Is it better to go for student halls or a flatshare in Leeds?

One of the major 'problems' or 'dilemmas' that you will face before going on Erasmus is: Where on earth am I going to live? So, of course this is a very personal decision, individual to each person, but in this post I will try to outline what are the advantages and disadvantages, from my point of view, of both living in student halls (student halls is the phrase typically used to talk about university residences) and flats.

Students at the University

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Living in Halls

When you fill out the application form to study in Leeds, your university will offer a selection of residences that they rent out to their students. The first advantage of these residences is that it is a safe place to sleep, so if this is what you prefer, fill out the application form (around April/May). The University guarantees you a room in one of the residences, for which you have to sign a contract, so you can be sure you will not be be left out on the streets.

The University of Leeds, United Kingdom

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I know that you have to put down 3 residences, in order of preference and this is a very personal thing, but my advice is that you pick the one which is as close to the University as possible, as otherwise you will have to take a long walk uphill to classes several days a week. Have a look around on the web page for the halls: http://accommodation.leeds.ac.uk/residences.

The city of Leeds

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Another criteria for halls is: do you want to cook for yourself, or have your food cooked for you? (self-catered or catered). My advice, cook for yourself:

• Reason number one: No matter how badly you cook, the need to do so to survive will make your cooking better and better and I think that's part of the experience.
• Reason number two: People who live in the Mediterranean are at an advantage. We know how to eat well, and the English have been lost along the way; I wouldn't trust what they call food (even more so for when it comes to catered food).
• Reason number three: It's a lot cheaper to go to the supermarket to buy your food. Also, although it seems obvious, you can choose what to buy, and another great benefit is that you end up socialising a lot more when you go to the supermarket. Normally you have to take a taxi in order to get home when carrying all your stuff and try to have someone accompany you, so they can help you make friends and split the taxi money on the way back home to make it cheaper. (Speaking of taxis, I have written another blog post about useful tips when staying in Leeds).

Another, less significant advantage, is that in many student halls there is a communal area. It's a great place to meet people as it's equipped with a television, board games and a snooker table.

So now we come to the topic which most people worry about, how much will a room in student halls cost? Frankly, there are a large variation of prices, so don't worry too much about it as there are halls at every price point. I believe that the cheapest one is around 400 pounds a month (Lupton) and the most expensive is about 650 pounds a month (Charles Morris), but I am probably not entirely accurate so it'd be best to confirm it on the web page for the residences that I have just mentioned.

Charles Morris residence is the most expensive

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Lupton is much cheaper

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Although I am getting away from the subject matter by mentioning flats, it's worth saying that living in a flatshare in Leeds is cheaper than living in student halls (like in the majority of cities), as what many people do is live in university halls for the first year of their studies, and once they make friends they get a flat together for the second year.

Living in a flat

Lots of people I knew in Leeds told me that they lived in flatshares for 'various and diverse' reasons, but the overwhelming majority did so in order to save money. Leeds is no exception and like in most cities, it is cheaper to rent a room in a flat.

How much cheaper? Well, that depends. On average you'll end up saving about 250 pounds, plus the usual expenses of any house (water, light, heating, internet). What are the advantages other than saving money? First off, you will end up having a much more independent experience when living in a typical English flat which is an experience in itself. With their small kitchens, and stairs designed for Hobbits rather than ordinary people.

A lot of students chose to rent a flat near Hyde Park

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But joking aside, living alone in a house will probably help you mature faster, because if something happens in student halls, you call the maintenance and within a few days (if not before) the issue is solved. In your own house you would have to call the landlord, argue with them because they don't want to spend their own money to fix the problem, etc. More advantages? If your neighbours are students, or are laid-back, you can make noise whenever you want (more or less). During the exam period, in student halls, you cannot make a single sound after 11 at night. So it does not matter if you have finished your exams, if it is still exam week forget about having a few drinks with friends at home before heading off to the club.

Now we have covered the advantages, onto the disadvantages. The first disadvantage is finding a flat. You have to walk up and down the city looking at flats and flats and more flats until you find one that fits your budget and your minimum requirements of space/comfort/furniture. This forces you to live in a hotel, hostel or temporary residence until you find your final home. Another disadvantage? If you choose a flat not knowing the other people living there, you may end up living with people who do not share your cleaning habits or timings for going on nights out, to name a few.

Leeds city center

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What I chose to do

With all this now explained I want to tell you about what I did. I lived in student halls for the whole year for various reasons. The first was that I was worried about where to live, it was not worth stressing about this so I filled out the application form, and picked from the residences they had. I lived in Leodis Residences.

This accommodation met the majority of my wants: a bathroom to myself, my own room, and relatively spacious (I knew that I would need space for my friends to put their bags when they come to stay). I also wanted to be near campus and it wasn't very expensive. On the other hand, I spoke with people who had been to Leeds in previous years and they told me that living in student halls was the best way of making international friends and practising English (one of the main reasons I decided to go on a year abroad). So I totally can confirm that living in a university residence was the best thing I did. I got to meet lots of people, live with foreign students (and not just Europeans), and I spoke a lot of English.

The common room in Leodis

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Leodis is 10 minutes away from the University of Leeds and 15 minutes from the city centre. Other residences which I would recommend include Montague Burton and the Tannery. A lot of my friends lived there and they spoke quite highly of it. Oh! Another important thing worth mentioning, all of the student halls have internet, so you don't have to worry about being disconnected from those you love.

If you are sure that you want to live in a flat, the best way of finding one is through the agency Unipol (http://www.unipol.org.uk/leeds/). The majority of people I knew who lived in flatshares found it through them.

I just realised that I have written a full on essay, but if you are thinking of going on Erasmus in Leeds, I hope that this has been helpful and you can now make the choice with more information. As always, feel free to comment what you want.

Enjoy and behave yourself!

Leeds is a fantastic city to study in!

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