A Guide To Choosing Student Accommodation

If you are looking for student accommodations, then you are undoubtedly at an exciting stage in your life. University life is fun and fulfilling, and this is a unique chapter you are about to embark on. However, if you want your university experience to go as smoothly as possible, it is important to find the best student accommodation for your requirements. After all, if you don’t enjoy where you live, it can have a detrimental impact on the rest of your experience.

 

There is a lot to consider when choosing, so let’s take a look at some useful tips…

 

Your budget

First of all, you will need to establish a budget. How much can you afford to spend on accommodation? This is something you need to consider carefully, as you will have a lot to fund during your college course, including tuition fees, living expenses, the cost of textbooks and other educational materials, and much more. You may have grants and loans to help you, but you still need to be realistic about rental prices.

Accommodation type

In addition to this, you should consider the type of accommodation you would like to stay in. Do you want to stay on campus? Would you prefer a house share? There are many different options at your disposal, and you need to consider the environment that is going to be the most comfortable for you. A lot of students prefer house shares, and here are the reasons why…

• More affordable – As a student, you will want to ensure you choose accommodation that is affordable, as you will have many other expenses to contend with too, such as tuition fees and living expenses. Popular university cities, like London and New York, can be an expensive place to live; yet if you opt for a house share, you can expect much lower rates, as you are essentially renting a bedroom as opposed to the entire house.

 

• Share the work – When you share a house with other students you also share the responsibility, which means you won’t have to take on all of the housework yourself.

 

• Easy way to make friends – Making friends is often daunting when going to university, especially if you are coming from another country and you don’t know anyone. However, by opting for a house share you give yourself a great and easy way of making new friends, as you can get to know all of your housemates.

 

• Company – This leads onto the next point perfectly; you will have company. If you choose student accommodation whereby you are living alone, it can easily get lonely, especially if you start to miss home. This is also the case if you are doing an online degree, like the online MBA by JCU. You can feel like you never see anything but your own four walls, which is why being around other students comes recommended. The chances of this occurring are a lot lower if you go for a house share, as there will always be someone to chat to, watch films with or even throw parties with.

 

• Help at hand – Do you need someone to help you put some furniture together? Perhaps you want advice on where to go on the weekend? You will always have help at hand when you share a house with other students.

 

• Security – Perhaps the thought of living alone scares you? This is something a lot of people are nervous about, and so sharing can give them a sense of security. You will feel a lot more comfortable knowing that you have other people in the house with you.

 

• Cooking – Not only can you share the load in terms of housework, but you can also share the load in regards to cooking. It is always nice to throw a house dinner now and again, where you can eat together and cook together. You could also put together a rota whereby each person cooks one night of the week.

 

Location

The location is of paramount importance, especially when it comes to student accommodations in big cities like London and Toronto. Let’s use London as an example. London has a fantastic public transport system, with the tube network making it possible for you to get around England’s capital city with ease. You are, therefore, advised to find accommodation that is located within a short walk of a tube station, as this will make it easier for you to get to and from university and anywhere else you want to go.

Read reviews

Last but not least, it is always a good idea to try and find reviews that have been left by people that have stayed in the accommodation before. By doing this, you will be able to get an honest picture regarding the quality of the accommodation and what to expect. If somewhere has an extremely bad reputation, you know to look elsewhere instead.

If you carefully consider all of the points that have been mentioned in this post, you should have no trouble finding the ideal student accommodations for your requirements. This is not a decision you should take lightly, but you can’t afford to wait around either, as you risk all of the best accommodation being snapped up. However, if you can’t find anything on campus, don’t panic, as there will be plenty of other people in your shoes, and house shares and other student lets provide great alternatives.