My First Year University Experience: Accommodation

HAPPY SUNDAY! I hope you've had a great week. Today I am bringing you part III of my first year university experience posts. So far I have posted my Academic and Social Life experience. If you haven't read those yet, you definitely should. As you can tell from the title, today's post is all about my experience living away from home. If you're not a regular reader of my blog posts, you may not know that I live in Birmingham and I chose to stay in my city for university. Despite that, I still wanted at least one year to experience the full student lifestyle. That included living in halls and having that independence. So if you want to know about my experience, carry on reading.

W H E R E  I   L I V E D

During my first year of university I lived in James Watt Student Residence, located on Aston University Campus, operated by Unite Students. All rooms are en-suite, meaning you have your own bedroom and bathroom, however you have to share the kitchen with your flat-mates.

There are two options in James Watt accommodation, with different price points.
7 Bed- There are seven of you to one flat and you have a single bed with a small bathroom.
5 Bed - There are five of you to one flat and your room is slightly bigger. You get a double bed and a bigger bathroom

I'm not sure if the prices will be the same for incoming Freshers, however for my year, the 7 Bed Option was £131 per week and the 5 Bed Option was £137 per week. I stayed in a 7 Bed, as it worked out to be about £300 cheaper in the long run. I have a single bed at home, so it didn't bother me to have a small bed and I was happy to have 6 flat mates.

My final part of my experience series will be all about the financial side of things, so if you have any questions about rent and such, feel free to message me and I'll answer them in that post.


M O V I N G   I N

My move-in day was September 14th 2018, which feels like yesterday. I had to move in one day earlier than everyone else because my parents were due to be somewhere on the Saturday so couldn't help me move my stuff in. I did all my unpacking and set up my room on Friday and then went back home for the night. I was dropped off at my accommodation early Saturday morning and I remember starring out the window watching the campus become super busy and active. I was in several group chats and when people arrived on campus, I finally got to meet a few of the people in them. It was so weird but exciting to meet some of the people I had been talking to for about a month.

I don't remember all the things I did during the first day, but I do remember showing a few people around the city, who hadn't been to Birmingham before, finally meeting my flat-mates and attempting to go to a flat party that was planned in a group chat but failed.

Move in day is so exciting and such a great way to meet lots of people. If you're starting your first year this year, my advice would be to have an open mind. Go to events, talk to everyone and DON'T BE SHY. Even if you are quite an introvert, remember everyone is in the same boat. Everyone just wants to make new friends so if there is anytime to fake the confidence, it's day 1.

At Aston University we have helpers called 'Aston Aunties' and I'm fortunate enough to be one this year. So, if you're going to Aston University in September and will be living on campus, I'm happy to help. Whether it be help with moving your stuff into your flat or you're feeling a little home sick once your family leave, I'm happy to make things a little easier. I remember them being a huge help last year, being able to answer questions and tell us about events coming up during the week.

F L A T  M A T E S

Like I said earlier, I had 6 flat mates. I lived with 2 girls and 4 boys. I met three of them during move-in day and then the others at a later date. We weren't the best of friends but we got on. Some flat mates do end up being best mates, which is obviously ideal because you have to live with them, however it's also OK not to be the closest of friends. As long as you all respect each other and get on well, that's what is most important. There were definitely flat mates I spoke to more than others but I didn't have a problem with any of them. Some of my friends had the worst time with their flat mates and some even moved, so I'm grateful that I had a chill bunch. Some of the boys went out together during Fresher's week, so they became really close, however I went out with other people I had met during move-in day. I think if we had gone out together or had some sort of ice-breaker, we would have been much closer. So my advice to Freshers is to try and bond with your flat mates. I attempted to bring everyone together by doing the Spicy Ramen Noodle challenge but my plan backfired LOL. We ended up being busy and doing other things and there was never a time when all 7 of us were available, and then the noodles got stolen at one point. A whole £13 down the drain *cries*

Don't be too down if you don't gel with your flat mates like you hoped because you'll find your friends in other places.

R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S

Living on your own comes with lots of responsibilities. Some things may be firsts and others are just areas where you have to be consistent. For me, cooking was quite different. I cooked at home very rarely, so to go from that to having to feed myself everyday was a challenge. I've always made myself lunch but I very rarely made my own dinner. I knew how to cook but I had never had to discipline myself to cook every night. Sometimes I actually enjoyed it. I would put on Netflix or listen to music while I cooked meals. However, on days where I had lots of work to do or I was super tired from dance classes, I used to just throw some pasta in a pot and call it a day or shove a pizza and fries in the Oven. I would love to say I cooked every single night but that's definitely not the case.

I'm someone who finds cleaning really therapeutic, so I always scheduled a cleaning day in the week. My bedroom was only really messy after a night out. I had no problems when it came to cleaning and keeping my space organised. As well as scheduling cleaning day, I always made sure to Iron and fold/hang up my laundry. I would take my washing home every weekend to save money. It cost £5 per load (Wash and Dry) and there was no way I was going to pay that when I could just travel 15 minutes back home. It definitely saved me a lot of money.

Two responsibilities I got to experience for the first time were managing money and grocery shopping on my own. I had gone food shopping with my parents plenty of times but being able to dictate what I buy and having the freedom to get whatever I wanted was a first. It was nice to experiment and try new things. In my house sometimes it feels like we have the same 10 meals on rotation, so buying new things was quite nice. One challenge I had with not driving yet was having to shop in sections. I had to get the bus back to my flat and couldn't carry a million bags at once. Although I bought enough food for one, I would sometimes buy water in bulks of 12 and toilet/kitchen roll, which would take up a bag in itself.

Before uni I had never had to manage so much money all at once. I had a student loan to cover living costs and it was definitely the most money my account had seen before. To stop myself spending it in areas I shouldn't, I had to budget and track my expenditure well. I feel that living away from home definitely helped me to see the value of money and how to make it stretch. If there is one thing I took away from living independently, it's that life ain't cheap my friends. I will talk more in detail about how I managed my money, in my finance post.

F U N   M E M O R I E S

There is no denying that living in student halls is so much fun. Living in a building full of people around your age without your parents is obviously going to result in some funny and wild stories to tell. If you're staying in your own city for university like I did or you're going to be studying near your home, I really would recommend living away for at least the first year. I think it's worth the money. Lots of people who commuted during their first year said that they didn't move because it wouldn't be worth the money but I definitely thought it was. The memories you make (as cheesy as it sounds) are priceless and it's so much easier to make friends when you live in Student accommodation.

Some of my favourite memories were going to flat parties, dancing in the corridors, meeting new people in the common room and having watch parties at my friends' flats. I had such a fun time living on campus and honestly I'm going to miss it.

S E C O N D   Y E A R ?

In second year I will be commuting. If it wasn't for money I definitely would live in accommodation again, however I want to save a little bit. I plan to hopefully be driving by the end of the year, so I want to save for a car and what not. I have a feeling commuting will be very different and I definitely want to do a comparison post at the end of second year. If I prefer living on my own, perhaps I'll move out again for final year.

I hope incoming Freshers have the best time in Student Halls and make the most of the experience. It goes so quickly.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my experience living away from home. If you moved away for first year, how was your experience? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading,
Have a great day x