Moving to and studying in another country can be difficult. How comfortable you are with your living conditions can make all the difference to how well you do in your studies, and how much you enjoy yourself socially. It is best to be able to move into your long-term accommodation as soon as you arrive in the UK, rather than having to use a hotel or hostel. To ensure that you can do this you should organise where you are going to live before you leave home.
Arranging accommodation
Most universities and colleges will send you an accommodation information pack before you arrive. It will not only provide information and application forms for using their own accommodation, but should also give some local information about reputable landlords and letting agents.
You might also contact your country's embassy or high commission in the UK and talk to their student officer. If you are already in the UK and looking for somewhere to live there are many letting agents to talk to, although they will charge a fee. Also try the adverts in local newspapers (such as Loot), on notice boards and in shop windows. Prices vary for all types of residence and in different parts of the country, but you should be expecting to pay £30 to £70 a week.
Accommodation can be expensive, especially if it is off campus and or let by a private landlord. There are schemes that can help though. http://casaswop.com/, for example, is an international home exchange forum, where members can exchange homes with each other for a limited time, providing a cheap alternative to renting.
Student accommodation comes in two main types: that provided for by your university or college and that which is privately-owned. University or college accommodation can either be in halls of residence or in offsite houses and flats.
Halls of residence: These are the most common type of residence. Halls are large buildings that house many students. They are often split into corridors of six to eight rooms, most of which will be single, though you can save money by opting to share with another student.
Most of the newer halls contain rooms that have their own shower and toilet, called ?en-suite'. If not then the corridor will share bathroom facilities and possibly a kitchen. There is always a telephone nearby and, in some of the newer halls, in each room. Many halls are catered so providing morning and evening meals. This can be good value although meals are often basic and will be very different to those from home. The other option is self-catering where you cook your meals yourself in a shared kitchen. Many halls also provide a cleaning and laundry service.
Being in halls is usually the best option for your first year. You will be on campus and close to your studies and it is easier to become involved with the social life that goes on there. Most universities guarantee a place in halls to first-year international students to make your arrival and integration easier but you may have to move off campus after your first year.
University flats or houses: These are very much like self-catering halls of residence but are usually off-campus and further away from your studies. You do your own cooking, cleaning and laundry, pay the bills for rent, heating and lighting. They are best for when you have met some friends and are happy to live together, maybe in your second year, and allow you more freedom.
There are many options for private accommodation
Hostels: Usually owned by a charitable organisation and much like halls of residence and are either catered or self-catering. Waiting lists are long so be sure to apply early.
Lodgings: This involves renting a room in a family home. The landlord/lady will live there and you will probably have to share the bathroom and kitchen. Some will treat you like a member of the family, cook your meals, and do your laundry for you. Others will expect you to do so yourself.
You are unlikely to have much freedom in lodgings as you will have to obey family rules and habits, such as being quiet in the evening and at night and keeping your room and the rest of the house clean. They can be very good for giving you good support and local knowledge though.
Bedsits: A house can be divided up into single rooms called bedsits. You share the bathroom and kitchen and have to do your own laundry and cleaning. As the people in the bedsit have no connection to each other it can be quite lonely but you do have a lot more freedom than in lodgings.
Flats and houses: These are like university/college owned flats and houses but owned by a private landlord, either a single person or a company. These provide you with a lot of freedom but do require you to be organised in paying bills on time.Some private landlords can treat their student tenants badly by not fixing things and only providing old furniture. Most are good but always try and rent from one recommended by the university/college. Talk to the housing or welfare officer and they can give you a list.
