Flying the nest and heading off to university is a huge and important step in any young person’s life. For the vast majority of young people, going off to university is likely to be the first time they move out of mum and dad’s to find a place of their own. Getting to grips with the rental market can seem daunting, especially when you have your academic studies to worry about. But fear not! We’re going to make the whole process a little less stressful for you by laying out some top tips for finding student accommodation. Hopefully, we can help you to avoid some of the pitfalls and make finding your first student house a dream.
Location, Location, Location
Once you know which university you’re going to be studying at, you need to start getting to know the area. Many of the large university towns and cities across the UK have entire districts or areas dedicated to students. While it may seem that popular university towns like Manchester are swarming with students, there are still a large number of families and working professionals living in the area, who probably won’t have the same interests or needs as you! Do some research on your university town and try to find out where the student hot spots are. You don’t want to end up renting out a property in a suburban, family-focused area where your late-night antics will end up causing a rift with your neighbours. Plus you’ll want to be in an area with other students nearby.
Do Your Homework!
To make sure you don’t end up paying over the odds, you should start doing some research on the rental market around your university campus. Have a look online at property websites and see what kind of prices properties in the area are going for. You’ll need to think about whether you want to live on your own in a 1-bed property or whether you’d prefer to find a large house with lots of bedrooms and share with other students. Quite often 1 bedroom flats or studios can end up being a lot more expensive than shared accommodation, so be prepared to pay a higher monthly rent if you want to go solo.
Halls vs Private Housing
Every university will offer some kind of student housing, usually in the form of “student halls” that will be located on or very nearby the actual university campus. Typically, student halls offer single studio-style rooms with an en-suite bathroom that will be your own private space. The kitchen and living space however will usually be communal, so you will be sharing with anywhere from 4-20 other students living in the same block. While in some cases halls can be significantly cheaper than private rental accommodation, there are many cases where halls are actually the same or slightly more expensive than private housing. If you’re left with the choice of having a single en-suite room, or a lovely house which you share with 3 or 4 other people, for roughly the same price. I think we know which one we’d go for!
Be Prepared!
The most common mistake that soon-to-be students make is leaving their accommodation until the very last moment. A lot of students will start booking up places in halls as soon as they are accepted to a university, so if you have only just started to look for housing a few weeks before term starts, you’re going to struggle. It’s important to remember that even though the term may not have started yet, you could still have reading, research and essays to complete before your first lesson starts. So you don’t want to find yourself running around madly trying to find somewhere to stay when you should be working on your academic to-do list! You could always rely on a cheap paper writing service if you really find yourself in a bind. But hopefully, by following these tips and getting organised, you’ll have all the time in the world to prepare yourself for the academic year ahead.
So there you have it, a quick selection of our top tips for finding student accommodation. We hope you found them useful and we wish you the best of luck in finding your perfect student home.
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