STUDENT ADVICE ON MOVING TO YOUR NEXT STAGE
Do Choose Your New Housemates Carefully It’s exciting to be able to choose who you will live with in your second year and beyond but be careful this is a big decision. Think how well do you really know them? Especially if you are thinking of moving in with friends you've met its one thing seeing each other for a couple of hours a day but will you be compatible over a long period of time sharing the same space?
Do Shop Around spend some serious time as a group choosing the best place for you. Often the closer to the university you live, the higher your rent will be.
Take other factors into consideration too, for example do one or more of you drive? If so, could you potentially live a little further out and save yourself some money? It’s also a good idea to check out how close you will be to local transport links, Don’t Leave It Too Late One of the most common mistakes students make when choosing their uni accommodation is leaving it to the last minute and then either scrambling to find people to live with or frantically searching for a house that hasn’t already been taken.
Give yourself plenty of time, decide who you want to live with before the end of the first year and begin your search asap. You need to have sorted your accommodation and have your agreement in place before everyone goes home for the summer.
Do Make Sure Everyone’s Happy Often two or three members of the group will take the lead in the search for accommodation, which is fine, as long as everyone has a chance to view it themselves or by a video and decide if they are happy with everything. Deciding on behalf of someone is a recipe for arguments down the line, as is assuming someone will be happy with the box room (there’s always a box room). Talk about who gets each room in a mature way decide.
Choosing your accommodation for year two of uni is a big step towards becoming an independent and responsible adult and there will most likely be things you wish you did differently, but it will be a learning curve and great for your personal development.
