Hi Guys, I would like to share with you about living cost of a student in Guildford. Since it is one of the most important things for a student, it is good to know how much money you may spend per month.

The highest expense in UK is accommodation cost and it changes a lot according to which city you live. Guildford is very close to London so living expense might seem high as London, but it is less. You can check some expense according to city @ Cost of Living in Guildford. Nov 2020. Prices in Guildford (numbeo.com) and you can compare the cities cost according to different expense @ Cost of living comparison for different cities in the UK (comparemymobile.com) .

For accommodation, my advice is to you stay in university dormitory. There are a few options and price vary between them so you need to check(@ Accommodation | University of Surrey ) which is most suitable for you but I believe that band C is best for a student.

• Band C: The price is around 430 pound per month, you are sharing your flat 7-14 roommates and flat has one kitchen and 3 bathroom which is quite sufficient.

• Band D: Price is 600 pound per month and you have your own toilet and bathroom.
• If you do not want to stay in dormitory and want to look home sharing, you can find good place to stay nearby the campus. The room price starts from around 550 pound per month and vary according to location and distance from town center.

I have check a few room(home) before applying dormitory and could not find cheaper and better place but if you would like to check alternatives, I recommend Spareroom(app) and University of Surrey Lettings(Facebook group).

For grocery, there are a few options. One of them and( I think)cheapest is Tesco which is very huge and you can find anything you look. It is approximately 15 min distance by walk from campus dormitories.

Except Tesco there is Coop at the back side of campus, which you can assume cheap as Tesco but I always checks price before buy something from there. It is closer than Tesco and much smaller.

The other place is Simplyfresh is located inside the library. You can visit for quick snacks etc. It is not cheaper as you might expect but very close to you.

The one problem for a Muslim is to find Halal Food. So for this, outside the campus there is one shop called Sadia Grocery. It is around 20-25 min distance by walk and you can find some traditional foods such as lokum and baklava as well as Halal Meats.

So grocery cost for me and for other students cost 40-50 pound per week and 200 pound for a month is well enough I think.

The last part of living expense is transportation cost and it is almost zero pound if you live in campus. If you live outside campus you probably walk to campus in 15 mins but if you would like to use bus it is 1.5 pound.

If you would like to visit London, it is 11 pound at the weekend and 17 pound in week days if you have Railcard, otherwise it may cost 21 pound for both way.

To sum up all cost,

• for band C rent=430 pound
• for grocery=200 pound
• transportation=50 pound

• Total=430+200+50=680 pound

As a basic living expense 680 pound is well enough for a student and of course this numbers may increase a lot but I believe 750 pound per month is well enough to live in Guildford including visiting restaurants per week and having coffee outside.

Until next time, stay safe.

Selamun Aleykum. Peace be upon you.