As if starting university and being a fresher isn’t scary and stressful enough, you’ve also got the pressure of finding the right place to live.
This wouldn’t be so difficult if you weren’t, like most students, going to study at a uni that’s located in a new, previously unknown city or country.
Fortunately, though, hundreds of thousands of students go through this process every year. And as a result, there are tonnes of tips and pieces of advice for helping you in choosing student accommodation.
As a provider of student housing the length and breadth of the UK, here are three of things we find are most important to students in finding the right uni digs.
An All-inclusive Rent
If there’s one thing you want out of your student life it’s to experience the new and unexpected.
But when your one-a-day bath habit and tendency to leave all the lights on doesn’t leave you with enough spare cash to go out, then the only new and unexpected thing you’ll be experiencing is shockingly-high utility bills.
This is why student housing with rents that are all-inclusive of bills — electricity, gas, water, internet — are so popular. You know exactly how much you need to pay each month, and you can budget accordingly.
There’s no worrying about running out of your student loan by the end of the month, no arguing with flatmates about who streams more videos or who left the tap running and flooded the bathroom that time. Just more precious money and energy to put toward new and positive experiences.
Safety and Security
It sounds just like something your parents say in order to lay down their authority and get on your nerves for one last time. But choosing student accommodation that is safe and secure is hugely important in having a positive experience as a student.
Everyone knows what students are like. If they’re not always out studying or partying they’ve left their wallet and laptop on the counter with all the windows and doors open. Because of this rep, ideally your accommodation will be covered by CCTV, have ANUK accreditation, include contents insurance, and be coordinated by a member of management directly on site.
The Space
Student accommodation has a bit of a bad name. A lot of the housing was simply made to profit on the growing student demand, and so, other than providing a place to crash, it takes no real notice of the specific needs and preferences of students themselves.
As the majority of students are for the first time living away from home or moving to a new city, one of these needs is a spacious and comfortable communal area. There’s nothing worse than moving into an apartment that makes it near impossible to socialise and get to know new people and your new flatmates, simply due to poor architecture and unappealing design.
Another one of the requirements in choosing student accommodation is, of course, a cosy bedroom. The bedroom is where you’ll spend many late nights studying, days resting, and hours sobbing on the phone, and so it needs to be right. Things like big windows, a comfy bed, a desk, and chilled out lighting are therefore high on the list. Not forgetting a solid frame for the occasional, erm, pillow fights.
