The living debate :: Wessex Scene Online

The living debate

21st November 2003
Martin Jenn

Rate this story

Related Links

Oct 07 - Student living: advice for a harmonious house
Oct 04 - From Halls to Home.
Feb 07 - House hunting hints
Mar 04 - The Perfect Match?
Mar 02 - The Hell of housing:

IT’S three in the morning. Through the thin walls of your room you can hear the girl next door arguing with her boyfriend, her shrieks a piercing counterpoint to his rumbling bellow.

Singing, off-key and getting louder, announces the return of the clubbers, blind drunk and in good spirits. Stumbling down the corridor they ricochet from wall to wall, a series of loud thumps marking their progress. And through it all the monotonous backbeat of hardcore house, bass setting the entire building pulsing in time. Sharing a house has got to be better than this...

Halls life has its pros and cons, and a house is just the same. No matter how you met your housemates there will be arguments. No longer will your mess vanish magically while you’re at lectures - you all have to clean. Or maybe it’s about people playing their music too loud, or hogging the TV - either way, the only way to deal with the problems is to sit down and discuss things like adults. Seething hate campaigns against the guy in the front room are not the way to go.

The more social amongst you are going to be disappointed, as a little more organisation is required than knocking on every door asking who’s up for a party - you’re going to have to plan your nights out.

For the stay-at-homes things are looking up, but only if you’re living with like-minded people. Move into a house with more active friends and they’ll bring the party home with them. The walls in student housing are no thicker than the ones in halls.For those in catered accommodation, the first few weeks in a house will be hard. You’re going to have to learn to cook fast - either that or live out of your local takeaway, an option that devours your loan quicker than you can say ‘overdraft limit’. Never fear, however; there are plenty of student cookbooks out there, and you can always fall back on microwave meals.

Money is the real issue in a student house. There are a million things to be bought and after that comes a long list of bills. Unless you’re fortunate enough to have an inclusive contract these payments really add up. All of the things that you got for free in halls are suddenly missing, and guess who’s paying? Time to start talking nicely to your parents again.

The best way to sort out the money is to set up a joint account and Direct Debit the bills - there are a lot of things to remember whereas in halls there was just one big payment, but keep your head and get organised and you should do okay.

So we come to the final major difference between halls and house. The landlord - warden, technician and receptionist all rolled into one. Get a good landlord and your problems will be few and far between, but should yours be bad... Expect empty promises and shoddy repair work, tyrannical rules governing your every move.

But just like halls staff they’re obliged to assist you, so if the place is falling down around your ears it’s time to buckle on your armour and step out to fight the ogre. Letters, phone calls, personal visits - just keep on dropping the problem in his lap. Eventually he will have to deal with it, if only so you stop harassing him, and you can rest secure.Halls or house, if you make the most of the different opportunities each presents you’re guaranteed an enjoyable time. At least you’re not living with your parents any more.

Are you having problems with accommodation?

Get in contact with the Student Advice and Information Centre (SAIC)http://info.susu.org

Or go to the Accommodation Office (University Road opposite the Stile pub)