - such as bonfire night. There's drinking, loud music and shouting and it seems like it is never going to end.
Now this all depends on who your flat mates are and if your flat is "the party flat". I know at the beginning of the year where I lived was "the party flat" and I hated it. I was very ill before starting university, and all I needed was a good nights sleep, instead I was woken up at 3am thinking I was having a fever dream when in reality the upstairs flat were drunkingly singing along to Wonderwall. Also, your flatmates and their friends are probably less likely to turn down their music when asked than your housemates will be, this comes from experience.
This can be a pro or a con depending on if you are a party person or not, I'm not really a party person so I was not thrilled living with a noisy flat at the start of the year. I did find however, as people found different friends, the parties did eventually move away and our flat was much quieter, so don't dread our entire year if you live in a noisy flat at the start of the year.
I know that some universities offer a "quiet dorm" too which is where they are much stricter on the noise there, so if you are worried abut noise, you could always inquire about this with your university to see if it is something they offer or if they could advise you about this. However, I like a singsong in the shower so I didn't want to have to stop that; I am unable to offer any information on how quite these places actually are.
I will also advise that from people I have spoken too, the top floor flats seem to be much quieter than the flats downstairs as there is nobody above them to create noise, so keep this in mind if you are wanting a quieter flat. Whilst you may not be able to choose your flat, if you are unhappy with your current living arrangements you could ask your accommodation office to see if they are willing to move you to an upstairs flat if there is the space.
You don't get to choose who you live with
This was something that was very daunting to me when first moving into halls. I did not know who I would be moving in with. My university offered an option to list two or three friends who you were going to move to university with, but that was no guarantee that you would all be put together in the same flat. I didn't know anybody going to my university at the time so it did not really impact me, but I know that this is a popular thing universities offer, so if you know somebody going to your university you could always request to share a flat with them so you at least know one person you move in with.
I consider myself extremely lucky with who I was put into a flat with. I shared with seven girls, one of which was a little bit of a psycho (I will cover this in a future post) but the others were lovely. I've even moved into a student house with three of those girls who I lived with last year. The main issue I encountered with my flat was the friends my flatmates brought back, not the flatmates themselves, which while it is not great that their friends were messy and did not really respect the flat, it was better than having to worry about the flat mates.
However, I know some people who have had a complete nightmare in student halls because of the people they lived with. One person I know is severely asthmatic and their flatmates just had no respect for that at all. I have heard other horror stories from friends about how they had dishes left out for two weeks before somebody made an attempt to move them. Ours was probably two days at most, which while it was not great, it hadn't quite begun to grow other lifeforms on it.
They can be expensive
My student accommodation was relatively cheap anyway when you compare it to what other students are paying across the country. But what I pay for my student house in comparison to what I paid for student halls is significantly cheaper. My house costs £84 a week (bills includes) whereas student halls cost me £120 a week.
That is a massive difference leaving me with an extra £40 a week. Just keep this in mind when you are looking for places to live and see what will fit in with your budget.
Living in a House - Pros
There are likely to be fewer distractions and disruptions
You may hear of horror stories of fire alarms going off at 3am, but if you live in a student house this ia something that you will not have to worry about. With fewer people running around, making noise and burning toast as all hours of the night, you are more likely to get a bit more peace and quiet when you need it. This means that you will be better rested and therefore better prepared to tackle the day. Plus, when essay season is in full swing, you will be less tempted to go outside and see what chaos is happening in the kitchen.
Furthermore, if your housemates are being a little too loud for you, they will probably be more likely to quieten down if politely asked, where as noise comes from all directions in student halls.
You can pick who you live with
Instead of living with people you have nothing in common with or don't enjoy being around - which is always a risk if you stay in halls. I know plenty of people who completely hates living in student halls because of the people they had to live with - you will be able to choose the people you want to live with.
As a first year student, this can seem very daunting as chances are you don't know anybody else who is going to your university, but if you contact your university directly they may be able to offer you some assistance with this.
Personally, I preferred going into a Student house after living in halls for a year, because I got to know what people's habits were, who I got along with, who I didn't get along with ect. I am actually sharing a house now with three girls who I lived in my university halls, so that made picking people to live with way easier.
You will get to experience full independence
Moving into student halls is fun, but you are not really 100% independent. Whereas in your student house, you have a lot more independence. There is no catering option and there are no cleaners to clean up any grimy kitchens, so you are on your own and will have to sort out these household chores between your housemates.
On the other hand, this will help you when you graduate and move into your own house or flat, as you will have already lived in a house on your own (well, with other housemates) for a significant amount of time, so you will not be completely helpless once you leave university.
House parties, movie nights and pajama parties
I know that some student halls actually had a social area for students to socialize in, but where I lived we had a corridor and a kitchen. That was it. So it was very difficult to watch movies together.
However, now we live in a Student house, meaning that we have a proper living room where we can all sit and watch TV in our pajamas together. There is also room to have a proper house party, which is probably better and more convenient than a flat party since all housemates will probably be aware that there is going to be a house party and they will all probably want to be a part of the house party, where as flat parties in student halls were more of an inconvenience.
You can find a house to suit your budget
The good thing about student houses is that there is a lot of them to choose from, and they all come in different price ranges. You can live on your won, with 3 people, with 7 people, you can live in the noisy part of town, next to the shops ect. You can find a house to suit you. And with these different houses come with different price ranges. If you know that you can only afford a cheap house, then you will be able to look in a cheaper neighbourhood for a house, whereas if you want and can afford something a little bit more expensive you will be able to also find something that will suit your needs. There is such a range of student houses out there that you will be bound to find one that you like and can afford, a good thing about student houses is that they also are less expensive than student halls, meaning you will be able to have more money in the long run!
Double Bed
There may not necessarily be a double bed for you in your student housing, but it is definitely a benefit I enjoy having in my student house!
Living in a House - Cons
Dodgy Landlords
As sad as it is, there are a lot of dodgy landlords out there and they may take advantage of you being a student tenant. I have heard horror stories from friends where they have spent three months without hot water before the landlord sorted something out to fix it.
You should be really careful when looking for a student house, and always check with our university to see if they have knowledge of them and if they know if they are legitimate or not. You could also ask them to read through your tenancy before you sign it to make sure that everything is fair and there is nothing on there that you will struggle with whilst living there.
You will not be as close to University as Halls were
Living in a house means that you will not be as close to university as you were when you live in student halls (although this depends where your student halls is). This means you will then have to budget in travel and plan ahead to see how much time you will need to travel to and from university. In halls, if you slept in it was not much of an issue, as you could wake up five minuets before a lecture and still get there on-time. This will become more of an issue in student housing, as if you wake up five minuets before a lecture is due to start and you live 40 minuets away you will be very late.
This can all be avoided by planning ahead, so just make sure you know where things are and how long it will take you to travel and you will be fine.
There you have it, my list of pros and cons for living in both student halls and student housing. In my opinion, I think that student halls are brilliant to live in for your first year while you are starting to meet people and you are getting used to the new environment that you live in, but I would strongly recommend moving into a student house for your second and third year.
I would also recommend maybe having a look at people you already live with for potential house mates before moving in with your friends or course-mates because you will want to be around different people - not just the people on your course - and if you are fine living with your flatmates in halls already there is no reason why it should not work in a student house. It worked out in my favour. But remember that just because it worked out for me doesnt mean that it will automatically work out for you too.
Thank you so much for reading and do let me know what your experiences were like living in student accomodaton and if there was anything that I missed!
No comments:
Post a Comment