Student Flats
Everybody knows that university can be an expensive time of your
life. It is usually three or four years of living in rented
accommodation, paying university fees, for books, for all your
educational needs, and for all your other living expenses,
without properly earning anything at all for the entire period.
University costs thousands of pounds these days and you will
probably have to fund the entire period either from money
provided by your parents, if you are lucky, or money borrowed.
Most students, who have to move away from their parent's home
for study, will rent their accommodation. You can usually choose
between renting from your university o renting from the private
sector. Renting from university has its advantages and
disadvantages. First of all, you will be living in halls which
has a reputation for being noisy and maybe a little less
conducive to study than a university provided accommodation
should be. But on the other hand, you will probably be glad of
the opportunity to socialise and meet new people. You will have
a lot of students similar to yourself around you and you will be
able to get to know all of them very quickly.
Halls also give you the option of being catered or
self-catering. This means that if you are not sure about cooking
and are a little apprehensive about taking on all the
responsibilities of moving away from home all at once, you can
have your meals provided for you. You also will probably not
have to worry about bills, as everything will be included in
your rent fee. Rent is usually paid in instalments that coincide
with student loan and grant instalments so you should be able to
meet your costs.
Halls tend to be a little bit more expensive than finding a flat
however. This is because all your bills are included, even your
food if it is catered accommodation, and all the other services
that may be provided by your university. If you want to save
some money on accommodation, what you could look into is finding
some friends or flatmates and renting a flat near to your
university. This will entail all of the responsibilities of
living away from home. You will have to pay a deposit plus your
rent on time every month, bills for all utilities will be sent
directly to you from the companies, and you will certainly have
to cook for yourself. It does offer you good value however, as
the cost of renting a flat, divided between you and your flat
mates, should be significantly cheaper than halls.