Yes, it is upon us. It is coming to that time of year when freshers are talking about second year housing (aka, freshers week has just ended). Already, I have had countless first year students asking me for advice about getting their house for next year, where to look and how to know who to live with. It brought me back to last year, and left me oh-so reminiscent of when I nearly signed a 10 bedroom house in September – an option I am very glad I did not follow through with. With that being said, let me ‘deinfluence’ you and give you the low-down on why now is NOT the time to rush into signing your second year house.
While you may be seeing ads on your phone, getting spam emails, or being added to group chats full of frantic 18/19 year olds, unless you are fully confident you know who you want to live with and have a set agreement on where to live, you do not need to worry about housing just yet. We are about 3 weeks into the academic year, and, from personal experience, freshers is not the time to figure out who your best-friends will be. Everyone wants to put themselves out there, to be on their ‘best behaviour’, and make as many friends as they can. However, it’s only over the coming weeks/months that you’ll get to know people for who they really are, watch their walls come down a bit more and get a feel for who you genuinely connect with.
So, when should you start looking for housing? Well, this can vary, and I know some people who got it sorted as late as April, but I would say that the general time-frame should be between November to January. By this point, you’ll be a lot more settled in. You’ll have more of a routine with your classes, you’ll know the people in your tutorials/lectures a bit better, and you’ll probably know a few familiar faces from societies you might have tried.
The beginning of November is probably a good time to start mentioning the idea of housing to those you have become more comfortable with. A simple question like, ‘hey, what do you think about housing next year?’ can spark up a conversation about ideal living situations, budgets and let you gauge whether you have a similar vision in mind. Do this with a few different people/groups to give yourself some options, and in your own time, evaluate what works best for you.
Think budget, location, whether it’s a mixed or non-mixed gender house, and if your daily habits align with one another. From there, you can form a little group chat with who you plan to live with and start browsing the field for available properties. I would say RightMove is a great place to start, but there are other letting agencies, like Student Cribs or UniHomes, that can be really good options too.
In terms of actually finding housemates, especially for those that feel a bit lost, I have a few pieces of advice that I think can help – this is coming from someone who literally asked two girls in mid-December if they needed an extra housemate, to now being in the best living situation I could have asked for.
Going back to not rushing into it, allow time to put yourself out there! Now is the moment to try different societies, meet different people, and go on a few coffee/study dates. In lectures, start a conversation by complimenting your neighbour on their outfit, or go to your uni halls events to meet fellow residents – that was how I met the girls I’m living with now!
Another reason I would advise against signing too soon is because, when you do start looking, you really need to get to know the landlords. This is so important because there are many people that have signed a house, to only find that their landlords provide little-to-no communication or help with issues, and end up having a far worse experience to those who make sure to find someone better. You want to be looking at bills packages, summer rent, deposits, and more, as well as viewing the actual houses in person… yes, believe it or not, there have been cases where students have been completely cat-fished with their house.
Okay, now I know this sounds like a lot but, I promise, it’s not a scary as it seems. There’s also always alternative options in case you don’t find the right group of people, like renting a studio, reapplying for student halls or looking online for other students in a similar boat. At the end of the day, what works is going to be different for everyone, but once you have sorted a living situation that you feel happiest in, it’s going to set you up for having the best year. I can’t lie, I couldn’t be happier in my girls’ house; with our gossip girl coasters and fairy lights… so, trust me, everything really does work out in the end.
