First Year Fallouts – Why You Might Regret Rushing Into A Second Year House Share

Once upon a time, student halls were the main accommodation choice for both UK and international students. Providing the ultimate university experience, living in student halls can be particularly exciting in the first year.

However, there are also a lot of potential pitfalls that you aren’t always aware of before you move in. Many students come across a number of problems within the first year that they wish they’d known about before they chose hall accommodation.

Could living alone or with a group of friends be a better option?

The costs involved

Residential halls were once considered a really affordable accommodation type, at less than £60 a week on average in 2001/2002. However, over the past decade, the costs of university accommodation have almost doubled. The weekly rates have increased by 97% to £117.67 over the past 10 years.

Living alone can also be costly, but it comes with numerous benefits over living in halls. While it can be a great experience in the first year, throughout your second year it could be time to gain a little more independence. If you don’t want to be surrounded by university students anymore, living alone can give you peace and quiet to study.

If you can’t afford to live on your own, sharing a house with a group of friends could be a better option. It’s important that you choose the right housemates as otherwise you could end up in the same situation as when you were living in the halls.

Avoiding potential horror stories

You only have to do a quick search on Google to find reasons to share with friends over random strangers. People have found themselves in all sorts of situations thanks to their housemates. While these horror stories are thankfully rare, it’s still worth being prepared for the things that can and do often go wrong when you’re in shared accommodation.

Less arguments and more peace of mind

Everybody has bad habits. When you’re living with friends and family you tend to put up with these habits more than you would with a complete stranger.

So when you live in student halls with another student, there’s the potential for plenty of arguments to erupt. Spending all of your time with someone can be incredibly testing. If you’ve found yourself in plenty of arguments over the past year then now is definitely the time to consider other options.

You’ll have nobody to argue with if you’re living alone. If you’re worried that it may be a little too isolated, consider making friends with students who live in a shared house. That way you can go along to any parties they host and enjoy the socialisation before heading back to the peace and quiet of your own home.

Find people you do get along with

If you do have to live in the halls for another year, or if you have to move into a shared house, try to find people you have something in common with. You don’t have to keep the same roommate in the halls.

Ask around to see if anybody is looking for a new roommate. People drop out of university or end up moving out in their second year. So there’s plenty of potential to meet like-minded roommates who you might get along better with.