Experiences living in halls/with other students

[Martin]

Okay so I've nearly finished my first year of University and have been living in halls. I can see both positives and negatives for choosing to live in halls/with other students instead of living at home. What are your opinions on this?

Some of the good points and bad points for me:

good:
Meeting new people/lots of people to talk to
Good for social stuff like being invited places
Ensuite bathroom to myself woo
People on same course

Bad:
Getting fined because people are too lazy to clean the kitchen
Can be noisy at 4am when the drunk people are rolling in
Lots of fire alarms (some at really inconvenient times)
Horrible bed
Small Room
Can be hard to cook
Pranks (like selotaping everyones doors, throwing eggs at windows etc)
Having to avoid the broken glass when someone has punched a glass door etc.


What experiences have you had if you've lived in halls/ in student flats/houses? I'm living with one other person in a flat next year which will be much nicer although sharing a bathroom will be horrible!

[-:Undertaker:-]

luckily i lived with people who were on same wavelength as me. we cleaned every night (mopped, wiped down, hoovered) the kitchen and living room and it worked. generally students are smelly and annoying and i told people if they pranked me aka touch any of my room/stuff i'd hit the roof

it was 3 years of living hell for me but that was more down to the actual place and not housemates. still see my housemates cos they're actual friends

[Martin]

luckily i lived with people who were on same wavelength as me. we cleaned every night (mopped, wiped down, hoovered) the kitchen and living room and it worked. generally students are smelly and annoying and i told people if they pranked me aka touch any of my room/stuff i'd hit the roof

it was 3 years of living hell for me but that was more down to the actual place and not housemates. still see my housemates cos they're actual friends

That sounds like bliss!

I have tended to not bother with the kitchen at all the past few months (I have a mini fridge in my room now) simply because of the state it gets in and people refusing to help clean up and share the duties and stuff. Yours sounds super organised!

I was quite lucky when they went round the corridors putting selotape accross everyones doors as they missed mine out for some reason! Obviously because I'm the oldest haha!

I wouldn't say it's been living hell, but I've been home quite a few weekends purely for a bit of comfort/peace and quiet haha! Hopefully next year will be a little easier, although I will miss having my own bathroom!

[-:Undertaker:-]

I have tended to not bother with the kitchen at all the past few months (I have a mini fridge in my room now) simply because of the state it gets in and people refusing to help clean up and share the duties and stuff. Yours sounds super organised!

see should set rules from start. we set ourselves it from start nothing can be left out and any dishes etc all get thrown into sink if they're left out.. that was second year and the lazy ones soon learnt after their stuff was either thrown away cos it was left out or lashed in the sink. third year the 'core' aka clean ones were just left

i set my own rules with my stuff too. i had all my own stuff, none of this sharing stuff (cos i knew if i did people wouldnt clean it) and i told everyone from the start that if they wanted to use anything or touch any of my stuff they'd have to ask me. sounds uptight but if you're clear from the start you'll avoid confrontations in future

[Martin]

see should set rules from start. we set ourselves it from start nothing can be left out and any dishes etc all get thrown into sink if they're left out.. that was second year and the lazy ones soon learnt after their stuff was either thrown away cos it was left out or lashed in the sink. third year the 'core' aka clean ones were just left

We had a cleaning rota provided by the Uni but someone soon binned it! It definitely made me realise that Uni students aren't as mature as they're sometimes made out to be! The fines we get are ridiculous and they still don't learn! I'm glad it's almost moving out time!

[Chris]

Bad:
Getting fined because people are too lazy to clean the kitchen
Can be noisy at 4am when the drunk people are rolling in
Lots of fire alarms (some at really inconvenient times)
Horrible bed
Small Room
Can be hard to cook
Pranks (like selotaping everyones doors, throwing eggs at windows etc)
Having to avoid the broken glass when someone has punched a glass door etc.

These are the reasons I NEVER want to live with other students that I don't know. The only time I might be living with other students is next year in my final year, but I haven't really decided yet.

[The Don]

I'm in halls, have loved every second of it. Sad that when I go back this weekend I only have 6 weeks left, I would keep the living arrangements the same for the next two years if I could.

[FlyingJesus]

I got all the good experiences of student housing (parties, somewhere to sleep, cheap booze, proximity to town centre) without any of the bad (paying for it, having to actually live in that dump, not getting fed) by just crashing with friends who were at uni when I wanted

[lemons]

same as you really bolt660 however my room is very nice and spacious and i have a good sized bed

the kitchen gets in a right STATE like the day after the cleaner cleans it due to the same 2 people and god help them when they have to live off campus next year

also we had some dramas between 2 flatmates in particular and kitchen stuff was thrown out the window accusations were made it was crazy

but overall i have enjoyed it and can't wait to live on campus again next year

[Alysha]

First year was horrible, my housemates were the sort that would get high and cover the kitchen walls in Pepsi and ketchup/or would stand in the hall with a knife at nighttime. So I moved with people I knew from school into this emergency accommodation (which was a basement on the seafront), and that was alright except my room then didn't have wifi, my radiator was constantly on full blast, no phone signal and the three other people who were third years didn't understand the concept of cleanliness.
then in second year I had a major falli out with all my housemates, so lived with Lauren on the sly for the whole year and paid two sets of bills.
Third year was grand as it was just me and Lauren and our cat.
as I'm not a massive party goer, I would have probably just lived at home if it wasn't two hours away , if I did it all again