Hi everyone! This blog will include my experience with accommodation in Guildford and my recommendations for different living preferences.
University Accommodation
I signed up to live in student accommodation when I first started university. It is what most students do that don’t live at home. The student accommodation is spread across two campuses, the main campus, Stag Hill and Manor Park, the other part of the campus where the Surrey Sports Park is located, and the Veterinary school, but it’s mostly student accommodation. The university offers a range of types of rooms depending on your budget and living preferences. The types of rooms provided include shared rooms, budget rooms, standard en-suite rooms, premium en-suite rooms and studio flats. The kitchen is generally shared, except for the studio flat, and the bathroom is shared in the shared rooms and budget rooms.
In my first year, I chose a standard en-suite room, as I preferred having my own bathroom while staying within my budget. In my flat there were eight people in total and most of us are still friends to this day, 4 years later, I really enjoyed the people I was put with. Meeting new people was a great option, as everyone was in the same situation and looking to make friends.
In my final year, I decided to return to student accommodation at the university. I decided to return because I found it an excellent option for living once I returned from my placement year, as I was not in town to look for a house. This time, I chose the premium en-suite for more space. This time, I would only have four other flatmates as I was entering my final year of university, so I wanted a quieter environment. So far, I have enjoyed living in student accommodation with other students in their final year as they are also focused on academics, and the kitchen has been much cleaner with fewer flatmates.
Student House
It is common for UK students to live in student houses after the first year of university. Usually, the houses have multiple students living together, depending on the house size. In my first year, I decided to live with 4 other friends in a student house with a great location, around a 5-minute walk from campus and 20 minutes to the town centre. If choosing to live in a student house, the house needs to be looked for around January of the first year, which is what we did. It has pros and cons, but having your living situation sorted for the following year is excellent. Sometimes, the leases start before the summer, so you can live there during your time off from university. However, deciding if you want to live with the people you’ve only known for a few months can be difficult. It is a typical case where people end up falling out because of differences in personalities, but you could also find long-term friendships. As an international student, it may be more challenging to lease student houses, as usually, landlords require a guarantor for every tenant in case of missing rent payments. I have done two things in this situation; a first option is some landlords offer the option to pay a couple of months at once in advance of starting the lease; for example, my landlord gave me the option to pay the first month of rent along with the three final months of rent. The second option is that a few companies offer a guarantor service, which you can do by paying them a set price, which is also a good option.
Overall, living in university accommodation for the first year and living in a student house for the second year are great experiences for socialising and meeting new people. In the third year, since the third year is generally more challenging, deciding on the type of living space that suits you the most after trying a couple options and finding a quieter environment is recommended.
In my final year, I decided to return to student accommodation at the university. I decided to return because I found it an excellent option for living once I returned from my placement year, as I was not in town to look for a house. This time, I chose the premium en-suite for more space. This time, I would only have four other flatmates as I was entering my final year of university, so I wanted a quieter environment. So far, I have enjoyed living in student accommodation with other students in their final year as they are also focused on academics, and the kitchen has been much cleaner with fewer flatmates.
Student House
It is common for UK students to live in student houses after the first year of university. Usually, the houses have multiple students living together, depending on the house size. In my first year, I decided to live with 4 other friends in a student house with a great location, around a 5-minute walk from campus and 20 minutes to the town centre. If choosing to live in a student house, the house needs to be looked for around January of the first year, which is what we did. It has pros and cons, but having your living situation sorted for the following year is excellent. Sometimes, the leases start before the summer, so you can live there during your time off from university. However, deciding if you want to live with the people you’ve only known for a few months can be difficult. It is a typical case where people end up falling out because of differences in personalities, but you could also find long-term friendships. As an international student, it may be more challenging to lease student houses, as usually, landlords require a guarantor for every tenant in case of missing rent payments. I have done two things in this situation; a first option is some landlords offer the option to pay a couple of months at once in advance of starting the lease; for example, my landlord gave me the option to pay the first month of rent along with the three final months of rent. The second option is that a few companies offer a guarantor service, which you can do by paying them a set price, which is also a good option.
Overall, living in university accommodation for the first year and living in a student house for the second year are great experiences for socialising and meeting new people. In the third year, since the third year is generally more challenging, deciding on the type of living space that suits you the most after trying a couple options and finding a quieter environment is recommended.
