Moving out of the home you’ve become so accustomed to may be difficult and unfamiliar in the beginning. As you unpack into your new room you may well feel very overwhelmed and perhaps even a little daunted about your future home, with its new views, single bed and potential noisy neighbours.
However, moving away and coming to uni is so much more than adapting to the location and accommodation. The focus should be on gaining memories, having amazing experiences and meeting many new people.
Living in our student halls or in a shared accommodation means you’ll have a new sense of independence; however secretly you’ll know that there will always be somebody nearby to help you if you struggle along the way. The people you live with will have an important impact on your experience at uni too, even more so then your accommodation, surroundings or your course content! When you live with others you can never get bored, you always have to come up with new things to do; even having coffee together in the garden is better than spending your day browsing the internet in front of your laptop.
Here are a few lessons I’ve learnt from both my and my friend’s experiences:
Cost is not important:
Student accommodation varies widely in cost, based on the location and available facilities. My friend found her accommodation for less than £100 per month, in a house with four other students. She took the highly affordable offer on the understanding that her room would not resemble that of a 4 star hotel. Despite the lack on en suite bathroom and 24hr butler service, her housemates were so fun and interesting that she now states that it was the best year of all her student life experience.
Location is not important:
I lived with my sister for much of my university experience in a rented accommodation. Even though it was a 15 minutes walk to get to uni my area was great in terms of cultural diversity, shops and parks. We’d invite friends for dinner, pre-drinks and BBQs. It was great to have guests over; together we’d go out shopping and clubbing. I definitely think that’s better to live with other people than by yourself.
Size is not important: (Stop sniggering)
Another friend of mine always looked for different accommodation and new people to live with each year. He liked the excitement of always changing his surroundings, giving himself a fresh chance to make new memories and share experiences with different people. Last year he lived in a 3 level house with ten other people! He always had new stories to share about his housemates and the things they’d got up to as a group. The people he lived with created the fun atmosphere he was longing for.
There are many different areas that you can live in within Coventry. You can live in the halls, rent an apartment or share a house. You can also choose to stay closer to the city centre or perhaps on the outskirts of the town. However, before worrying about all these choices, what you should remember is that when it comes down to it, it’s not about where you live it’s about who you live with.
Enjoy life on campus!
Created by Roxana and Elizabeth
