Sheffield is one of the oldest university towns in the UK. There are over 30,000 students studying at the two universities: Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam. Accommodation needs to be the first thing to consider when moving to Sheffield. This may be relatively easy for a first year as both universities offer on campus accommodation. However, if student halls fill up before you have a chance to bag a room, you may wish to look at other alternatives. More importantly, if you have got student halls in first year, don’t forget that you will need a place to live for the next year. The earlier you start preparing for this the better. Of course, make sure you give yourself a chance to settle into your new university, course and accommodation. But once normality has asserted itself and you find yourself in a routine, it is important to put accommodation for next year high up on your to do list.
Working out who you want to live with next year needs to be your first step. It is likely to be the most important step in making a student house feel right. You might think the quality of house, location, price etc. might be the most important; but if you end up living with someone that you will constantly clash with, it’ll be very hard for that first house away from campus to feel like a home. So, do not rush this step: everyone is best friends in freshers week, don’t be too hasty to say you’ll live with someone early in that first term, wait to get know people thoroughly and get an idea of the sort of people you want to live. Don’t feel you have to say yes to someone when they ask. If you are unsure to any degree, say to them you need time to think about it first. If they react poorly to this, it might be a sign that they won’t be the most civil person to live with next year anyway.
Going solo in this venture isn’t necessarily the end of the world, as there are many student housing solutions that offer accommodation that puts the emphasis on the social side of things, thus you can have the chance to have a similar experience to what you had on campus, off it. If you feel you’re not wanting to leave student halls, this may be the best option for you.
Finally, it can be awkward but make sure, if you have a group, that you are all clear on each other’s budget, as there is no point looking at houses that people can’t afford. Normally, this implies that everyone should have the same sort of budget, yet there can be certain accommodations that offer a variety of rooms within them, therefore there can be opportunities for those with different budgets still to live together.
