Living Off-Campus – What To Expect
Find out what to expect when you move out of halls and into your first proper house share at uni…
Moving into your first proper student house off campus is an exciting time.
For first-year, living in Halls is by far the greatest option. It gives you the best opportunities to meet new people and you’ve got access to everything you need right on your doorstep.
While this is a great set-up for your first-year that eases you into uni life, moving into a proper student house in second-year is a rite of passage that every student should take, and opens up a whole host of different opportunities and experiences that you might otherwise miss out on!
Here’s what you can expect when you move off-campus!
A Sense of Freedom
There’s a certain amount of freedom and expectation that comes with living off-campus. Sure, nothing will quite be the same as experiencing life in Halls of Residence, but setting up house out in the ‘real-world’ is really exciting.
Halls still has certain rules, there’s a set routine for things and residents are monitored, to some extent, by the university.
Once you move into a student house, you’ll be the one responsible for setting your own rules (or not setting them as the case may be), and there’ll be no-one to monitor your movements or check-in with.
Just try to remember that with your new-found freedom comes responsibility: you won’t own the house and you want to keep the relationship you have with your Landlord a good one, so just think carefully about how you want to live and take care of the property that you choose to live in!
You Get to Live with People You Actually Like
Probably the best part of moving into your first shared student house is actually getting to choose who you live with!
Just make sure you give it the time and consideration it deserves… Nobody wants to be three weeks into the new academic year and already regretting their choice of housemates (it happens)!
For the most part, though, having the input on who you live with after halls is great and most students keep the friends they live with at uni for life.
Do Your Washing without Having to Leave the House (and for FREE!)
Ok, so you’ll pay for the water when you get your utility bill but you won’t have to worry about waiting for a free machine in the laundry room and the risk of someone removing your wet washing 2 seconds after it’s finished and dumping it on the side is dramatically reduced!
Have People over Whenever You Want
Sure you can have people around when you live in Halls, but it’s hard to have a proper gathering or just a night chilling in a single dorm room.
Once you’ve got your own place, you can invite people round for dinner or for a night of X Factor without all having to squeeze onto a single bed!
More Money in Your Pocket
If you’re savvy about your house hunting and willing to shop around for energy and other household essentials like broadband, then you can expect to save yourself a bit of money once you move out of halls.
While the initial palaver of switching energy providers and registering for broadband might be a bit tedious, it’s worth it to claw back those extra pennies each month.
Alternatively, look out for landlords that offer all-inclusive rent options on their student houses. These can sometimes work out much cheaper than trying to sort out your utilities separately and there’s the added bonus of not having to faff around with comparison websites — double win!
If you’re thinking about viewing houses before you go home for Christmas, why not book a slot with us today? Our houses range in size from 3-6 bedrooms, and they all have all-inclusive rent options!
Andrew Chell can be contacted as follows:
Phone: 01509 552814
Mobile:07769 684800
Email: [email protected]
Office: 66 Ashby Road, Loughborough LE11 3AE
Published 29th January 2018
