So maybe you’ve already had all your offers back, and you’ve already decided on what university you will be going to. Maybe it’s far and you already know you are going to be living in halls. Or maybe you are toying with the idea: should I stay at home or should I live in halls? Well I have decided to talk about my experiences of living in halls so far, in particular the positives and the negatives. I have been in halls for almost 5 months, so I am sure there are still some good and bad things to discover, but these are a few that I have thought of so far!
Positive #1: Freedom
One of the best things about living in halls is that you have this sense of freedom. Yes there are security guards around making sure people are behaving, but you are essentially free to do your own thing. So you can be a drunken mess (just like I was on Fresher’s week) and your parents wont even know. My motto is what they don’t know wont hurt them!
Another thing is that at university you can be free to express yourself in the way you want to. Because halls are full of so many different people, you can just be yourself and you won’t really get judged, much.
Negative #1: Rent
Living in halls isn’t cheap, but halls in Stafford are actually really cheap compared to the ones in other universities. I live in shared accommodation, so I share my bathroom with others. Rent is paid in three instalments at every term, so it is quite spaced out. Living is expensive though, so you will have to bear this in mind when you move to halls. Electricity, water other stuff are included in your rent, but a TV license is not so bear that in mind!
Positive #2: Meeting new people
Although this might not sound like the most exciting thing to people that are shy (that’s me included), there is nothing like meeting new people, in halls in particular. You meet so many different people from so many different backgrounds and with so many different accents. I have learnt a lot from meeting new people, and I have made so many livelong friends from living in halls. The other great thing is that you end up becoming friends with people you otherwise wouldn’t even know existed! Saying this, you will surely meet new people when you attend university but stay at home anyway!
Negative #2: living with strangers
The thing about halls is you don’t really know the people you will be living with. However, with Stafford there was a website where you could meet your housemates online and talk to them, which was great actually. Even so, people in real life are very different, especially when you have to live with them. There are some people who have really bad habits or are just not very nice to live with…so that does put a downer on living in halls sometimes.
Positive #3: part of a community
When you live in university accommodation, it becomes a bit of a community. You get to know people from different houses, and it becomes a nice place to be. There are even house parties some times, which where you can proper feel a sense of community. The best thing about this community is that there are people from different places studying different things, and you are all together having a great time!
Negative #3: being away from home
There really is no place like home. Despite all the good and not so good things about living in halls, being away from home is hard. It is like you leave this protective bubble and you are left on your own. There is nothing like a home cooked meal, and mum doing your washing. In all honesty washing is not so cheap, about £3! And eating microwavable foods everyday of the week does get a bit depressing!
All in all, there are good and bad things about living in university accommodation. Living in halls is a big decision because it is another part of your university experience. I can’t say I absolutely love living in halls, but I am glad I am here. The good thing about Stafford that because it is so central, it is easy to travel to different places, so I can always go home if I’ve had enough of my housemates.
Ann 🙂
