How To Find The Most Suitable Accommodation As a Student
After a long day of classes, studying and learning information that will help you build your career, the only thing you may want to do is go back home, relax and chill for the day. However, this may be easier said than done. Questions such as; “Where will I be staying?” and “What will it be like?” may come up.
Finding a suitable house whilst studying abroad may be one of the major issues you’ll find yourself faced with. However, if this matter is handled well, you will not only have a place you can go back to after a long day, but way more than that… you will have a home! So, let us here at Drasco tell you how to make that possible.
Drasco will help you choose the most suitable place to live and what you should put into consideration while making that choice.
What to Consider When Choosing Your Accommodation
- The length of your program
- Your budget
- Check before you arrive
- Location, location, location
- How to pick a housemate/roommate
How Long Are You Planning to Stay?
If your course is for just one year, then agreeing on a two year contract in a house with other students might be a bad idea. Always put into consideration the duration of how long you are going to stay in that place. Surprisingly, many students actually lose money on accommodation which they do not stay in and leave before their contract ends. This may also put your fellow housemates in problems later.
How Much Will It Cost?
What is your budget for accommodation? This is a crucial question you need to ask yourself before selecting the house or home you will live in. As a student planning to live and study abroad, you will have a wide variety of choices to pick from when choosing your student accommodation. Ranging from a house, dormitory, a flat or even a small room in a house. Your budget should always be the first thing you think about whilst choosing your accommodation. Will it be affordable? Does it match your budget? Will it cost too much?
Students sometimes get special offers from dorms to make their lives easier. However before making agreements, research and make sure the prices shown on the websites are the actual prices. Take all precautions because like we always say “It’s never a bad thing to be too careful”.
> Read more: 4 Things to Avoid When Studying Abroad
Check Before You Arrive
After a long day traveling from your home to the new country you will be living in, the last thing you need is to arrive at a place that appears completely different to what you originally expected. Such a shock will be very unpleasant. Therefore, here at Drasco, we advise you to triple check your chosen accommodation before arriving. Make sure it is exactly what they promised and always ask for pictures and videos.
> Read more: 5 Thing to Know Before Traveling To College
Location, Location, Location
Location is mentioned three times because just saying it twice wouldn’t emphasize its importance enough! This is by far one of the most important things you should keep in mind whilst choosing your student accommodation. The distance, and considering you may have to walk to and fro everyday during your life there is very important. If you dislike walking, then it’s not a good idea to get a house that will take you 40 minutes by foot from your department. And if you dislike busy places, don’t get a house that is far from your department. This will make you have to use public transportation.
Choose something that is close and suits your daily needs. For example, living next to a market, a pharmacy and a reasonable distance to your department makes sense. And it’s much wiser than living next to the beach. Sure, it might offer you an amazing view, but is an hour away from the nearest market or the closest bus stop.
Choosing a Roommate or a Housemate
We have emphasized on almost all the points that are crucial in relation to student accommodation. This next one is no different. You might find a house that is cheap, close to everything you need, and suits your budget perfectly. It matches all the standards you have set in your head. But if they say it’s a house for two, this means you will have to find a roommate. Sometimes if you’re lucky, you won’t have to go through this process yourself and the owner/manager will find one for you. Of course the perfect scenario would be having a friend that lives with you there. This would make your life easier as you already know each other. But let’s say you don’t and you have to look for someone to live with, here are the things you need to consider before choosing a roommate.
- Their Daily Routines
No one wants a roommate who stays up late every day to play music in their room. If this is their lifestyle, you end up not having enough sleep that you require every day.
- Where are They from?
Usually, such a thing would not matter much, but knowing where your roommate/housemate is from is wise. It helps in knowing how to interact with them and how to approach them. This is true especially if there is something you want to discuss with them without coming across as rude.
- Medical Needs
Some people may think this point is unnecessary, but here at Drasco we always promote being ready for everything. If your roommate is diabetic, you will need to at least know how to act if something happens. Or maybe if they have an allergic reaction to a certain type of food you are cooking, you will need to avoid it and vice versa.
You have a lot of things to keep in mind when choosing the perfect student accommodation, ranging from how much it will cost to who you might live with. It’s a long process and that’s why we advise you to be prepared and ready for your arrival. This is in order to experience a more comfortable stay and an easier, calmer life during your academic journey away from your home country.
