So, you got the A ‘Level results you needed, you’ve received your offer from University and you’ve accepted. Congratulations! The next thing to tick off your list is massively important as it will underlie and impact greatly on your time at Uni. Bearing this in mind, deciding on where you live is not a decision that should be left until the last minute or taken lightly.

A badly chosen location can for example, may lead to you having to trek miles just to get to lectures, to get into town to meet friends for a night out or simply to get to the supermarket. Before you know it, transport costs are soaring and taking an ever larger bite out of your already tight budget.

“Transport costs to travel to a badly chosen location can easily spiral out of control.”

One of the biggest challenges you’ll face as a new student is choosing where to live. For those facing the prospect of living away from home for the first time, the excitement can often take over and anywhere seems better than home. Don’t rush into it. For first year students, halls are generally the recommended option, as they will either be on-campus or will have decent transport links to get you to campus. You will also be in halls, often with people on the same course as you, making it super easy to make new friends and you have the added security of not feeling like you are on your own. All of these things can really help during the early days when you are trying to get your head around fending for yourself for the first time.

That doesn’t means halls are right for everyone. They can often be very cramped and some older halls are pretty grim, they can also be expensive. For those not wanting to go down the halls route, or even for those thinking about moving into halls, you still need to make sure that you put a lot of consideration into the choice you make.

“Don’t rush into it – there are lots of things you need to take into account.”

As a student on a limited budget, your options aren’t going to be vast when it comes to where to live. When deciding what to go for, whether that be halls, a flat or a house however, the checklist below will help.

Choosing your accommodation checklist

Location

• Are you within walking distance of uni/supermarket/cashpoint?

• Is the location practical and easy to get to?

• Will you be near friends?

• Is it easy to get to and from your part-time job from there?

• Does the location have good public transport links?

• What time does the train/bus/tram stop running at night?

• Will you be able to leave your car/bike there?

• Is it a decent area? Living slap bang in the middle of riot-central or muggers-alley is never a great idea, no matter how cheap it is.

• Are there things to do and see nearby or will you be stuck in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do? Feeling isolated is rubbish.

Lifestyle

• What type of area is the accommodation in? Does it have a cool studenty vibe?

• Would you prefer to live in halls, a shared house or flat share?

• Is the accommodation big enough for you and all of your stuff? This is a particular concern if you are studying a course that means you need to have lots of equipment to do it, so photography and music students for example need to consider their additional space needs for all of their kit.

• Is there enough room to have your friends come round? I’m not talking study-groups, but can your mates come over to get ready before a night out?

• Do you have to share the bathroom with many other people? On a budget you will always compromise and will end up sharing bathroom and kitchen facilities, but it makes a big difference when you are talking sharing between 3 or 4 people and a dozen!

• Is there a decent, well equipped kitchen? Being limited to a kettle, toaster and microwave can seriously limit your options, especially if you are one of those weird students who likes cooking.

• Does the accommodation have a decent broadband connection? Not being able to stream music or movies without endless buffering really does suck.

• What budget do you have available? Living alone outside of halls is usually impossible on a student budget and shared accommodation is the norm.

You are not going to score ticks on all of the above (unless you are super lucky and have loaded parents), but take all of the above into account when you make your decision and you won’t go far wrong.

To look for student accommodation throughout the UK check out www.padsforstudents.co.uk