Living in student accommodation vs your own house

If you’re still without a place to live in for the upcoming year, don’t worry because there will always be options, and still plenty of time to find ones that are within your price range and other requirements. However, if you’re looking to move in to a house for September and you’re still looking for one now, the best options (cheap, energy bills covered, proximity to uni, cleanliness etc) are almost definitely booked out, but you can always settle for slightly less favourable options, or just as I did this year, go to a student accommodation, with plenty of options beyond the ones offered on Warwick campus.

The main benefits I found with student accommodation is the security, convenience, and simplicity. Whichever accommodation you choose, there will almost always be a reception and security 24/7, whereas living in a house means you’re mainly responsible for protecting your own property. Convenience is also great in terms of the reception being able to collect your post and deliveries, facilities which may be included in your accommodation such as on-site gym or cinema rooms, and even less obvious factors such as not having to worry about paying energy bills or other legal complications if your contract is all inclusive. Finally, life may arguably be easier and simpler in student accommodation when all you have to take care of is cleaning your room, compared to living in a house where you may have to establish cleaning routines in line with the council’s bin collection, or maintenance issues when your washing machine isn’t working and you have to spend time looking for someone to repair it immediately. You also have to prepare less stuff when moving into student accommodation since most of them already have beds, drawers, lights, and basic kitchen items such as kettles, toasters, and microwaves, which is something not all houses will have by default.

However, most of the people I’ve met in uni live in house with close friends, and there are definite benefits to that too. Many emphasise the close connections and relationships they form with their flatmates, and there’s definitely a lot more freedom to host activities compared to student accommodation where legal rules and communal restrictions may limit parties or visitors from entering. You’re also certain to be able to choose the people you live with, whereas in student accommodations, it is very likely you’ll be put in the same hall with people who may have drastically different personalities, eating schedules, habits etc, which may affect your life too if they’re more active in times when you would normally sleep. Finally, there’s nothing that can replace a good BBQ in a warm sunny day with your mates in a house, and that is certainly not something many student accommodation can replicate.

Regardless, whether you end up living in student accommodation or your own house, there’s still plenty of opportunities to get together with your close friends, and it is down to individual preferences at the end of the day. However, if you’re still looking for a place to live in the upcoming 2022/23 academic year at this point of time, the most popular housing options may be gone, but speaking from personal experience, student accommodations aren’t that bad either, in fact I actually really enjoyed it and did not feel like I missed out a lot from not being able to live in a house.