accommodation: think fun house, not house of horrors

The sun’s (sort of) shining, but September is going to roll around quicker than you think. So if you’re moving away from home, start to consider who you might want to live with in the next academic year.

Going to uni for the first time?
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If you’re moving into halls as a fresher, no need to worry about picking a roommate. That’s all done for you.
Granted, they may not be your dream roomie – most unis try to at least do some sort of compatibility matching when they lump people in together, but it’s rudimentary at best and no one expects everyone in a flat or hall to be besties. 

 If you’re working, doing an apprenticeship or are in your 2nd + year of uni, you’re a bit more free about choosing who you want to live with. By this point you might have a group of pals from your course or your job.

Think about it before you rush into anything, though. Your friends might be great fun to hang out with, but would you get on well if you live with them 24/7?

Are they as clean/messy as you? Are you a night owl, but they’re up at the crack of dawn to go jogging? Do you prefer loud music, when they’re more the quiet contemplation type?

Make sure your living habits are compatible – you don’t want to lose a friend over a flat war.

Now that’s out of the way, maybe it’s worth considering the practicalities of moving into a new place for the first time. What stuff are you going to need? This summer is a great time to beg, borrow and steal in the run up to moving into your new digs.

First thing’s first: don’t go out and buy every single kitchen utensil and appliance that can be found in your parent’s kitchen. You’ll never use a milk frother and your uni kitchen will inevitably have seven colanders, innumerable pizza cutters and so many whisks that you’ll be using them as Christmas decorations.

Things like that, the non-urgent stuff, can wait until you’ve moved in and can coordinate who has what and what you can borrow off your new flatmates.

For the full list of dos and don’ts when it comes to packing head to our uni life section. We’ve got the lowdown on…
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• Bare essentials
• Cooking stuff
• Stuff to help you study
• For when you're not studying
• To keep you clean 
• Odds and ends
• For international students
• What to buy the moment you arrive

Author

LUCY HARDING is the Editorial manager for Push. She is an English Literature grad and an MA Publishing student at UCL. She is passionate about international relations and cultural diversity, having worked closely with her university’s Erasmus society to support European students. She also spent a year abroad studying at California State University: Long Beach